Devils Like to Dance
by HateWeasel
Summary: I'm not sure why I resurrected that stupid blonde brat, but now I'm stuck with him. It's not all that bad, I suppose. Eternity is quite boring if nothing interesting happens. -Ciel Yes, the series continues in the 2000s! Our favourite young lords now spend their days getting into trouble, making friends and enemies, and perhaps, falling in love?
1. Peculiar Fellows

Phantomhive Manor. The place was abandonned for many years after it's caretakers died. However, after approximatly a century, two shady individuals rode into town and claimed the estate. A small boy, with hair of black with a blue tinge, and looked as though he was in his early teens, wearing an eypatch claimed to be the sole heir to the Phantomhives. No one can really say if this is true or not, as the last known Phantomhive, Ciel, was thought to have died in 1889. The boy and his companion, his supposed butler, a tall man in black, with hair to match, and eyes that seemed other-worldly, somehow managede to convince Her Majesty, the Queen of the boy's lineage, and thus he was granted the estate.

It now stands as though untouched by the hands of time, on the outskirts of London. Many secrets are kept out of the public eye inside the Manor's walls, like this one, which happened in early autumn one night. In the basement, the two inhabitants where said to have performed a peculiar ritual, said to have brought back one who has long been dead.

"Are you sure about this, My Lord?" inquired the man in black, "Whatever comes of this must be taken care of. Are you sure you have thought this through?"

"Of course I have. Don't be stupid." the boy answered, removing his eyepatch with a look of disintrest. "I wouldn't have done all of this planning if I hadn't. I'm not one to waste precious time and resources for nothing, Sebastian."

The man, who goes by the name Sebastian, reasponded while lighting the candles around the circle that had been etched onto the basement floor just for this occasion. "As long as you know what you are doing. This _thing_ is going to be a lot of trouble."

"You act as though this is some pet rabbit or someting."

"It might as well be."

The young master gave an authorative look to his servant, his eyes of different colour attempting to get Sebastian to retreat, before scoffing and heading to the center of the circle, where a table was. What lied on that table was covered with a coth, but was still recognizable. A human body.

He neared it, placing his palm on the forhead of the lifeless mass, and then spoke:

_"Ignis et de loco doloris angustia dolores eos ad me venire, obsecrans ut venires ad me. Egredimini de carcere serviunt mihi adhæsit anima misera tenebris. Patet ex hoc damnatorum limbo ad me, C. Macken!"_

Light escaped the lines on the ground, bringing with it scortching winds, the flames from the candles flared up, but the boy remained ever determined to complete his task. His eye of blue changed to a firey red, and glowed, as did it's companion, his eye of purple, with it's dark signature it stayed the same hue, but joined it's friend in illuminating.

And then it stopped.

The room fell silent again. The circle ceased it's letting forth of relentless winds and blinding essance. The candles died, no longer giving off small flames. Everthing was quiet.

The boy broke this silence after furroing his brow in confusion and dissappointment. "I don't understand! Something should have happened!" He put his hand against his head as he pondered what went wrong.

The next to brake the silence was Sebastian, the boy's butler. "Perhaps it's for the best, My lord. I'm not sure what good could have come of-"

*_GASP!*_

His sentance was innterupted when the body started to stir. The once lifeless frame began to move, flailing about like mad. It moved clumsily trying to both assess the situation and perhaps defend itself from poteintial danger.

That is, until it fell off the table. It fell with a thud, emitting a small "_oof!"_

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE?! WHERE AM I?! WHAT'S GOIN' ON?!" a voice that belonged to a boy appearing to be perhap slighty older than the first came from the body as it removed the cover from it's face.

The boy that was on the floor flaiing about had fair skin, icy blue eyes that looked like they'd cause you to freeze over if you dared to look into them, and hair that was so lightly coloured, one could almost mistake the platinum blonde for white, framing his face. He quickly searched the room for an explanation to his location while he swore enough to make a sailor blush. His eyes stopped on the duo in front of them, returning their stares.

Again, silence. Again, it was the young lord who broke it. "Are you... Jim? Jim... Macken?"

"So what if I am?!" snapped the blonde teen on the floor.

The previous boy smirked with his nose slightly in the air, looking down at the other. He spoke with a slight tinge of amusement in his voice. He spoke only two words.

"Ciel Phantomhive."

At this point, all the blonde could do was stare at the blunette with disbeleif. He stumbled on his own words, trying to form a sentance. He could only say one.

"_**WHAT?!**_"

The blanket that was previously covering his frame fell to the floor as he quickly stood up, revealing a bit too much. In response, the teen across from him did some yelling of his own.

"_**PUT SOME BLOODY PANTS ON!"**_


	2. The Blonde, The Demons, and The Telly

It's been several weeks since we acquired a new a new member to our "family". I would like to say Jim is adjusting well, but I really have no idea. He's quiet. Not at all how I remember him. He also insists that I call him "Alois" like when I first knew him, because "it sounds better".

Alois spends most of his time in front of the TV, which is fine, I suppose. It's a much easier method of getting him to learn about modern culture and all the history he has missed. It would raise suspicion if he didn't even know who Hitler was. He simply eats up the content, hanging onto every word that comes from the strange box. His fascination is understandable, him being a kid from the 1800s and being introduced to television.

He watches a lot of History, social, and cultural documentaries on Netflix. He seems to think that's all the Wii can do. When he gets tired of watching them, I tell him that if he watches three more he can watch three episodes of his beloved BBC sketch comedy shows. He's partial to _Monty Python's Flying Circus, Little Britain, and The Catherine Tate Show_, and he bases his knowledge of how a modern British teenager should act, often greeting with an "Alright?", "just like 'Lauren' does".

He also watches whatever I watch on the television. He doesn't have one in his room, the used-to-be guest room, and I don't have Netflix on the one in mine. I like watching things that scare him. It's so funny for some reason. I forced him to watch _Halloween_ because it's of cultural significance, and how he screamed, and jumped, and cried... It's not even that scary of a movie!

Well, on this particular day, I wanted to catch up on episodes of _The Walking Dead_, so I needed the TV. I walked into the entertainment room ready to kick Alois off. "Alois, I want the TV. Stop whatever nonsense you're watching and move over." I said. But when I entered the room, he wasn't there. I didn't give much thought as to where he might be and just sat down and started watching.

Time passed, and I was almost done with an episode, when I heard the smoke alarm go off. Quickly, I paused the show and went to investigate. Following my nose, I was led to the kitchen. I opened the door and was immediately flabbergasted at the scene that was playing before me.

"You idiot! Why on earth would you put a lizard in the toaster?!" shouted Sebastian over the sound of the smoke alarm as he quickly tried to extinguish the flames.

That stupid, _stupid_ blonde had put a lizard in the damn toaster. Flames where rising from the counter where said toaster once was. The rag that my butler was trying to use in order to quell the inferno caught fire, and he dropped it on the floor.

"I wanted to know if it could toast anything other than just toast!" he cried out to Sebastian as the man was trying to locate the fire extinguisher.

"But why a _lizard_?!"

"I don't know! I thought it would be interesting?! I don't _know_!"

Eventually my servant put out the fire. The counter was riddled with scorch marks and the toaster, a toaster no longer. I walked forward to join them and we all just stood and stared and the ruins. I broke the silence to turn to Alois.

"You '_thought it would be interesting_'?" I said to the blonde. "That is the reason I'm going to have to pay to get my counter and toaster replaced?!"

I'm not sure if I was angry, astounded, or a combination of the two. I knew Alois was impulsive, but _Jesus_! He met me with silence, he stared at floor and fidgeted. Obviously I sounded angry. Wouldn't you be? But still, I continued.

"What kind of _moron_ puts a _lizard_ in a _toaster_?!" I made sure to push my point by putting emphasis on my words, hopefully to prevent a repeat performance.

The boy before me looked up, with the face of a guilty-looking puppy, never ceasing his fidgeting with the edge of his T-shirt. "Sorry..." he mumbled. His voice held the sort of sincerity that was unexpected. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard him make such a noise. But still, I had to be firm.

"Hold out your hands.", I instructed. The blonde hesitantly did as he was told, and extended his hands with a look of confusion on his face.

_SMACK! _

_ "Ouch!"_

One might think that hitting his hands with a wooden spoon might have been a bit harsh, but child welfare can kiss my arse. I won't let anyone get away with destroying bits of my house scot-free! It's happened too many times in the past, and I'd like to keep it that way. _In the past._

_ "_Don't play with the appliances, understood?" I said to him, expertly hiding the smirk that was tugging at the corners of my lips.

Rubbing his hands, he looked at me and said mockingly, "_Yes, my Lord." _

The dirty bastard...


	3. Threads of Dread

Ah, how good it is to be alive! However, it's quite dull staying inside the mansion all day. Granted, I am allowed in the garden and the courtyard, but I'm not allowed past the fence. I often spend my days inside, where I watch "TV" in order to learn about modern culture and all the stuff I've missed. Was London always so flammable? It appears to often get burned to the ground, with all the Nazi Blitzkeigs and such.

But that is neither here nor there. I want to go and see the city for myself, not just on "TV", or while riding in the "Car" with Sebastian in order to pick Ciel up from school everyday. What I have seen is quite amazing. There's "Cars" and lights everywhere! People walking around in funny clothes, cyclists riding their machines; in fact, there are many machines! People ride in them, carry them, they hold them up to their ears and talk into them. Ciel claims that that is what modern telephones are like; It's extrordiunary!

My prayers to enter the city where answered by none other than a fallen angel. Ciel entered the entertainment room where I was watching _Torchwood_. (Which is if you ask me, like the gay version of _Primeval) _

"Get up, we're going to town." He said while tossing an old pair of shoes at me.

Immediately I stood up. "**REALLY?!** I mean... Really? What ever for?"

"To get you some clothes of your own. I'm tired of having to let you borrow mine."

Understandable. I don't have any clothes, so I've had to "liberate" some from Ciel. I was wearing a blue T-shirt with a small stain on the collar that appears to be chocolate, and some "Jeans". Both where a bit too small for me, although it is my understanding that having "Jeans" that are too small is stylish nowadays somehow. However, not nearly as stlyish as the attire of the boy who was quickly picking out a coat to throw at me.

He looked rather posh in his royal blue sweater, that permitted only the collar and the edges of the white dress shirt underneath to be visable, black "Jeans", that seemed to carress his legs so perfectly, and his shoes, that where so obviously name-brand. Perhaps I will be allowed to wear such fancy clothes after today. As I attempted to ponder this, the high-class-hipster had put on his (name-brand, expensive-as-hell) coat on and started to shoo me out the door.

We walked to the awaiting vechicle/method of transport, then I procceeded to gracefully plop down into the back seat, where surpisingly, Ciel joined me. "Sebastian, we'll be going to the mall." He said.

"Are you sure that is wise, My Lord?" the man behind the wheel continuied with: "I think that might be a bit... _overwhelming_, for Alois."

"That's the only place I can think of where we can see a large vareity of clothes and styles." He paused for a moment. "It'll be annoying ifhe whines about our choices later." He spoke as though he had to clarify himself.

"So I get to pick my own clothes, then?"

"Just don't pick anything... _weird_." He went back to looking out the window. "I don't want to be seen in public with a deranged looking blonde." He paused and looked over to me with a smirk, "And I _refuse_ to be seen in public with one dressed in drag."

"Well, aren't you_ nice_?"

"I'm going to buy you clothes, so yes. Yes I am." I thought I heard a small chuckle somming from the driver's seat, but I'm just going to chalk that up to my imagination.

Seeing as though I'm not going to out smart-ass the blunette in the seat next to me, I decided to look out the window. MOTHER OF GOD...IT'S JUST LIKE ON TV! The buildnings, the lights, the fashion, **the double-decker buses**. It feels like I'm on another _planet_ somehow.

"Alois, please stop bouncing around in the seat, you're shaking the entire vechicle. Also, don't press your face against the window like that, you're smudging it." My excitement was _totally_ ruined by the front-seat-poopy-pants-man. Doesn't he know how hard it is to adjust to a different time-period? Sometihing told me that arguing with him was going to be useless as well, so I forced myself to settle with sticking my toungue out at him. Thought I heard a small chortle come from the seat next to me, but that seems doubtful somehow.

We arrived at this gigantic complex. It was probably as big as the Phantomhive and Trancy mansions **combined**. I was literly at a loss for words. I couldn't take my

"Hey, half-wit wonder..." I suddenly felt someone kick my leg.

I turned to gaze into the eye of the perpetrator. "Ow! What'd you do that for?!"

"Just making sure you're awake. Let's get inside, it's bloody freezing out here."

I followed the vertically challenged gentleman inside the massive building. My immediate reaction: it looks like an opera house, but less elegant, and more fun-looking. This place was a damn joyous wonderland of excitement and adventure! Just as I was about to run off and play, I was stopped by the fun police, a.k.a. the **Butt**ler in Black.

"_**Don't**_." Something about the way he said that single, solitary word made all that excitment I felt before turn in to nearly pants-shitting terror. And with that, I stayed with my designated group.

We passed many clothing stores, but there was one that stood out. _Something-or-other-Topic._ "What about that store?"

"Hm? Oh, I was just waiting for you to find that one... Fine, go ahead..." Sir Phantomhive hath spoken! Into the store I shall go to reap a plentyful bounty!

Bravely I lead the way on the trechorous journy into the store! As I frollicked, I picked up whatever looked interesting and ventured toward the dressing room. It took me awhile to figure out how to put some of the clothes on. I also think some of these might be for girls." Well, whatever," I thought. I exited the dressing room wearing a white T-shirt with Jesus riding a Tyannosaurous Rex and the words "Like A Boss" on it, a rather odd black blazer with a hood and a bunch of pointless buttons that serve no purpose other than decoration, and Shorts that stopped at mid-thigh.

"What on earth are you _**wearing?!**_" The shorter of the two gentlemen waiting outside the dressing room exclaimed.

"Untwist your panties, Cielykins. I think I look fabulous, if I do say so myself. What do you think, Bass-man?"

"Oddly stylish. Well done. However, I think it's a tad cold out to be wearing that."

Ciel interrupted the conversation to yell some more. "Who cares about weather?! Those shorts! No man with any self respect would be caught dead in shorts that short!" I never thought he'd get so flustered over a pair of shorts. Okay, time to mess with him.

"Inside voices, Ciel, we're in public! Have you no decency?!"

"'_Decency?!' _ You don't know the first thing about decency you _poof_!" I have absolutely no idea what he means by that. "Poof"? Is it some sort of modern slang term? Whatever, I'll look it up, later.

"What's wrong, Cielykins? Do I mesmerize you?" I don't think I really deserved the punch to the shoulder he gave me.

In the end I bought a rather generous amount of clothes. Shirts, shoes, pants, jackets, a coat or two... but the one thing I bought in bulk where shorts that come up to the mid-thigh. Simply because messing with Ciel is too much fun. Also, they make my arse look amazing.

Who wears short shorts? I wear wear short shorts!

* * *

**A/N: Ah, hullo, hullo. Thank you for reading this far, internet users. I'm still getting the feel for this and am playing around with it a bit since I haven't exactly written in narrative format since the seventh grade, heh heh heh... Do tell if there's anything you'd like me to fix, writing-wise, so I can make it better! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. I'll update as often as I can, m'kay? Let's just see how this turns out... I mean, _I totally know what I'm doing always and whoever told you otherwise is totally a liar. Totally._**


	4. A Rainy Day Breeds Restlessness

It was a rainy day in the London area. The sky was an ever gloomier shade of grey, it was windy and cold, and all was quiet but for the relentless pitter-pattering of the water droplets that seemed to be constantly and unsuccessfully launching a wave of Kamikaze attacks against the earth. And the gloomy atmosphere was getting to a particular blonde lad gazing out at the oh so grey scenery. "This suuuuuuuuuucks. I'm so boooooooored." he whined.

"Then _do_ something." answered the boy sitting on the couch across from the first. The Phantomhive boy was busying himself with a game of Sudoku.

"Like what?"

Without even bothering to look up from his game, the second boy answered, "I don't know, read a book or something." and motioned to the general area where the bookshelf was located.

"Reading sucks."

"Play a game, then. Look, I'm playing Sudoku."

The blonde perked up for a moment, then proceeded to walk over to his companion in order to further investigate this "_Sudoku_" thing. "What kind of game is that? How do you play?"

Moving over tho allow the blonde a place to sit, the blunette boy showed the more blonde of the two his partially filled out sheet. "It's a puzzle game," he explained, "the big grid has a bunch of smaller grids in it, and the smaller grids need to be filled up with the numbers one through nine. _However_, each number can only appear in a row on the full grid only once. If you fill the entire grid, you win." He looked at the blonde who was wearing the most confused expression on his face. "Just try it."

It was the Trancy's turn to play. He filled number after number in on the graph, and erased number after number off of it. With each failed attempt to progress, the lad became increasingly, and obviously frustrated.

"This is a _terrible _game!" he suddenly cried, "Games are supposed to be _fun!_ This feels like _work!_"

"I told you, it's a _puzzle_ game. It's going to take some thought to solve!"

"_Thinking _sucks."

The smaller of the two was only able to roll his visible eye in response. "I'm not sure what to tell you about that."

"Don't you have any other games?"

He thought for a moment, trying to think of something that will keep Alois quiet for awhile. Then, it hit him. "Hey Alois, you've never played a video-game before, have you?"

"A 'video-game'!? What's that?!" Alois' new-found enthusiasm was apparent. He jumped up out of the seat. "C'mon, c'mon! Tell me, tell me!" he grabbed his compatriot's knee and shook it. "Pretty-pleaaaaase?"

"Stop it." The pensive boy slapped the hand of the fair-haired youth as he stood up. "Come on, I'll show you" He motioned for the other to follow him to the entertainment room where lies the_ Nintendo Wii_.

It's quite difficult to explain a video-game console to someone who has never heard of such a thing. Even if he did, only aproximately half of it would register in the mind of the excitable blonde. So Ciel decided the best method of teaching him would be to show him directly.

He activated to console and put in the disc. _Wii Sports_, it was, since it's simple, and just take much explaining. But first Ciel gave Alois the remote and had him make his own _Mii_. The blonde clumsily worked the controls with a face of absolute wonderment, and made his virtual likeness. "Whoa... This...is... **amazing**! This is technology and not some sort of magic?!"

"Yes, this is how far humanity's technologically advanced over the hundred or so years." Ciel coolly replied. "And it just keeps advancing."

"Bloody hell... What's next? _Flying machines_?"

"Actually... We already have those. They're called '_aeroplanes_'."

"**Mother of God...**"

The boys spent the next few hours playing the _Wii_. Each trying to best the other at various virtual sports. Alois would win at baseball, while Ciel would win at golf. Ciel would win at bowling while Alois would win at boxing. Both where quite frustrated with tennis for whatever reason.

And that is how they spent this rainy day. Laughing and playing, winning and losing, and generally enjoying each others company. This continued until a particular butler walked in. "I'm sorry to interrupt, My Lord, but there is a phone call for you from Detective Bailey."

The young master straightened himself and regained his usual composure while Alois was sure to pause the game. "Thank you, Sebastian. Give me the phone."

The butler did as he was instructed, and the Earl answered his call. "Hello? Ah, it's been awhile, Bailey, is there something I can help you with?" This went on for several minutes as Alois waited as patiently as an Alois Trancy could behind the couch, watching. Finally, the eyepatched gentleman hung up.

"Get your coats on, we're going out." he instructed.

"Out where?!" Alois inquired with his usual enthusiastic tone he chimes whenever an outing is mentioned.

"The Police Station. Sebastian, get the car ready."

The man clad in black simply bowed in response, and said: "_Yes, my lord."_


	5. It's A Mystery, My Lord

The ride to the station felt shorter than it was, even with the eccentric blonde in the backseat hoping up and down in excitement. "There's even more lights on than usual!" he exclaimed with his face abnormally close to the window. His face would have been whacked against it as soon as the man in the driver's seat turned a sharp corner suddenly.

"That's because it's raining." The gentleman in the seat next to him has been summoned to the police station this rainy day in order to assist in solving a case. His attention, as opposed to the blonde going on and on about the lights, was on the call he had received earlier regarding this.

A body was found early that very day . The victim was a young woman, perhaps in her twenties, found in her own apartment on the east end. Judging by the marks around her wrists, ankles, and throat, she was bound, and killed by strangulation. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a reason to call on the Queen's 'ol Gaurd Dog. The fact that this is a serial murder, however, **does**.

Six. Six people have been killed this way. All by strangulation, all in their own homes. But that's not the strangest thing. They all had the number _nine_ on them. The killer, for one reason or another, appears to have written the number nine on the victim's bodies. Those are the only similarities.

Before Ciel was able to dwell on this more thoroughly, the car rolled to a stop in the parking lot of the station. "Ooh, what's all this, then?" asked the boy in the seat next to him.

"The Police Station. They're probably going to have us look at dead bodies and such."

"Neat."

There was a man waiting by the entrance under the awning smoking a cigarette. He looked to be in his forties, with a stern face and hair that was starting to grey. The man was wearing his suit in a rather untidy way, with his tie disheveled, his shirt not tucked into his pants, and an obvious mustard stain on the collar. He looked at the group and said: "Welcome back, Mr. Phantomhive."

"Hello Detective Bailey," said the the young earl as he walked under the awning to enter the building. "Stumped with another case, I see. Tell me, how ever where you able to become a police officer in the first place?"

The detective furrowed his brow at that comment. "Being a detective takes a different set of skills than an ordinary officer, Phantomhive. My job isn't exactly easy."

"Is that so? I've been doing your job for years with little problems. I guess I've been doing it wrong." said Ciel as he gave his coat to Sebastian.

Bailey did not find that funny. However, he wasn't going to argue with the a child who reports directly to her majesty. Instead, he changed the subject. "Who's this kid?"

"This is my associate, Alois Trancy. He will be assisting me on this case." He certainly wasn't going to leave Alois alone in his house without supervision. Repeating the "lizard in the toaster" incident would probably resulting in their being another victim. This time, a air-headed blonde boy.

"Hello, sir. Pardon my intrusion." Alois is not usually polite. Alois certainly is not "normal". But if there's one thing he is, he's a good actor. He is perfectly capable of _pretending_ to be normal. This sudden reaction from Alois was almost enough to make Ciel laugh. _Almost._

"Do you know if there are any signs of a pattern in the killings, Detective?" Sebastian asked.

"Ah, Mr. Michaelis. Other than the number 'nine' written on the bodies and the suitcases found with them, no."

"Suitcases?" the boys asked at once.

"Yes, weren't you informed over the phone?"

"I heard nothing of suitcases."answered Ciel, " Show them to me at once."

The group walked down the hallways of the station, catching the stares of the inhabitants."Uh, why is everyone watching us?" asked the blonde in a whisper.

The darker-haired boy whispered back, never losing pace, "We're kind of famous around here. Try to ignore it."

They reached the evidence room after trekking through a hallway of awkward stares. Detective Bailey got the suitcase and put it and it's contents on the table. "This is the suitcase from the most recent killing. All of them are the same suitcase, and contain the same things: A children's puzzle book, and a piece of paper with a number number on it. It's like he's helping us count the bodies! This one has the number six on it..."

"...And the next one will be seven." Ciel interrupted. "Is this all that was found? Did the killer leave any DNA behind or what he used to kill the victim with?"

"No. This is all that we found. The bastard was real careful about what was left behind." The detective rubbed his forehead, as though his was fighting off a headache.

"Any ideas on a motive?"

"None. The victims where all kinds of people, none of them seemed to know each other, either. These attacks seem completely random."

"They aren't." Alois said after an unusually long silence from him. "This person brought everything he needed to the scene, and he made sure to not to leave behind evidence." The blonde was unusually serious, however, this could be expected. He was at one point known as the Queen's Spider, and fulfilled a similar duty to the Watchdog.

"But he left behind a suitcase?", Bailey asked, "How is that 'careful'?"

"Maybe they _**want**_ to be caught."

"That's ridiculous! No criminal wants to be caught!"

"Not true." It was the Phantomhive boy's turn to speak. "Alois could be on to something. There have been serial killers of a similar nature who left coded messages behind to decode the whereabouts of their next target. One of the most famous of these is the _Zodiac Killer_ in America."

"So our killer is a narcissist, then. He's just taunting you."

Bailey stood there astonished by what the two boys where suggesting. "So then... how do we catch him?"

With a smirk, the Phantomhive boy walked over to the table and picked up the book. "_The key to finding them is right here_."


	6. Solving Puzzles And Education

Over the next few days, Ciel Phantomhive sat at his desk, trying to figure out where the killer will strike next. Each body was found approximately a month-and-a-half apart, so that gives him some time in order to do so. In the meantime, he has instructed the authorities to look for witnesses who may have seen any suspicious persons in that time frame.

On his desk, he had a map with the locations of each of the previous crime scenes marked with a dot. The blunette sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had looked through that puzzle book countless times and still can't make a connection to any location. "It just doesn't make sense," He thought. "What does this book have to do with this map?"

It was a certain blonde that pulled him from his thoughts. "Cieeeeeeeeel! I'm boooooooooored!" He whined.

"Alois, I'm busy. Go read a book or something." The more serious of the two rubbed his head in response.

The fair-haired lad waltzed over to the desk and sat on it. "I don't wanna read. It's _boring._"

"Reading isn't _boring_. You just haven't found a book that interests you, and _get off my desk._"

"Doubt it..." Alois paused for a moment and added: "Why? Do my shorts still bother you?"

_"Tch."_He hit the nail on the head. There was something about those damn shorts that seemed to bother Ciel. Boys should not show that much leg, regardless of the reason, in Ciel's mind. "That's part of it," he said, "I also don't appreciate your arse all over my desk."

The blonde's mouth twisted into a smirk. He then proceeded to rub his buttocks against the desk. "What's that? You really shouldn't mumble, you know. I couldn't understand a word you just said!"

"_Stop that_! Go find something to do other than bothering me, I'm busy!" The blunette stood up and shouted.

"Busy with _what,_exactly? It just looks like you're sitting here, staring into space!"

"I'm was _trying _to find out how _this_ puzzle book relates to _that_ map."

Alois stood there for a moment, inspecting the map. "It looks like that game you showed me. _'Soodookoo'_?"

"You mean '_Sudoku_', and I don't see _how_."

Alois picked up the puzzle book and flipped to a page with a Sudoku puzzle on it. "Look, the grid on the map looks the the grid on the puzzle." He pointed to a dot that was labeled with the number "one", the number of the first victim and the number that was found in the suitcase with him. "These numbers here? They look like the given ones in the puzzle."

Ciel just stared at him, mouth slightly open in disbelief. He looked at the map, then he looked at the puzzle, and back again. And then it hit him. Alois was right.

"How on earth did you...?"

Alois shrugged and put the book on the desk. "Dunno, it just came to me."

Ciel remembered the number "nine" drawn on the bodies. "Then the number 'nine' must relate here, somehow... could it be?"

"What?"

Ciel looked at the Alois and said: "The number of total victims there will be."

"Then what happens after they reach nine?"

"I have no idea," he began, "But whatever it is, it can't be good. I can't believe I'm saying that, but,_ Alois, you're brilliant_!"

Alois smiled smugly and took a bow. "Thank you, thank you. I know I'm awesome. Feel free to tell me more."

"Now if only you knew how to _read_."

The blonde ceased his posing and looked and the boy behind the desk. "I do too know how to read, you bloody _midget cyclops_!"

Ciel furrowed his eyebrows in frustration and clutched his eyepatch. "I am not a _midget_! I'm only _thirteen centimeters _shorter than you!" His face suddenly starting to resemble a tomato.

"Funny how you know the _exact _differences between our heights," Alois teased, "that's rather odd, Ciel. Are you that touchy about your height?"

It was at that point that the Phantomhive boy lost his temper. He reached across the desk and forced Alois over to him, causing papers, books, and writing utensils to fall off the desk under the floor. The boy's head was now trapped under the more petite one's arm, his scalp being assaulted by Ciel's fist being ground against it. Yes, Ciel had given him his first _noogie_.

"Ow, ow, **OW**! Stop iiiiiiiit!" cried the blonde trying to wrestle his way to freedom. But Ciel was simply not having it.

"I may be shorter than you, but I can still kick your arse!"

Alois had not anticipated this. Ciel was usually so calm, cool, and collected. Never had the reanimated boy have suspected that he would resort to violence. "Let gooooooo!"

"Fine," said the Queen's _noble _Watch Dog as he released the Spider. "But I still don't believe you can read."

Alois rubbed his now pain-ridden cranium. "I _can_ read, and I can _prove _it!" he yelled indignantly.

"Alright then," Ciel walked towards the bookshelf and selected a book. "Read this." He tossed it to the ever-so-defiant blonde.

He caught the book in his hands and swallowed. "You mean, right _now_?"

Ciel scoffed in response and said. "Yes. _Right now_. And read it _aloud _so I can hear you."

Ever determined to prove himself, Alois looked at the cover of the book. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was it's title. He turned to the first page, cleared his throat and began.

"_'Chapter one: The Boy Who Lived.'" He began, slowly, "'Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, ...Pri...vet Drive, were proud to say that they where perfectly normal, ...thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be in...volved in anything strange or mys... mys... myster...'_" Alois scrunched his brow in frustration as he continued to stumble over the word. He became even more so when Ciel walked over to read the book over his shoulder.

"You mean, '_Mysterious_'?" he corrected.

"I _know_ that!" said the blonde objectively. "_'Mr. Dursley was the di... dee... die?_'"

"_'Director_'." Ciel corrected again.

"_I know what it says_!" Alois said, flustered by the fact that he has trouble reading. But that's to be expected of a former street rat. The only education he had received had been from _Claude Faustus_, his former butler , in the short while he had lived as a Trancy. Really, it was quite surprising he knew how to read as well as he could.

"Alright, so you can read." Ciel said. "But you're _reading level_ is still unacceptable. Is there anything else, you don't know? Can you even find _Britain _on a globe?"

Alois blushed and looked at the floor, ashamed that he in fact, could not. "...N-no..." he mumbled.

The bluenette was legitimately surprised by that. This boy in front of him, who had just potentially cracked the code to locating a serial killer's next target, a thing _Ciel himself _could not do, cannot find the very country he lives in and was expected to serve on a globe.

"Obviously, we have some work to do." He said rubbing his forehead. "It appears as though I have to catch a '_Sudoku Killer'_, and somehow provide you a proper education." He looked up at Alois, "First thing's first. I need to solve this puzzle."

"I would try to assist, but I'm obviously too dumb for this sort of thing."

"You aren't_ dumb_." Ciel said, much to the blonde's surprise. "You just haven't learned yet."

Alois suddenly felt so much_ brighter _at those words. He gave the shorter boy his biggest smile and said: "So how can I help, then?"

"It's simple," began the more composed of the two, "we play Sudoku."

"_Boring_! I'm out."

_**"Get your ass back in here!"**_

* * *

**A/N: Triple post! LIKE A BAUS! I dislike moments where my brain sits idle. It doesn't feel right. Therefore, I work on this off and on throughout the day. Sometimes I think I should**** probably, like, _go outside and be productive_ or something... Yeah... so expect updates soon...**_**  
**_


	7. Jim, Jimmy, Jimbo

Solved! The puzzle that had so obnoxiously stood in the way between the authorities and a serial killer, was finally removed! Or was it? There where multiple ways to solve the _Sudoku_ puzzle, and there was no certainty that the case had anything to do with _Sudoku_ at all.

Naturally, this had occured to our boys. The solution they had comeup with for now: Solve the puzzle in as many ways as possible. However, in order to do this efficiently, they needed help. Ciel was of course working on this as well as the Trancy boy, they had recutted the help of several constables, and _even Sebastian_.

One would think that our favourite raven-haired butler would be able to do this all on his own, but the fact remains that this is _not humanlly possible. _There are a select few who know of the true nature of the Phantomhive estate. They know the story, the _legend,_ but a few mere police constables however, _do not._ Sebastian, who could probably solve this entire mystery on his own, was instructed _not to. Anything _to attract _any_ unwanted attention to themselves was strictly_ taboo_, therefore the servant was only limited to solve less than even a handful of _Sudoku_ puzzles. Granted, he doesn't particularly mind. If he cannot do this to keep his master's secrets, then _what kind of bulter would he be?_

Our favourite blonde however, felt _thouroughly useless._ He has yet to solve even _one_ puzzle, and was starting to get very, _very_, frustrated. "What is _with_ this?!" he cried, "Why is this so hard?! I _hate Sudoku_! Whoever this killer is, he will pay _dearly_ for forcing me to play this _bloody_ game!"

"Calm down, you're so noisy..." said the boy's friend, who was sitting at his desk. "It probably doesn't help if you sit _upside-down_. You aren't getting enough blood to your _brain."_

The blonde was lying on the couch in the petite Phantomhive's office, on his back, with his legs in the air, resting on the back said couch. He had his _Sudoku_ grid clipped to magazine as a hard surface. Ciel could be right, _this is no way to solve a puzzle._

"But this is _hard, _and it's _boring." _whined the blonde in his ludicrous position, "Hard like your _couch,_ here. My arse hurts from sitting on it normally."

"You offered to help, if memory serves."

The flaxen haired boy grunted while making an attempt to right himself in the seat. "Could you at least fluff your cushions?"

"Nope."

Ciel's response was plain, simple, and to the point. He never even looked up from his own puzzle. Alois had always found it interesting how he used his words and movements so efficiently. The same Alois, who was constantly playing around and dancing _around_ the point, just for the sake of his own amusement. These mannerisms Ciel would bring where naturally forgein to the Trancy boy due to this.

Alois dwelled on this a few moments before another thought popped into his head, as it often does. "Hey Ciel," he said, "There are a lot of 'sevens' on these charts. How are we going to investigate them all?"

Again, he had pointed out something Ciel has already thought of. However, this plan takes a lot of man power, and will be troublesome to put into action. The Phantomhive boy looked up from his puzzle for a moment to look at Alois. "We'll need multiple investigators to perform serveilance on the locations that someone actually _lives_ in. We can rule out anything other than homes on the map."

"What about hotels?"

"The killer obviously planned this out thoroughly. He probably staked the place out more than once. People don't usually stay in hotels for very long, so it would be safe to assume that the killer wouldn't risk trying to kill someone without knowing things such as their schedule, the most likely layout of their house, _et cetera_."

"I see..." Alois paused for a moment to look down at the map on the Earl's desk, then looked back up to Ciel, "Hey, Ciel, are _you_ a serial killer?" he asked in a joking tone.

"Only _sometimes_." he joked back. This was not entirely untrue however, as demons need to aquire souls _somehow._ It's quite easy to forget how really _dangerous_ Ciel has the potential to be. No one would ever suspect that the small, delicate-looking boy before the young blonde's eyes could very well snap you in two had he the desire to do so. Alois knows this. However, it is most often in the back of his mind. Ciel is his only friend, he trusts Ciel. And, although he knew the boy would never admit to this aloud, he knew that it was the same for Ciel as well. He smiled to himself at this.

"We may have to pitch in as well and go on serveilance duty." added the slate-haired boy.

"Sounds like fun!"

"Oh, that reminds me..." Ciel looked away to open a drawer in his desk. He reached inside and pulled out a _cellphone._ "I've been meaning to give you this. You'll need it." he said handing the small device to the blonde who was currently on the verge of dancing.

"**Oh my god! **_Really?! _I can _have_ this?" said the blonde, clutching his amazing new device.

"Yes, that's why I got it in the first place. It's hard to function nowadays without one. Just don't give your number out to random people-" Ciel was interrupted by the blonde who was suddenly hugging him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, **thank youuuuuuu!** You're the _best!"_

The Phantomhive boy tried to wrestle his way out of this, but to no avail. "_Unhand me!_ I don't like _hugs!_ **I **_**said**_** let go!**"

"You _like_ it!"

_**BAM!**_ "Oof!" Alois was promptly punched in the gut. He let go in order to clutch his now-pained stomach.

"That's what you get." Ciel said, straightening himself. "I need to make a phonecall, so please keep it down."

"_Psh_, Fine." said the blonde, landing on the couch with and obnoxious thud.

"_Thank you_." Ciel dialed the police station to convey his plan to Detective Constable Bailey.

"_WHAT?!" _Bailey, however, was not impressed. "You expect me to put out that many men for _one_ case?!" he said over the phone.

"Isn't just _one_ case." said the boy, adjusting his eyepatch. "It's a _series_ of related cases. That's why it's called '_serial murder'_."

Ciel could hear Detective Bailey sigh in defeat on the other end of the call. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Thank you very much. I'll fax you the key later."

"Alright, I'll send some people to the possible locations. This better be good, _kid."_

_ "Don't _call me '_kid'!"_

*_Click!_*

Ciel hung up the phone in a huff. He does not like being called a "kid". Especially since he's _much _older than most of the inhabitants of the city, _including_ Ditective Bailey.

"Haheeheehaha_ha!_" the blonde lounging on the couch, again, upside-down, giggled, "He called you _'kid'!_ Hahahaheehaa!"

"Shut up, _'Jim' _no one asked for your opinion!"

The blonde sat up. He does _not_ like being called by his old name. The name "Jim" isn't nearly as cool-sounding as "Alois", in his opinion. Not nearly flamboyant or flashy enough for his tastes. "Don't call me _'Jim'!"_

"'_Jimmy'_, then."

"No!'

"'_Jimbo'?_"

_** "No!"**_

* * *

**A/N: My brother decided to watch _My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic_ in the living room, where I was typing. Totally got me out of the mindset to write a supernatural/comedy/crime drama. _Curse you, Pinkiepie_!_ You and your shenanigans_! No worries, I'll get back into it soon. Give me the rest of the day, and you'll probably have a new chapter. First thing's first: I must get that super-catchy theme song out of my head... So much cute... Oh god...**_**  
**_


	8. Spiderboy Gives Chase

Ciel Phantomhive had put his plan into motion. The puzzle was solved, and now the _real_ game begins. The blunette chess-master had placed all of his pieces into the appropriate locations, now, it was just time to wait. He had most of the city's detectives performing a stakeout, you see. All of the players on the side of London's Law enforcement where on the lookout for suspicious persons loitering around the potential future crime scenes, searching for the _Sudoku Killer._

Although he isn't the killer, there was a "suspicious" person loitering around the yard of "location R", an apartment complex on the northern side of the Thames River. He was a blonde boy who looked no older than at least fifteen. He had fair, pale skin, and icey blue eyes that seemed to suit the weather perfectly. The boy wore a dark purple coat and black pants to hopefully shield himself from the cold weather. His breath was visible as he played with his soccer ball outside the building. He did this alone as other children would prefer to stay inside during such unpleasant conditions. But then again, _so would he_.

_ "This sucks!", _he thought, _"It's bloody freezing out here!" _The boy stopped for a moment and looked to the cafe' across the street, where his "back up" was supposed to be. The two pain-looking officers had convinced Alois to be the one to stand outside in order to monitor the situation more closely, as "No one would ever suspect a child". Alois, however, thinks he may have been tricked.

"Those bastards..." he said aloud, "I can't believe I let them trick me! Nothing's happening anyway! _What kind of bloody lunatic would commit a murder in this stupid weather?!"_ He kicked the ball again, taking out his anger on an inanimate object, probably for the best.

The boy in purple quickly realised he may have spoken too soon. As he kicked the ball, a man wearing a coat with a hood, walking his dog rounded the corner, _again. _

_"That's the fourth time I've seen him circle this building," _Alois thought, _"I think that may count as 'suspicious'." _

The boy boy formerly known as "Jim" kept up his farce, and the man kept up his _own._ He rounded the corner with his white dog with brown spots a few feet in front of himself, even passing Alois on the sidewalk. The man got to the edge of the lot, where he looked around a bit to see if anyone was watching, and rounded the next corner to the other side of the building. No one was watching, no one, _except Alois._

He nudged his soccerball in the same direction the mysterious man had went, taking care not to be seen by the man, or seem out of place. He stuck his head around the corner to see what the man was up to. Lo and behold, the man had walked up to the side of the building and had started to look into the windows like some sort of creep.

Alois pulled out his phone to send a text, (yes, he could text,) keeping the man within his periphial vision.

_"Suspicious person sighted. A man in a grey coat with a hood, with a large white dog with white spots in 'location R'. Suspect has circled the building numerous times and is currently peeking into windows on the western side of the ground floor._

_-AT"_

_Send._

Alois waited a few moments, carefully watching the man's every movement. He watched as the man stood my the window, taking notes, and occasionally look around to see if anyone was watching. The blonde had oh-so carefully stayed out of sight. Then, _his phone rang._

It was an alert ringtone, notifying the phone's owner of an incoming text. He quickly reached for his phone to make it stop, but it was too late. The suspicious person swiftly whipped his head around to the origin of the sound and saw Alois, and immediately knew he had been _seen. _

The man stood there for a few moment, then took a few steps back. His dog barked at the boy who had dared to startle it's master. It's leash was dropped as the suspect ran, and the blonde clad in purple followed in pursuit.

The dog saw this and lunged at the boy, barring it's teeth. Alois put his arm up in order to protect his face, neck, and torso. The boy fell to the ground with a yelp, as the defensive canine's teeth pierced his coat and skin. The cotton lining of the coat was now seeping from the coat and now lay in clumps on the ground, bits dyed scarlet here and there.

Now Alois was _really _mad. Not only is his favourite coat now _ruined _by the tear, the blood, and _the smell of dog_, but the suspect is also going to get away. As a result, he will be scolded by Ciel later for being so worthless. "_That, I do not need"_, he thought.

He did the only thing knew he could do in an attempt to rid himself of this troublesome mutt. _He punched it in the face._ The dog still latched on, much to Alois' displeasure. So he hit it _again. _

By now the canine's nose was bleeding and it had a large bruise on the side of it's head. Yet, it still would not give up. Thoroughly peeved at this, the blonde hit it _again_. And again, and again, and again, _and again._

It finally let go. The dog now lay whimpering in pain near the spot of the tussle. But our hero had no time to deal with that. His arm hurt, his _fist_ hurt, and the suspect was getting away. "_Perfect." _he thought aloud.

Alois looked at the ground and noticed a bit of snow has gathered since he was attacked, and his foe's master, while trying to escape, had left footprints.

He had no time to waste. Alois followed the trail, sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him. He jumped several fences in order to catch this man. As he ran, the freezing air entering his throat hurt his lungs, the wind felt like it was cutting into his skin, he slipped numerous times in patches on the ground where water on the ground had decided to freeze, but still, he ventured forward. What Alois Trancy _wants_, Alois Trancy _gets. _The blonde was relentless when it came to getting his way, and the thing he wanted most was to catch this _bastard_.

The man exited the alleyway with our hero in full pursuit, _right into a busy intersection._ Horns honked, tires screeched, and the blonde stopped to catch his breath, huffing and puffing regardless of the frozen air stabbing the lining of his trechea and lungs, the very same air escaping his lips moments afterword being visible for the whole world to see. He looked across the street to see the man he had been chasing up to that point staring back at him doing the very same. The man then turned and started running again with traffic picking back up after being interrupted by the very same person. Alois had lost him.

His ears and basically most of his innards and limbs where now in pain from the chase, so it took him a moment to realise his phone was ringing. This time it was an incoming call. Alois answered it coughing and wheezing from the air.

"*_huff*...* huff*... _H-hello?_ *cough!*"_

"Alois?" It was the voice of the boy's blunette friend on the other end, "Are you alright? You didn't aswer my text? What happened to the suspect?" Alois interrupted the interrogation to cough. "You sound _terrible_."

Alois paused for a few moments to collect himself and calm his breathing. Evetually, he responded:

_"He got away."_


	9. What's The Deal With That Trancy Kid?

Hours had passed, and information of what Alois had seen had been passed on o the authorities. The boy's coat now lies within the garbage bin, and his wounds where being treated. "Are you sure this blood isn't from that mongrel, Alois?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure of this when a dog's teeth enter my flesh, Sebastian." Everyone in the room was at a loss as to why Alois _had_ no apparent injury, although he insists upon it. The two gentlemen in the room besides the blonde boy where equally flabbergasted by his story.

"You say you _punched _the dog? From the injuries it sustained, it looks more like you perhaps hit it with a rock, Alois." Sebastian frowned, clearly not buying Alois' story. The usually calm demon was getting increasingly annoyed with this problem child. Whenever he makes a mess, _Sebastian_ has to clean it up, whenever Alois breaks something, it is _Sebastian_ who must fix it. Most of the time, these events are _completely_ avoidable, and how anyone could be so clumsy or ignorant was beyond the raven-haired man. But what had disturbed him _most_, however, was the _"what if" _had Alois been telling the_ truth._

The average domestic dog has a bite-force of 260 pounds. For a human arm to be unaffected by that is virtually _impossible. _The dog tore through Alois' coat, meaning it most likely was _not _just "playing". So if this is the case, _why is Alois' arm unharmed?_

This also bothered Ciel, who was equally unable to wrap his head around it. Thus, he decided he needed to further discuss this with his butler. But first, he needed to get rid of Alois.

"Alois, you're filthy, and you smell like dog. Go take a bath." he said.

"Well aren't you _nice?" _responded the boy in question.

"_Always."_

"I still think you legally should be unable to come within five meters of a wooden spoon."

"Bath._ Now." _the bluenette shooed his blonde friend out of the room.

Alois bowed, imitating Sebastian. "_Yes, my lord."_ And left the room, closing the door behind him.

Ciel immediately turned to his servant, "So about his arm..." he begun.

"I was pondering the same thing, my lord. That is _not normal._"

But really nothing was, in the Phantomhive house. The house has been destroyed countless times, and mysteriously restored overnight, and has been one of the headquarters for England's underworld for _centuries._ The inhabitants certainly where not _"normal"_ either. The butler is a demon of an unknown age who is forced to be a much younger demon's servant forever, the younger demon previously mentioned was not always a demon, and was granted demonity by a third demon, now deceased, and is a sociopath, a bit of a sadist, and suffers from _Post Traumatic Stress Disorder._ Then there is the blonde in question, who has psychological problems similar to if not the same as the first boy, but also appears to have _Bipolar Disorder _and_ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. _In addition to that, the Trancy boy was brought back from the dead...

It was these thoughts that came flooding into Ciel's head when the word _"normal"_ was mentioned in this context. It was this train of thought that caused a question to claw at his mind. "What exactly _is_ Alois?"

Sebastian paused for a moment, searching for an answer to his master's question. A small smile graced his face, when he thought of this answer: "I suppose he may be a _'zombie_', my lord." This thought was funny to the servant, as it may as well be true.

"I don't think he's a rotting walking corpse..." Ciel said, not finding Sebastian's words to be humourous. "Perhaps we should make him visit a physician." he suggested.

"Shall I forge the appropriate documents, sir?"

"Yes," the young master replied, "I don't want a _zombie _ in my home. We need to get to the bottom of this."

"Understood." the man clad in black answered, and thus, he left to complete this task.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the very same manor, a certain blonde was enjoying a luxurious bath. "Tell me your secrets, O rubber ducky..." he said, pressing the small bath toy up to his ear before giving it a gentle squeeze.

**"***_**squeaky! Squeaky!*"**_

"_Yeeeeeeeesssssss..."_

* * *

**A/N: I, for the life of me, cannot explain that... **

** I regret _nothing._**_  
_


	10. The Unexpected Silver Lining

Another clue had turned up in the case to the _Sudoku Killer_. The dog that the man had left behind in order to escape the Trancy boy was wearing a collar, and on that collar, where _tags._ Putting tags on your pets can be useful in finding them when they are lost, but when they are lost and you are a suspected murderer, not so much. Locating the suspect was as easy as pretending to return a lost dog, or was it? When Detective Bailey called the number on the tag to do this, the man on the other end said he hadn't the slightest clue what Bailey was talking about.

This was an easy fix, however, since the police are able to find your address with just your phone number. Even if you deny it, your neighbours know if you have a dog. You can't tell them otherwise.

The man's name was Miller, Peter Miller. He was a shy man who never socialized much, but a hard worker, and was well-respected at his workplace. But here he was, sitting in the police station for suspected murder. Although he refused to answer the investigator's questions, upon further inspection of his residence, there was a map marked residences he would potentially strike, a Sudoku key, plans to break into one of these homes, and various knives and such. _This man was obviously the killer_.

"No..." The Phantomhive boy sat on the sofa in the living room, rubbing his temples in frustration. He was watching a breaking news report on the latest murder that happened over that weekend. It was committed by_ none other than the Sudoku Killer._

"But he should be in jail!" Shouted Alois angrily at the magical talking box. "We caught the bastard! _It's over!"_

But it wasn't. Another body was found. This time, it was a man in his late thirties. He died by strangulation, his ankles and wrists had marks on them as though he had been bound, and a number "nine" was drawn on his corpse. With his body, a small suitcase with a children's puzzle book and a peice of paper with the number "seven" written on it as it's contents was found. Same tactic, same calling card. _It was the work of the killer._

Ciel got up and walked to his office. He had to start again at square one. With no other leads, it was uncertain how this madman was going to be caught. He sat down at his desk and let out and exasperated sigh.

"Ciel?" The boy's blonde companion entered the room. He sat down on the boy's desk and just looked at him, trying to think of something to say.

"I thought I told you not to sit on my desk." said the annoyed bluenette.

"Yeah, I know." said the flaxen boy seated on the desk. "But I was afraid you where coming in here to _sulk."_

Ciel simply did not have the energy to argue with the outrageous, short-short wearing boy seated in front of him. Nor did he have the time. He had to think of a way to find this bastard, and fast. He was making a mockery of the Watchdog! Ciel picked up the most case file of the most recent victim, and started from there.

"What are you doing?"

"Reviewing these files." That was it. Another short and to-the-point answer from Sir Phantomhive. Alois knew at this point there was not much he could do to help his friend feel better, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't _try._

"Is that the body?" He asked, pointing to a picture of the victim's lifeless corpse. "Huh. Whoever the guy we're looking for is, he must be pretty strong. He took down a grown man without much of fight."

A light-bulb went off in Ciel's head. Once again, one of Trancy lad's off-handed comments had set a spark off inside him. "Alois, _that's it!"_

_ "Huh?"_

"Don't you see? No single person could wrestle a man that size to the ground on his own! Evidence supported Miller being the killer, and at the same time the deaths continue because _there's more than one killer!_" Ciel was emitting an unusually excitable tone. The rarity of this intrigued, amused, frightened, and excited Alois as well.

"Oh my _**god!**_ That _has _to be it!" the fair-haired boy exclaimed. But his smile faded. "But how do we catch _all_ of them?"

Ciel made his way around the desk and put his arm around the shoulders of the blonde. "Don't worry, I have a plan." he said. "Come with me."

"Where?" Alois asked, his cheeks slightly flushing at the unexpected physical gesture.

_"I need to have a word with Mr. Miller." _said Ciel, leading the the other boy out the office door.

* * *

**A/N: Another short chapter. Funny, they seem so much longer while I'm writing them. Ah, I still need to write an ending to this arc... I mean, _I totally know how this arc is going to end, definitely._ **

**Who am I kidding? I have a ideas. That's a start, yes. I'll be glad after posting it for the simple fact that I _hate_ Sudoku! I agree with Alois on the subject of the game. _It's too difficult to be fun._ But it's such a neat plot-point, ain't it? Real smart. Oh, and it won't end after this, oh no. There is still so much adventure and fluff I have in store for you all. Yes, quite, indeed...**

**I do want to write more fluff, but I can't seem to find an appropriate place for it. Then again, there was that _rubber duck_ thing in the previous chapter...  
**

**So sorry, I'm rambling again. I often tend to do that, you see. So I shall leave you to your devices, then. May we meet again in the next chapter!  
**


	11. Seatbelts: How Do They Work?

Two boys waltzed into the interregation room one day in order to speak with a serial killer. Nothing strange here, other than the man they had come to see. A mister _Peter Miller, _he was called. The man had been suspected in being involved the the _Sudoku Killer_ case. The _Sudoku Killer_ was suspected of being a narcissistic killer due to the fact that he had left behind a code that would help find him.

The man who sat on the other side of the table didn't seem like that person at all. He was clean-cut, and looked rather plain. He rarely spoke, but when he was asked a question he was always indirect. Sometimes even going off topic.

But this man was not alone in commiting these atrocious crimes, oh no. There were others. The authorities just needed to find out _who._ Asking that man sitting hunched in his chair opposite the boys would be useless, as mentioned earlier. Despite this, one of the two boys, the one who goes by the name "Ciel", had a plan.

"Hello, mister Miller, how are you today?" asked the boy.

"What the?" said Peter, "they let _kids_ in here?

Ciel, who would otherwise be angry at such a comment, let it go for the sake of the investigation. "I may be young, but I'm _quite_ the detective."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I just came by today to tell you that the others will be joining you soon."

Peter swallowed hard."'_Others'?"_ he repeated.

"Yes," the boy smirked, adjusting his eyepatch, "Thanks to you, we were able to locate them."

The man rested his elbows on the table's surface and put his head in his hands. "_Oh man,_" he said, "this isn't how it was supposed to happen.."

"That's right, the game is over." said Ciel, "You _lost."_

A smirk graced Alois' face as he realised what the blunette's plan was_. _He was going to trick the information out of him. AS long as he is able to keep up the illusion of knowledge, he will be able to extract information from the man without him even realising it. "This is so... _amusing_." thought the blonde.

"_Oh man," _Mister Miller continued, "If Beck finds out, _he'll get the others to kill me..."_

A small chortle escaped the eyepatched Earl's lips. "Oh yes, _Beck,"_ the boy's farce continued, "I've met him, I'd say you're royally screwed." He looked to his blonde friend, knowing that his game was now obvious to him. "I can't remember the rest of his name... Alois, do you remember it?"

"Beck... Beck... _Beck..."_ the fair-haired boy, pretended to think, scratching his chin and furrowing his brow. "I'm sorry, I don't. I only got a brief look at the file."

"Beck, Beck Garrett?" inquired Mister Miller, completely taking the bait.

"Yes, that's it. Thank you." replied the sly devil "That's all I needed to say, Mister Miller. Be careful, now."

"Thanks..." replied the man as the two boys exited the room, closing the door behind them.

"That was hilairious!" spoke the blonde as they where exiting the building, "Why didn't you let him know he's been had? It would've been funny to see him _squirm_."

Ciel opened the car door, seating himself before answering his companion's question. "I like to keep as many peices in play as possible. They may be useful later."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Because it _does_."

"So what's next? We now know the name of their leader. Do we track him down?" Asked the blonde, fumbling with his seatbelt. He can never seem to get the blasted thing put on right.

"_Naturally."_ Ciel looked out the window. He felt the vehicle shake as the flaxen boy next to him moved about attempting to untwist his seatbelt without strangling himself.

"Here." Fed up with the irritating movement, and wanting to go home, he shifted and reached over to help the blonde untwist his seat belt. The slate-haired teen guided the other's hands and with a click, also helped him fasten the buckle.

"Thanks." Alois had hoped the boy who had just assisted him did not see the slight blush on his cheeks.

The other boy scooted back into his own seat and looked out the window. _He also hoped the the very same thing. _


	12. A Cafe', Paper, and Magic Charms?

Beck Garrett was a college sophomore with a bright future. Clean-cut, neat, but plain-looking. He had short brown hair, a narrow chin, and wore glasses. Always a quiet boy, but with a intelligence that brilliantly outshone his classmates throughout his entire school career. That said, he was easily bored by work and talking to people who aren't "interesting" to him. He was always bored. _Always._

Be that as it may, he did take delight in watching people try to solve their problems and worries. In fact, he enjoyed this so much that he would sometimes intentionally cause these problems. Going out with girls, treating them like princesses, only to cheat on them latter, causing random "accidents" that could very well ruin people's lives, framing people for offenses that they in fact, did not commit...

Yes, the young man was fond of watching people suffer emotionally. He enjoyed the power that came with it. In addition, when he was a young boy, he would also tease his pets, pulling the dog's tail, taking the fish out of it's bowl, hitting the cat with a stick. Beck found it all so funny somehow.

He sounds like two other boys we know. The Phantomhive and Trancy boys. They also fancied watching people get up set. The difference between these two groups, however, where that the boys where sociopaths, and Beck was a _psychopath._ Sociopaths a _made_ that way, through trauma or abuse. Psychopaths are simply _born._

Beck Garrett was charismatic and charming. It's no wonder that he was able to get others under his spell. The others he enlisted into his game where all people he had met online. People who where also quiet and generally "odd". Most of them felt as though they had been wronged by society.

Take Peter Miller for example: He was often bullied and abused as a child and he had recently discovered his supposed "girlfriend" was dating other men and was only interested in his money. That would make anyone upset. Then came Garrett out of the blue in his time of self-loathing. With a few words and wonderful promises, poor Peter was under his spell, and became part of the group who would become collectively known as _"The Sudoku Killer"._

It was now the task of our boys to apprehend this man and his subordinates. Ciel knew this wasn't going to be easy. They would have to swiftly and cleverly outwit this foe. Even if they did arrest him, there was no guarantee that he would reveal the identity of his minions, or that they would stop after their leader is gone. However, the eyepatch-wearing gentleman also knew that they where equally as likely to either disperse or make more mistakes without leadership.

"Beck, they got Peter! What do we do? What if the rest of us get caught?!" asked one of the people at this large table in a secluded corner of a small cafe' in downtown London in a whisper.

"No worries," the clever young man began in a soft voice, "Peter's not a squealer, and he _knows_ the penalty for singing." He smiled at this, calmly and coolly sipping his coffee.

"He'll become _number nine?_" said a third person, a young woman, perhaps freshly out of high school.

_ "Exactly."_ the chess-master's smiled twisted into a smirk at this. "_Oh, how fun that would be."_ he said, placing his cup back on it's saucer.

"Only _one more _until then, said" said the first man.

"So exactly what are we going to do then?" joined a fourth person, another man appearing to be in his late twenties or early thirties.

Beck looked at the fourth and said, "Patience, I have a plan. I promise you, it'll be more fun than all the rest _combined." _The others smiled and nodded to each other at this. They where clearly excited to find out what was in store next. And with Beck at the head, no one, not even the police, could stop them.

Except of course, for the two boys seated at the other side of the very same cafe'. These lads where not ordinary. They could be referred to as _"unnatural_", even. The boys, one of blackish-blue and the other with hair of blonde, for example, had very good_ hearing._

Even though they where across the room at this slightly busy cafe', they could hear _every last word _that the other group was saying. They hung on to those words and stored them for use in the _very_ near future. No, these boys where simply _not _ordinary. They where simply _not human_, you see.

The younger-looking of the two wearing an eyepatch with hair of the most peculiar shade of bluish-black, was named Ciel Phantomhive. He worked for the her Majesty, the Queen of England, solving cases of a distressing nature, in addition to owning a toy company that has been in business for over a century. He was not human, he was a demon. A demon who owned another, much older demon as a servant. Ciel was difinately a force not to be trifled with.

Alois was the boy who sat across from the first in this small diner. He certainly was not "_normal"._ The blonde boy was a bit disturbed, perhaps a bit more so than the first, yet he had a peculiar innocence about him that could almost hide this fact. It was unknown what he was. Not even _he_ is sure. All that is known was that he was brought back from the beyond by the previous boy and his servant, and he was now living with them. He seems to have sensory and healing capabilities far beyond an ordinary human. Both where traits of demons, but he had numerous very _undemonlike_ qualities that seemed to keep him from being able to be placed in the category. For example, the boy needed _sleep._ Demons don't _require_ sleep, it's just a luxury to them. Alois also needed to _eat,_ in ways that demons do not. Demons may eat less often, and eat human souls, which the blonde boy did not. The boy was very peculiar, that he was not human, _nor was he demon._ He was just "Alois".

" Did you get all that?" he asked the boy who was previously mentioned.

"Of course I did. Did you?" the fallen angel replied and inquired to the boy across from him. Watching him blow on his hot cocoa before drinking it in a manner that he could only describe as "_cute"._

"Yeah," he finally said, "what are we going to do about this? We can't simply walk over there and arrest them for _talking _about the killings."

Ciel sighed and said: "True..." his thought was interrupted when he heard a member of the group they where tailing speak up again.

It was the man in his late twenties/early thirties to speak. "Don't worry, I'll cover the bill this time." he said.

"Are you sure?" inquired the young woman, "Thanks, that's very kind of you."

Members of the groups across from the strange boys where preparing to leave. They got up and started to put on their coats, hats, scarves and gloves, as the man from before was walking up to the register to pay.

Just then, Ciel perked up while watching him. He noticed that the man's method of paying could be helpful to our petite detective.

"They're leaving," said the blonde, pulling the other boy from his thoughts, "What do we do? Are we going to follow them?"

The slate-haired lad looked to Alois to answer his question, "No," he said. "We're going to wait for them to leave."

"Why?!"

"I know how we can discover the identity of one of them." replied the sly Earl. "Just wait and watch."

Alois waited and he watched. He waited rather patiently by his standards, but that is neither here nor there. When the last of the other group had left, his companion got up and walked up to the register. The boy followed to discover the plan of his rather serious friend.

"How can I help you two boys?" asked the kind looking older woman behind the counter.

"I need you to show me the cheque the man who just left paid with, please."

The woman looked at the boy in front of her with a look of confusion for a moment, unable to wrap her head around the boy's strange request. Finally, she spoke. "Now, I'm sorry, love, but I can't do that." She said.

Ciel reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge and showed it to the woman. "Sir Ciel Phantomhive: Detective Constable in service to her Majesty, also known as 'The Queen's Guard-Dog.'"

Alois reached into his pocket and pulled out a _matchbox_ and showed it to the woman. "Alois Trancy: 'The Queen's Spider'; I'm with _him."_ he said pointing to his friend at his side.

The woman behind the counter inspected the Phantomhive boy's badge, mouth slightly agape in disbelief. _Children, working for her Majesty?_ What a concept. She adjusted her spectacles to get a better look. It looked like the real deal. Down to the royal seal on the badge. _This was no toy._ She finally gave in and handed Ciel the check, which he copied, down to tracing the signature.

He handed the check back to the woman. "Thank you for your cooperation."

"And have a nice day." added the blonde before following Ciel out of the restaurant.

They walked along the sidewalk in the cold for awhile on their way to meet Sebastian with the car. After much pondering, Alois gave up. "Alright, so how is that piece of paper going to help us?" he finally asked.

"It's called a '_cheque_'," Ciel began, "people use it to transfer money they owe from their bank accounts to business in order to pay for something." He explained.

"So you don't have to carry money around everywhere? _Clever_." replied the flaxen teen. "But how does copying that guy's check help us?"

"There's all sorts of information written on a cheque, including the person's name, the bank they use, and if it's filled out, their signature. We just go to the bank that man uses, I flash my badge again, and force them to give us information on him. They will know his address, phone number, and even occupation."

Alois was astounded by this. Such a small piece of paper and shiny object can get information that otherwise would be kept completely confidential? He was uncertain if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but it certainly was _useful._ "That's an impressive object, your badge."

"I guess it is." the shorter of the two replied before pausing for a moment and inquiring: "Come to think of it, what was that you showed the woman behind the counter, anyway?"

"A _matchbox."_

"Where on earth did you get a matchbox?"

The blonde thought for a moment and hesitated before answering. "I _found_ it." said he.

"Give it." Ciel held out his hand to the blonde, as he did not trust him with such a thing for understandable reasons.

Alois, in response, took his hand and curtsied. "_Charmed."_ he said jokingly.

_** "Just give me the bloody matches!"**_

* * *

_******AUTHOR'S NOTES AND VARIOUS RAMBLINGS:**_

****** A three-day weekend? Much appreciated, guv'. Although I really should be working on rewriting my essay for AP English, this is much more fun. ("Advanced Placement" English is overrated anyway. Half the kids in the class couldn't read the word "parachute". Oh, the American Educational System, you're so silly!) _Don't procrastinate, kids. It's bad._  
**

****** It feels like I ********should get more into the supernatural and more _romantic _aspects of this piece. I always _hint_ at it, but never fully scratch the surface. Although anticipatory buildup is part of the fun, right? _Soon,_ I promise, my little duckies, _soon_...**

******My naming sense for these chapters seems to be taking a silly turn. Do you guys mind at all? I haven't the faintest...  
**

******The worst part of writing this, I'd have to say, is going through previous chapters and finding _all sorts_ of grammatical and spelling mistakes. I tell myself, "_I doubt very many people noticed"_ but I _know_ you did.  
**

******It's chapter twelve, and people seem to be enjoying this so far, much to my disbelief. I'm so glad! This is so much more fun than sitting around and watching TV all day! And I hope you all enjoy what lies ahead as well!  
**


	13. I Tried Not To Remember

Seven bodies found, two more are still expected. The Phanomhive boy gathered a new peice of evidence regarding the case he was currently working on. It was the name of one of the people involved in the killings.

His name was Brian Ackerman. He worked at a used record store in town and would walk through a particular park on his way to and from work everyday. Ciel and Alois where taling him in order to warn the officers if he was almost home. They where performing a search of the man's home, as Brian, an outwardly kind man, had a violent history, according to police records. He had various assault charges, harrasment charges, and has been accussed of _stalking._

The lads followed him at a safe distance so he wouldn't suspect them. They where waiting for the call that would tell them that the officer's are done searching, and they can go home for the day. _And get out of this cold weather._

"How long do you think it will take them?" asked Alois.

"Who knows? Depends how well the guy hides his stuff, if he has any." replied Ciel to the nearly frozen blonde next to him.

Ciel didn't particularlly mind the cold, Alois, however, did. The poor boy's nose was red and he was shivering while blowing on his gloved hands in order to warm them. His previous coat was ruined by a large dog, so he was wearing one of Ciel's coats which was smaller, and unfortunately, _less insulated._ Alois was as a result, very keen to the idea of going home, where he can snuggle under a blanket or stand by the magical _heater. _

Lo and behold, his prayers where answered by a sudden phonecall from Detective Constable Bailey. Ciel, who found ringtones to be loud and annoying, had his phone set on vibrate, the fact that the dangerous man they where following wouldn't hear it, was a bonus.

"Hello?" the boy answered, "What did you find?"

The man on the other end of the line answered. "Lots. A suitcase with a puzzle book and a peice of paper with the number "_eight_" on it inside, knives, cables and wire, and _narchotics_, among other things."

"That's a good jail sentance, right there. Anything else?"

"We searched his computer and found military hand-to-hand combat manuals saved on it, and_ CP_."

"_'CP'?"_ Ciel repeated. His visible eye imediately darted to the blonde boy who was eavesdropping on the conversation. Anylizing his face, the Phantomhive boy could see the confusion the blonde had over that term. Ciel immediately regretted asking. Now he knew he was going to have to explain to Alois what exactly _"CP"_ was, and he was _dreading _it.

"Alright. Get out of there as quickly as possible." he continued.

"Will do. Keep us updated." replied Bailey.

Ciel hung up, and simply waited for his blonde friend to ask the dreaded question.

"What is 'CP'?" he finally asked.

"_Dammit." _Ciel thought. He paused and took a deep breath before turning to face the blonde. He didn't exactly how Alois would react, but if he didn't tell him, the Trancy boy would only nag him relentlessly. Finally, he answered:

"It stands for _'Child Pornography'"_

Alois just froze in place. He stopped walking, and the colour had drained from his face. The look in his eyes was that of _fear,_ and of _hatred._ His past was tucked away back in the deepest recesses of his mind, the things he had to do to _survive,_ forgotten.

That was until _this moment._ All of that came flooding to the front of the boy's mind. Memories of _that man,_ the one he once had to pretend was his father. _That man,_ which had bought him and turned him into a slave. _**That man**_, the one who had used his body as his personal plaything. That man was long since dead_, _yet _that man_ was now before him, and he was supposed to follow him.

Ciel not only sensed this, but he _saw_ it in the frightened boy's eyes. He didn't know what to do. He was not used to comforting people, he knew this. But the boy at his side desperatly needed him, he knew _this _as well.

All he could think of to do was grab his hand and tell him in his softest voice, _"It's alright. You're safe."_

His words resonated in the blonde's ears, warming them. The boy finally blinked, awoken from his trance. "_Thank you."_ was all he said. His tone was hushed, but it was also sincere. Alois let go of Ciel's hand to wrap his arms around his demonic saviour, and the other boy just _let him_.

They continued walking. This time to the car so that they may go home. They would eventually catch the _Sudoku Killer,_ but that was for _another_ day.


	14. The Sudoku Killer

The sky was black and the night air freezing, and three figures neared an apartment complex just north of the Thames River. Three figures. There where five when they began, but their comrades simply could not escape the long arm of the law.

They where ready with their necessary tools for this task. The two young men and the young woman where ready. Ready to enter this house and perform the activity they came specifically to do. Ready to give the city their eighth victim. Ready to kill.

They had staked the place out for over a month, taking the key under the mat and making a copy for this purpose. They had made sure that their target was home alone on this night. They wanted to make sure the person in that small apartment on the ground floor was not a threat to them. The young woman in the apartment was completely unaware of the danger she was in. She had just finished her shower, and was preparing to retire for the night.

This however, wasn't the case. When she was fast asleep, the intruders simply unlocked the front door and waltzed inside. Quietly, as to not wake their unsuspecting victim. They trekked through the kitchen and into the living room. Suddenly to their surprise, the light came on.

"Good evening." said the sharply and darkly dressed boy wearing an eyepatch in a chair on the other side of the room.

"What the _crap?!"_ said the first of the figures, a young man in his mid twenties. "I thought you said she lived _alone?!"_

"But she _does!"_ said the second, a girl who appeared to be fresh out of high school. "I was sure of it! I've never seen this kid before _in my life!"_

"Calm down, everyone, we can handle this." said the third, a man who goes by the name _Beck Garrett._ "He's just a kid. Tie him up and he'll be _number nine."_

"But he's just a _kid,_ Beck!" said the girl.

_"Do you want to take his place, then?" _snapped the group's leader menacingly.

The girl shook her head and pulled some rope out of her bag. They all started to walk towards the boy, who seemed to not be threatened in the least.

"Oh?" he raised his brow questioningly, "What happens to number nine?"

"You're going to find out."

After the figure's bound the boy's arms and legs, the two men went into another room while the girl watched the bluenette boy.

Beck and his partner where trying to locate the bedroom where their target lay sleeping. They did this for a few moments when they heard the scream of the girl they left with their other victim. Quickly they rushed into the living room to see what was the matter.

She was gone, and so was the boy. But in the boy's place was another boy, this one with flaxen hair, dressed just as sharply as the last?

"Who are you?!" said Beck.

The blonde replied, "You tie me up, and _now_ ask for my name? Animals, the lot of you!"

After staring at the annoyed-sounding blonde before them for a moment, the voice of a woman called from the other room.

"W-whoever is out there, better leave! I'm on the phone with the police _right now!" _

"_Fuck!" _Exclaimed the would-be chess-master. "Leonard, grab the kid, _we're out of here!"_

The other man, who was apparently know as "Leonard", did as he was instructed and threw the blonde boy over his shoulder. The two men and the boy dashed out of the house and to the awaiting get away vehicle, where the blonde was promptly tossed into the backseat.

"What about Vicky?" asked Leonard while strapping in.

"_Forget her."_ Beck said as he stomped on the gas pedal.

They left the girl behind and the car took off down the road. The boy tied up in the backseat was _not_ happy. "Where the bloody hell are you taking me?! Untie me and let me out of this car at once!"

_"Leonard."_

A gun was put in the blonde's face by the man. "You better shut the _fuck _up, or I _will_ shoot you!" Leonard shouted.

Alois was scared. He was not too keen on the idea of dying _twice. _The man before him looked deathly serious, and all he knew is that this plan of Ciel's had better work.

The boy in question was of course, tailing the vehicle. He hopped from rooftop to rooftop just like _Spring-Heeled Jack._ His performance was shrouded by the black cloak of the night sky. _He would never let them escape._

Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt in front of an abandoned warehouse by the river. Beck exited the vehicle and slammed the door shut. He yanked Alois out of the backseat and dragged him to the building.

"Come on, Leonard, _we're skipping a number."_ he said.

The other now confused man could only look him and ask: "Why?"

Beck stopped for a moment and turned to his accomplice. "_Because I'm pissed off."_

He tossed the boy onto the floor, and then helped Leonard close the door. Beck then turned his attention back to Alois, and untied him. "Congratulations,"He said to the blonde, currently trapped in this building with a couple of maniacs. "You are going to get the _honour_ of being our _number nine! _Do you know what that means?"

"That there's going to be a party with cake?"

Beck was now at his limit with the annoying teen before him. He had ruined his plans, _and _blatantly mocked him. He picked up a metal baseball bat and handed another one to Leonard. "_Wrong,"_ he said "You are going to _die."_

The blonde immediately knew what was going to happen. They were going to _beat_ him to death. These men were sadists, and they wanted him to _suffer._ They only untied him so they'd have a little more of a _challenge._

_**BAM!**_

He was pulled from his thoughts by the feeling of the blunt object making contact with his face. _"Ugh!" _he grunted as he hit the floor. Reaching up to touch his face, he discover that his nose was broken, and his face was bleeding. The bats struck his body again and again, and the entire time the only thing he could think was, _"Where's Ciel?"_

The boy in question had caught up to the villains and reached the warehouse. Upon further inspection, he realized the large door was locked from the inside. He could probably force it open, but that would have made lots of noise, alerting the two of his presence, and they would have ample time to vacate the premises due to it's weight. _He would have to find another way in._

Meanwhile, the beating had stopped momentarily so Beck and his associate could catch their breath. The blonde lay face down on the floor in a pool of blood mixed with a few tears, his skin riddled with bruises. In addition to this and his now broken nose, he now had a black eye, a cracked rib, a broken arm, a broken wrist,a concussion, a few bruised bones, and he was missing some teeth. He felt awful. He _looked_ awful. And he only knew it was going to get worse.

Beck looked over his handiwork, and was quite pleased. "How d'ya like that?!" He shouted tauntingly, "how d'ya feel, ya pathetic piece of _shit!?"_ The deranged man laughed at the blonde before him, enjoying his pain.

"...it...burns..." the boy mumbled.

"Wha?" Mr. Garrett stopped and stared, trying to decipher the meaning of that. He saw the boy lying on the ground. He saw his wounds start to _smoke._

_"...It...BURNS..." _Alois repeated.

The two men watched in awe and in fear as the boy on the ground tried to get up, and_ caught fire._ Black flames emitted from the boy's wounds, consuming him. They were black as the night sky outside, yet still gave off light; Dancing as though they were _alive._

"ALOIS!" Ciel found his way into the building and desperately called to the blonde as he saw the scene before him. His friend, his best friend, his _only real _ friend was surrounded by a dark inferno. _**"ALOIS!"**_

Just asasuddenly as it had started, the flames died out, revealing the boy's frame. Those flames did not _harm_ Alois, they had _changed_ him.

The boy's injuries where completely healed. There wasn't a single blemish that even suggested there had been a wound of any sort. His clothes were now different, too. He wore a black sleeveless shirt that only reached down to the end of his ribcage, exposing his abdomen. He had on a pretty standard pair of black short-shorts with a belt that had the word "JUDAS" spelled out across the buckle, Black boots that reached up above his knees, and fingerless gloves that ended past his elbows.

Not only that, but his _physical appearance_ changed as well. His nails where now long and black, matching his new wardrobe, his ears where now pointed. Even stranger, he had _a tail like a monkey,_ just as blonde as the hair on his head, and dark horns sprouting from the sides of his head and twisted forward like those of a bull. His smile was just as twisted, with sharp teeth and his eyes where now glowing an ominous firey red, yet they also gave him a look of euphoria.

_ "Alois..."_ thought Ciel, "_you look just like a-"_

_ "OH MY GOD!" _His thoughts where however, interrupted by the now screaming young man pointing at his blonde friend. "IT'S THE _DEVIL!"_

The flaxen-haired boy did not speak, but in a flash, appeared directly in front of Leonard. His arm was cocked back, his fist clenched, and in a slit-second, he released it. The impact of Alois' fist against the face of Leonard made the man fly backwards landing with a thud on the ground like a rag-doll. His nose was now broken, and the man, and a few of his teeth, where now knocked out.

The blonde devil now turned his attention to Beck, who was now reduced to a sniveling, cowering mess. He was about to give him the same treatment, when his friend called out to him again.

"ALOIS!"

The boy stopped. He turned to the boy with hair of a slightly awkward bluish-black hue. He looked directly into the visible eye of that boy. "C-ciel?" He relaxed his muscles as his friend rushed over to him.

"Are you alright?! Are you hurt?! Talk to me!" said the Phantomhive boy while searching his friend for any apparent injury.

"I'm fine..." said the blonde," I'm just... tired. I want to go home."

The boy of blue looked at Alois, shocked, if anything, before finally saying, "Alright. _Let's go home."_

The two boy's exited the building after immobilizing the two villains who where now awaiting to be taken to jail. They walked along the Thames, avoiding the swarm of police officers now in the area. With Alois current... _condition,_ it would be unfortunate for them to see.

Ciel inspected the blonde's appearance, finally noticing his attire. He blushed at the amount of skin Alois was showing. His shoulders, his abdomen, _the strip of pale skin of the blonde's legs between his shorts and his boots._ These things caused the boy's face to heat up, so he took off his coat and handed it to his companion.

"_Here." _said Ciel, "_You'll freeze."_

The fair-haired boy took up the other's offer and put the coat around his shoulders. "_Thanks."_

The two gentlemen walked along the Thames, enjoying each other's company until Sebastian came with the car. But before they could greet the butler, something caught Alois' attention.

"Hey, Ciel, what's that?" he pointed across to the other side of the river.

Following his finger, Ciel located what the other boy was talking about. "It's a _Ferris Wheel."_ he said, "It's called, '_The Eye Of London'._ You get in one of the passenger capsules and it takes you around and around and up really high. I'll take you to ride it sometime."

The blonde turned to his eyepatch-wearing companion and said"

_ "I'd like that."_

* * *

**A/N: Finally done with that arc! Don't worry, I still have much in store for you. Lots of comedy and fluff. Comedy and fluff is good, yes.**_  
_


	15. Evil Eyes At Warwick

Time has past since then and everything resumed like usual. Alois was his normal self, his tail and horns now gone. The only thing that stayed was the black colour of his fingernails that all demons appeared to have. He still needed small amounts of food and sleep, but then again, _most baby demons did._

Ciel and Sebastian where glad to have that mystery solved. _Both of them._ The perpetrators of the _Sudoku thrill Killings_ where all apprehended after that night on the Thames, even the young woman who had disappeared at the potential crime scene. Ciel had detained her while the other two men weren't looking, while Alois took his place.

The boys where glad to be done with the case and where now spending their time trying to educate the blonder of the two. His reading had improved immensely and he could now find jolly old England on the map. Nevertheless, the fact remained that Alois would have to go to school sometime.

"Today's the day!" exclaimed the blonde entering the room. Yes, today was the day that he was going to go to school for the very first time.

"Today's the day, I get my way, I'm gonna play, at school today!" he chanted.

His slate-headed friend already had his uniform on. The boy wore a black blazer with dark blue trimming and a matching tie of the same hue. "Calm down, it's not that great of a place." he said.

"But Ciel, I want to find out what the place you go to everyday is like!" The blonde boy struggled to put on his own tie. His was dark purple, as was the trimming on the his blazer as well as his kneesocks. As opposed to the other boy's _pants, _Alois chose to wear black shorts that stopped to about mid-thigh. It did not disobey the school's dress code. Students where permitted to wear shorts as long as they went down to at _least_ mid-thigh, however, this was intended for _girls_. Nothing said _boys_ couldn't. It was just assumed that they _wouldn't._

But then again, _Warwick Academy_ had never met _Alois Trancy._ It was a private school where most of the children of the rich went to receive an education. Almost everyone who attended was the son or daughter of someone important, from famous actors, to politicians.

Eventually, Alois gave up trying to tie his tie on his own and got Sebastian to do it for him. Ciel _refused_ to get him a clip-on. He would say that they are tasteless.

"Fine. Just don't whine when you find out how boring it really is." he said this even though he knew he would do so anyway. One does not simply tell Alois Trancy what to do. You can try, but that doesn't mean he'll listen.

Sebastian drove them to school, happy to finally have the house to himself again. He certainly wouldn't have to worry about Alois trashing the place during the day. At the same time, he was wondering when the school is going to call and about what. Would he take the hamster in the science room out of it's cage and loose it? Would he throw things at the other children? Would he push them down stairs or disrupt the class with rude jokes? There where so many possibilities, but it wasn't his problem.

The boy's exited the vehicle and the blonde was immediately spellbound. There where children everywhere, all dressed in the same uniform as he. The colour of the trimming and ties, however, varied, as the children where allowed to customize their uniforms this way. The school building was massive. It reminded him of the ridiculous size of _the mall, _or perhaps a castle. "Wow!" was all he could really say, as he gawked at the structure.

_ It was most impressive._

"Come on," said his rather serious friend, grabbing his shoulder to guide him in the direction he wanted him to go. "Let's go to the office and get your schedule."

The two walked across the lawn along side other students, some swarmed in circles in their designated "territories" to socialize. Some of the students where staring at the boys, partially due to the fact that the blonde was the new kid, and partially because they where confused on the subject of his gender. The slender boy looked rather effeminate, however had a slightly boyish walk. Ciel was effeminate-looking as well, so this led to much confusion around the schoolyard.

Alois received his schedule, and after Ciel had pulled some strings, ended up in many of the same classes as the Phantomhive boy. His first class was History, and the brothers in demonity walked into the classroom long before the bell had rang. Eyes where on the now spontaneously nervous blonde, and whispers filled the room. Ciel plopped down in his usual seat on the edge of the middle row.

"Sit here." he said, pointing at the seat next to him.

The flaxen-haired lad did as he was instructed, relieved that he would at least get to sit next to his friend. "Is it always this loud in the morning?"

"_Always."_ Ciel replied, his visible eye now focused on what was behind the blonde. He pointed at the trio across from his companion and he.

"See that bunch over there?"

"Yeah?" the blonde said, following the other boy's finger.

"The large one with the dark hair and the plain face is Travis. His mother runs a company that designs and sells jewelry, and his dad is a professional wrestler." he pointed out, now turning the blonde's attention to the Indian boy next to the first. "That's Preston. He's the heir to a big electronics and technology company. Your phone? They made it. See the plain looking kid to his right? He's the son of a politician who's currently running for office."

"Huh..." the blonde responded, obviously confused as to why he's being told this.

"You'll need to know them. They're pretty big around here. You be nice to them and they'll treat you well."

"Alright. Anybody else important?"

The shorter of the two smiled and pointed to a duo in the corner. "Those two. They aren't particularly popular or anything, it's just that they're _useful."_

_ "_"_Useful', _you say?" grinned the blonde. "_Go on."_

"The boy in the skull hat playing the PSP is Audrey, the son of a big medical supplier. He'll tell you anything you need to know if you give him a pixie stick."

"Why a pixie stick?"

"His parents don't want him to have _candy. 'It isn't healthy'." _ He crinkled his nose and furrowed his brow in disgust at that last part. Ciel being an advocate for candy, and all. Preventing people from eating sweets is a crime of a most disturbing nature.

"The girl next to him is called Sonya. Her mother is a teacher here." He looked at the blonde. "You'll see her in English class."

"How does that count as useful?"

"Be friendly with her, and English gets easier." Ciel said plainly.

Alois was hesitant for a moment, as if trying to summon the courage to say his next piece. "_I'm not so sure about this school thing anymore."_

Ciel blinked and looked at the usually enthusiastic boy in front of him. He was unused to seeing the blonde behave so shyly. He watched the boy fidget in his seat for a while, looking at his hands.

"You'll be fine." He said eventually. "After all, you're with _the _Ciel Phantomhive." He smiled his usual small smile. If you didn't know the boy, you would easily miss such a slight reassuring gesture.

This was interrupted by the teacher entering the room. The man had an angular jaw, reddish-brown hair and a scowl, but that was just his face. Mr. Irons was a rather strict teacher, some say he once gave a kid detention for three days for coughing too loudly. Some say he could tell what you where afraid of just by looking at you, and _would _use it to his advantage. Some say he is secretly related to _Severus Snape._ All that we know is that he's scary-looking, brash, his name is _Mr. Irons, and he's cold as steel._

"'Morning, class. Sit down, shut up and get ready." His voice was loud, and it was rough. Alois did not like this man already. "We have a new student. Everybody say 'hello' to Alois Trancy." he said, gesturing at the boy.

All eyes where on the blonde again. He felt like he should say something, but wasn't sure what. Suddenly, he remembered a character from _Little Britain, _one of the sketch comedies he enjoys so much. With the most serious face he could muster, he exclaimed in his voice-pitched girly boy voice:

"_Don't be givin' me evils!"_

At that moment, the entire room erupted in laughter. Almost every student was now laughing their asses off at the flaxen boy's remark. At that moment, the teacher knew that he was going to have his hands full with this problem child. And it was that moment that Ciel's suspicions where confirmed.

_Alois was a class clown._

* * *

**A/N: Oh, hey. I didn't see you there.**

**Not especially funny or whatever, it's mostly lead-in for other antics today. I'm a little later on submitting today as well. Sorry! I simply didn't have the time to work on it during school today. _I AM DISAPPOINT._  
**

**I debated for a long time on what to call the school. I decided on "Warwick", which is the name of a supposedly haunted castle in England. It's apparently common to name schools after castles. But usually they aren't of the haunted variety. Probably not a very good place to teach kids...  
**

**In other news, I obtained a cover. I didn't want to use someone else's artwork for it, I simply refused to do so. Fortunately, I found that scrap of paper under a pile of rubble in my room. A little old, since I don't draw that way anymore, but it serves it's purpose. I wish I had something a bit more colourful, though. Maybe someday...  
**

**_Catch you cool cats on the flip-flop, later! _**

**(Dafuq am I saying now?)**


	16. Your Tie Looks Stupid

In the Warwick commons area there are couches that the students would sit on, usually to socialize or to do school work, and vending machines dispensing various snacks. The Phantomhive boy was sitting on one of these couches with a pile of snacks in the seat next to him. The boy was working on his laptop, managing the _Funtom _Toy Company's stocks and resources in the room decorated in school colours with the mascot, a gryphon on practically everything, when a certain blonde boy came up behind him, and covered his revealed eye.

"Guess who."

"_Alois,_ _quit it_." said Ciel, in his annoyed tone.

The blonde removed his hand, no longer obstructing the other's vision. "Oh, you're no _fun._" he said, wrapping his arms around the other boy's neck and looking over his shoulder to get a better view of what he was doing.

Ciel knew that the blonde didn't mean anything by it, but Alois could be very... _touchy. _The Phantomhive was unused to physical contact, and was uncomfortable when Alois would do things like this. The boy didn't seem to understand the concept of "_personal space",_ but Ciel was not entirely sure how do deal with this as the blonde didn't seem to take much notice, even after being told not to do so.

"I know, I'm simply one _hell_ of a 'fun killer'." he said rolling his eye. In response, the blond simply giggled his usual girlish giggle at the obvious reference to _Sebastian._

"Oh, so it's true..." said a voice behind the blonde. "The new kid _is _a complete _poof!_ Just look at those shorts!"

Alois turned his head to get a look at the bully. He saw another blonde boy who obviously not a natural blonde, judging by the brown peeking out of his roots, parted ever so meticulously perfectly down the middle. The other boy's uniform was primed and pressed almost without a single wrinkle.

He snorted as a reply. "And the boy in the _pink_ tie, checking out my arse _isn't_ a _poof?"_ Alois was now familiar with this term. It's apparently a rude way of referring to a homosexual, according to Google. And Alois had just forced the boy's taunt back on him.

Ciel held back his chuckle, (while Alois didn't bother,) as the faux-blonde's face turned as pink as his stupid tie. "_I was not! I am not!" _he shrieked, his voice cracking a bit. "At least _I'm _not the one hanging all over another man in public!"

Alois simply stood there and stroked the hair of the boy in question. "_Jealous?_" the Trancy boy said. "You just want to pet Ciel too, don't you? He might let you if you ask _nicely_." Ciel just tied his best to ignore this, but the other boy's reactions where hilarious. One thing he and the Trancy boy had in common was the fact that they both enjoy messing with people and seeing them upset, so he was willing to endure the attention a bit longer.

The other boy was outraged that he would even _suggest_ such a thing! He blew up. "_My father will here about this!_" Then he stormed off.

"He sounds like Draco Malfoy."

"Yes, he does." Ciel shooed the other male's hands off of his head. "His father's an actor and he thinks that makes him '_special_'."

_ "_But he _is_ special. He's special just like everyone else here." said the _natural _blonde, smirking at his own cleverness. Yes, the boy _could_ be clever. Apparently he just chose _not to_.

This fact confounded the bluenette, while he finds the blonde's goofy antics amusing at the same time. He moved his mountain of sweets over so his brilliant and idiotic friend could sit next to him. "I liked how you handled him. Nice moves."

"Yes, but it's hard to _fight in a battle of wits _with someone who is completely _unarmed."_

"You stole that."

"So sue me." Alois sat down next to the Phantomhive. "He was wrong, you know. About me being gay?"

"Yeah, I know." Ciel lied. He had his suspicions from the beginning, what with all the bootyshorts and such. It was oddly disheartening to have the blond tell him wrong for some reason unbeknownst to him. Pondering this, he didn't even notice the fair-haired boy leaning in closer to his ear to whisper with a smirk:

"I'm really _bisexual."_

**"What?"**

* * *

**A/N: Le gasp! A new discovery! **

**Super short. Short like Alois' shorts.**

**I should probably take more time to write these. The last few chapters (including this one) feel a bit _rushed_. Thus, I may not be able to update _every_ day. Just _most. _**

**_I'll see you at the end of the next chapter._ Or I won't. I dunno if you read the author's notes or not!  
**


	17. Rotten Kids

Did not see that coming... Ciel thought about this for the remainder of the day. "_I'm actually bisexual", _Alois had said. The bombshell had completely blindsided the Phantomhive boy. He had certainly_ heard _of such a thing in this modern world, but had never expected someone from "_the good old days"_ of Queen Victoria's reign to so openly admit to something otherwise sounding so _devious._

The blonde always had an effeminate air about him, why, even _Ciel _had at first mistaken him for a female. His small frame, his skin, eyes, hair, voice, and even the subtle swish of his hips when he walked made him almost completely androgynous. Anyone upon discovering his true identity would automatically assume what his sexual preferences where, but apparently, even _Alois Trancy_ was susceptible to the hypnotic powers of _breasts._

All of these observations only toyed with the petite blunette's mind. It caused him to beg the question: _"Is it possible for someone to like both?" _This inquiry resonated in his head, clawing at him. He had only caught bit and pieces of what the other boy was excitedly and incessantly chatting about in the car-seat next to him.

"Those '_vending machine'_ things are bloody amazing! How do they get the snacks inside? Oh! Can they dispense other things than just snacks?! Hey, Ciel, are you listening?"

"Huh?"

The blonde boy looked at his friend and furrowed his brow. He put his hands in the air and said: "_"Vending Machines!"_

"Oh. I don't know, I've only seen them dispense food and drinks..."

"Why limit them to just food? You could make tons of money selling things with those machines!" The eccentric blonde was just so odd.

"Who knows? What would _you _put in a vending machine?"

Alois paused, furrowing his brow in thought, and rubbed his chin with his index finger. This was his thinking position. He looked out the window. "Ducks."

_"'Ducks'?" _Ciel looked out the window on Alois' side of the car and saw a pond with ducks in it. Once again, Alois' attention had shifted. He knew this, but he asked anyway. "You would put _ducks_ in a vending machine?"

The blonde turned to look at Ciel, confused for a moment, as though the conversation from mere _seconds_ ago hadn't happened. "Oh." he finally said. "_Oh!_ Hahaha!" the blonde was tickled by the image of a vending machine with ducks in it. Even he knew this was ridiculous. "_Totally!_ Wouldn't that be _awesome?"_ he joked.

Ciel was also amused by this. "But why ducks?"

"Ducks are amazing, Ciel. The fly, they float, their waterproof, and they're tasty!"

"And they make good conversation, judging by the chatting coming from the bathroom I hear every time you bathe."

Trancy was a tad embarrassed that he had heard him. After all, there is almost nothing more intimate or honest as conversations between a person and their rubber ducky. "Bernard is very easy to talk to."

"'_Bernard'?_ What kind of name is that for a duck?" the blunette teased.

"A _damn_ good one."

As this was said, the car pulled up to the massive two boys got inside and Ciel immediately headed up to his room. "Hey Alois, I forgot to ask, did you get your homework assignments?"

"What." That was as good as a "no" for Alois. The blonde had no interest in doing homework. That was the worst part of school so far. It was a horrible concept. Whoever the debauched person was who came up with the idea needed slapped, if you ask Mr. Trancy.

"Do your homework!" called the shorter boy from the top of the stairs.

_"Make me!"_

"I'll take away the TV!"

"You _monster!"_

"_Demon_. Get your facts straight, _Jimmy."_ Oh, how he hated that. There is, for all practical purposes, no greater insult you could give the blond, than by calling _his name._ The eyepatch-wearing gentleman currently being followed upstairs by the blonde in question did not understand this. Someone who has appeared to have long since forgotten the concept of "shame" is affected by something so silly and trivial you'd wonder why it was worth mentioning it.

"It's _ALOIS, _you _midget!" _ Yet Ciel was the same way. Always prideful and hardly ever embarrassed, the young earl was quite self-conscious about his height. He has softened over the past few centuries, and by requirement, "loosened up", but the fact remains that no matter how he matures mentally, _he will never grow taller._

He set his bag down near his desk to confront the offending blonde menace properly. "I am by no means a midget, _Trancy!_ You would do well to not cross me again!"

"Aye-aye, '_Captain Undersized'_." the blonde menace taunted with a salute. He had thought he had gotten his revenge, but alas, it was not meant to be. He received a swift punch to the shoulder and as a result, things escalated quickly. Something happens in the minds of teenage boys when they get together where they feel as though they must fight for dominance, usually in playful spirits.

A certain butler walked by the room to hear shouting, and _much _name-calling, but also _laughing _coming from both boys.

_"Kids..."_

* * *

__**A/N: Who knows? It's what my hands wanted to punch in for some reason. Ah... what will I do next? That within itself is a mystery...  
**


	18. Feelings Are Gross

"Ready for _round two, 'Prissy-Krissy'?"_

A storm was brewing within the halls of Warwick private school. It was blonde versus _faux blonde_, this time they where arming themselves with fists rather than just wit. What could drive the Trancy boy to engage in fisticuffs? The boy in the silly pink tie had _insulted Ciel._

"My name is _Kristopherson!"_ the faux-blonde shrieked.

"Pardon me, it's hard to remember the names of worthless _pieces_ of shit like you!" Alois was vicious in a fight. He liked to humiliate his enemies while simultaneously backing them into a corner. And before he would strike them down, humiliate them some more.

But it was not yet time for that. Alois wasn't going to be the one to deliver the first blow. He was never one to do so, no sir. He was going to play the victim in case a teacher saw. If he can convince them the other boy threw the first punch, he can get away scot-free.

What he was waiting for finally occurred when his opponent initiated a mighty _shove._ This was not how men fought. What a weak move! It was insulting to have this happen to Mr. Trancy! Our blonde hero was about to lunge when he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a rather familiar voice.

"Alois, he's not worth it." the voice said. It belonged to none other than Ciel Phantomhive, the very boy who's honour the blonde was defending!

"You heard what he called you! Not only that, he _pushed _me! I cannot allow such foul play!"

The slate-haired gentleman got closer to whisper. "If you aren't careful, you could very well _kill_ him! Is it really worth that?"

"I'll hold back! Besides, that's how you win a duel! _By defeating your opponent!_"

"Not these days."

Alois stopped to think about that. Defending your honour or the honour of a friend in a duel to the death was acceptable in the 1800s, however, not so much in the 2000s. If he _did_ kill the snobby little toad before him, there would very well be consequences, including the fact that the secrets of the Phantomhive Manor would be revealed. In a huff, the blonde reluctantly agreed. "_Fine."_

The two friends began to walk away, much to the delight of the third boy, _Kristopherson._ It made him feel big to have "defeated" not only the new boy and put him in his place, but also the powerful, and invincible _Ciel Phantomhive._ This feeling of accomplishment caused the proud boy gloat.

"I knew you where weak, Trancy! Stay in your place, and don't question the big boys!"

Everything stopped. It was as though time had stood still at that moment as those words circled in the air. Alois had stopped walking. His frustration grew and his restraint began to dissipate as the laughter of the boy in the pink tie and his companions echoed off the walls of the hallway. Then, slowly, time started moving again. Alois' legs tensed as he turned back in the direction of the mocking laugher. Ciel tried to stop the blonde once more, but to no avail. Alois was already in front of the bully once more. His arm cocked back and ready to release.

Once it did, the other boy fell to the ground. The blonde kept his promise of holding back and only knocked his foe unconscious. But the way the faux-blonde limply rebounded off the ground proved that his sleep was nearly instant.

Then he just walked away. The blonde just walked away. And why not? There was nothing he could say. Even if he did, it would fall on deaf ears since his adversary could currently not hear him. Gloating at this point was a waste.

He and his friend entered the classroom as though nothing had happened. There was not even a hint of apology in the way they went about their classwork. After all, they were both a bit disturbed. The Phantomhive boy, however, knew that at any moment, his companion's name would be called to the office to be confronted with the evidence of what he did. The other boy's associate's would surely tell the headmaster that the conflict was entirely the Alois' doing. That's how scum like that were. He wasn't going to make Alois fret about it, though. No, he isn't that cruel.

Just then his prophecy came true as a voice over the intercom beckoned his blonde friend.

_"Alois Trancy, please come to the headmaster's office. Alois Trancy to the Headmaster's office, please."_

There were whispers flooding the room about what it was the eccentric boy could have done. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, it was though he himself had no clue what he was being called for. He conducted himself as if he had done no wrong.

Ciel was asked to walk him to the office since he was new and probably didn't know where it is. They quietly walked the halls as not to disturb any classes in progress.

"Do you have a plan?"

"For what?"

"Getting out of trouble, of course." Ciel didn't imagine anything complicated or fancy from the other boy. He didn't even expect him to _have_ a plan. The silence from the blonde was just so foreign and unnatural that it had to stop.

"Mmm... Not really. Just play the victim and say 'oh, they where bullying me and threatening to beat me up,' I suppose." Alois said his lines with exaggerated melodrama, as is to parody himself. Certainly not his best work.

"Think that will work?"

_"Naturally!"_

The Phantomhive boy agreed to wait outside and wait for Trancy since he wasn't allowed inside. The Headmaster's office was huge, far to big for one person. Perhaps the size of a small, one room apartment, with bookcases covered with books that, judging by the dust, had never actually been read. In front of the headmaster's desk where two chairs, and behind it was a large, portly man with rosy cheeks and thinning hair. His kindly face would otherwise fool any unsuspecting student to lower their guard, but not_ this_ boy. The blonde boy was distrusting of adults, especially _men_, due to his past trauma. He had been hurt far too many times by the hands of a supposedly trustworthy and noble adult, and was not going to allow it again.

"Please, take a seat, mister Trancy." said the man, motioning to one of the chairs.

"I think I'll stand, thanks." Alois was rather uneasy being alone in a room with this man. He wanted to be able to run if he had to.

"No, I insist, this may take awhile."

_"No thanks."_

The headmaster shrugged. Obviously this was going to be difficult. He had never seen a student refuse such a simple request.

"I suppose you're wondering why I called you to my office today, Trancy."

"You could say that." The boy was rude, brash, and stubborn. _Headmaster Horton_ knows a troublesome student when he sees one, but he hasn't seen one quite so..._ strange_.

"Are you familiar with a student by the name of Kristopherson Miles?"

"You mean that kid with the weird pink tie?" Each time the boy spoke, he came out with something rude. This boy was wearing short-shorts and he calls a _pink tie _"weird"? Outrageous!

"Mister Trancy, let me cut to the chase. Did you punch mister Miles and knock him out?"

"In defense, yes."

Now we where getting somewhere. "Did Miles attack first?"

"Yes, he shoved me. I didn't mean to hit him so hard, Sir."

"Why'd he shove you?"

"Because he's a _prick."_

All trace of progress was lost after those four words. Headmaster Horton furrowed his brow and rubbed his forehead. "Mister Trancy, did you _provoke _Kristopherson?"

"No, he provoked _me."_

"I'm afraid I don't understand..."

"Kristopherson came up to my good friend and I and started saying rude things to us..."

"Such as...?"

"'Poofs', 'Faggots', 'Wankers', etc. Don't interrupt, it's rude." Alois continued on, "At one point I felt he had gone too far, and told him to leave us alone, then he shoved me. I was going to hit him earlier on in the exchange, however Ciel had convinced me to walk away."

"Phantomhive?"

"The very same. Anyway, Kristopherson continued as we were walking, and I guess I simply lost my temper. Again, I didn't mean to harm Kristopherson, and I regret my actions." The last part was a lie, his only regret was no hitting the boy sooner.

Horton stopped and thought for a bit. "Do you know where Phantomhive is?"

"Yes, he's outside."

"Can you bring him in?"

This, the blonde did do. Ciel was a very respectable student, good grades, good behaviour, and not one to tell lies. So Horton wanted to hear his thoughts on what happened.

"Mister Phantomhive, Mister Trancy says he was provoked, and struck in defense, is this correct?"

"Yes. Kristopherson was harassing us, and then pushed Alois, sir."

"That is all. Although I recommend you see the school counselor about your temper, Trancy."

"Will do!" the blonde replied, eager to exit the uncomfortable room.

And with that, they were free to go back to class. They walked awhile, taking their time, their footsteps echoed through the empty hallway, making them want to step lightly to suppress the noise. The two mutually felt the eerie silence to be a bit unnerving. This time, it was Alois who was first to break it.

"The hell is a school counselor?"

"Like a therapist, only less so. They supposedly 'help' you by making you talk about your _feelings_."

That was another thing they could agree on: feelings are things that should be kept private. Talking about them will only make you _hurt_ and look _weak_, therefore they must be _suppressed_ at all times. Some would say that this is a terrible thing, but it's how the boys had _survived _the hell they each went through. It's what they know, and they refuse to change it.

"That's bloody _stupid_," said the blonde, "how on earth is that supposed to _work?"_

"Who knows? But it sounds like you're going to find out."

"Ugh, _feelings..." _the thought of discussing the inner workings of his mind with a complete stranger irked Alois.

_"Feelings..." _the thought irked Ciel as well.

Nobody needs to know about everything. There is such a thing as boundaries, and Ciel was determined to keep it that way. As for his friend, he was probably going to be forced to talk about them. He doesn't want to talk about them. He would rather hide from them and live in ignorance for the rest of his life. The blonde obviously suffered from psychological trauma, as did the slate-haired gentleman, but they learned to live with it. If they hadn't, they would never have met, or even become _friends_.

"_Feelings... Feelings_ are _**gross**_**."**

"_Aren't they, though?_"

* * *

**A/N: Helloh!**

** I like chapter names that never make sense 'til the end.**

**'Cause I'm kind of a jerk like that.  
**

**Not very fluffy, this time. But next time: Will Alois reveal his feelings to the audience!? Will Ciel have a bigger appearance next chapter?! What the hell ever happened to Sebastian?! (He's probably off petting cats or something.) Oh, the humanity! The suspense! (the melodrama?)  
**


	19. Absolutely Pointless

Alois sat in the counselor's office waiting on his appointed visit bored out of his mind. He stared into space and found nothing interesting in the room. It was a boring room; with off-white walls and ugly couches. The most interesting thing in the room remained that way for only a little while. Those childish-looking posters on the wall telling him to "just believe in himself" where funny for the first minute, but they became increasingly annoying after awhile. He swung his legs back-and-forth in his chair waiting patiently. What the hell? He didn't even wanted to be there in the first place and his host dares to show up late? How insulting!

Finally, the door swung open and from behind it, a woman appeared. "Hi, you must be Alois! I'm miss Clarkson, it's good to meet you!"

The boy rolled his eyes at the overly-friendly woman before him. "Nice to meet you too." he said. His words dripping with disinterest.

Clarkson sat in a chair across from the boy and took out a clipboard and pen. "Let's get started then. Headmaster Horton tells me you're a very angry boy. Do _you_ think you feel angry?"

"Of course not."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Not only was she_ late_, she's a waste of time. Alois could probably think of twenty-five more fun things to do on the spot, but he was forced to sit here with this _stupid_ woman. What was the purpose of this?

"Liar."

This surprised the blonde, pulling him from his thoughts. Why was she suddenly calling him a liar? "What?"

"You're a liar. I can see it on your face. Now, tell me why you're angry."

"I'm_ not _angry."

"Sorry, don't believe you."

Now he saw what she was doing. She was_ playing _with him, thinking somehow that doing this would make him angry and adimt he's wrong. He made sure not to fall for this, but instead of just choosing his words carefully to avoid her landmines, he simply called her bluff, just to prove to Miss Clarkson that she was a fool. "I know this game. It's this 'reverse psychology' nonsense, yes?" he smirked at his cleverness. Now he would watch as she stumbled over her error, and he would _laugh._

Clarkson adjusted her glasses "So you _do_ have a bit of an ego. Glad that this was cleared up. So why do you have to prove your superiority, hm?"

Alois couldn't believe it. Outwitted by a such a meek-looking woman. She wore glasses and dressed in a fashion similar to that of a hippie. The way she went about things gave off the impression that she was a bit of an airhead. There was no way.

"How did you-?"

"I talked to your teachers. You're quite famous around the staff-room."

_"Tch."_

This was true. He was. Teacher's often had conversations about "_The Trancy Boy."_ Him teasing other students, dissrupting class, breaking general rules, _wearing those shorts_.

"So why do you feel you need such attention? Do you know?" The woman was invading his privacy. He couldn't tell her.

"Nope."

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. Everything said here is completely confidential, I won't tell _a soul."_

His immediate thought was: _"If you did, I'd eat it before killing you." _However, that would need some explaining, wich he wasn't going to do.

He_ knows _he's disturbed. He _knows _why. It was obvious with a past like his. He wasn't going to throw that her way. How could he? For this _sunflower lady_ to hear the story of Jim Macken, the boy who would later become "Alois Trancy", a story of loneliness, fear, imprisonment, survival, and darkness, was inconceivable.

Still, the blonde felt solace in Ciel, the one person he could truly relate to, who knew of his past and accepted him for it. Perhaps having another person who knew would help him feel better. But then again, this woman seemed like she wanted to "help" him, and by "help", actually do the opposite. Hesitantly, he decided to test the waters.

"Fine. What do you want?"

"Tell me what's wrong."

_ "Well,_ I have Bipolar Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, I'm told I have Sadistic tenancies and am a bit of a Sociopath, you follow?" He listed off these things without missing a beat.

This surprised Clarkson. He knew had something wrong with him and had never seeked psychological help? "Why are you this way?" she asked. His next words shocked her even more.

"I was_ made _this way."

"By who?"

"Adults."

This was true. He had been wronged by most of the adults in his life. His birth parents, the people of his village, the previous Earl Trancy and his servants, and Claude had all wronged him. Nearly every adult that had played a major part in his life. He was made what he is, and nothing will ever change that.

The woman was growing increasingly concerned about this boy. He didn't smile, he said these things in complete seriousness. "Mister Trancy, can you explain_ how?_

The boy smirked, "Are you sure you want to hear my story?"

"That's why I asked."

The boy's smile faded and his face became solemn. He took a deep breath. What he was about to say would shock this woman, and he wanted to make sure he phrased it _perfectly_.

_"Bored!"_ he said, clapping his hands together and grabbing his book bag. "This is boring. I'm going to class."

"You can't just leave! You haven't even told me anything! Sit down!"

Alois had his hand on the doorknob, pausing with his back to the woman. He turned his head to face the woman and smirked. "Can you make me?"

She just sat there, her mouth open. The nerve of this kid! Maybe he _was _a sociopath. But that's impossible. That couldn't happen at _this _school. This was Warwick. Nothing bad is ever really amiss at this upstanding school. But here was this potentially estranged child, with no respect for authority. He knew she wouldn't make him. Any power this adult had over him was only an illusion, and would have no effect on his life.

"Yes? No? If you can't, then I'll just go. And thus, I bid thee farewell." He left and closed the door behind him. He strolled down the hallway on his way to class.

"G'afternoon!" he declared loudly after entering the classroom. The boy plopped down into his usual seat next to Ciel.

"That didn't take long." said the slate-haired boy, "Are you '_rehabilitated'?"_

"_Yes,_ from now on, I'm going to become an upstanding member of society! In fact, one day, I'll become prime minister!"

"You're so full of shit."

_"I love you too, muffin."_

_**"**_**Don't even joke like that!"**

* * *

**A/N: Killin' time 'til chapter twenty. I feel like SUCH A DISGRACE!  
**

**I just kind of stared at the word document for a while, and slapped the first idea that came to me on there. Sorry if it's not as good as the other chapters! Next time. Next chapter won't be written so willy-nilly...  
**


	20. Clementine

Saturday afternoon came around and Ciel was very busy. Working? No. The petite Phantomhive boy was planning to take Alois out on the town. After all, he hasn't really _seen_ it yet in person, and simply driving through didn't really count to the boy's standards. Ciel was going to take his friend to the theater, maybe do some shopping, to eat, and then to ride The London Eye, as he said he would.

_"Wait, this is staring to sound like a..."_

"Young master," Sebastian's sudden appearance nearly made the poor boy jump out of his skin. "Shall I go wake Alois? If we don't get started soon, we won't have time for everything."

"I know. I'll go wake him." the boy said, attempting to rid himself of that earlier thought.

"Aren't you busy?"

Ciel paused for a moment while attempting to exit the room. "Not really. You should go get the car ready."

"_Yes, my lord."_

The slate-haired boy walked down the hallway to Alois' room, the former guest room. It was a large room, but certainly not more so than the master bedroom. It was adorned with various purples that the blonde oh-so loved. There was a desk for him to do his homework (_if_ he did he homework, that is,) and on it was an old computer that Ciel was just going to throw away. In the room was a large bed with many fluffy pillows scattered about on top of it, and amoungst them was the sleeping blonde.

Alois was still asleep. Yes, he needed sleep unlike the other two demons in the house who would do so only as a luxury. He was not quite a full-fledged demon yet, but that is a story for another time.

The blonde lay in his night clothes, a purple t-shirt with a stain on it and a pair of boxers with the Batman logo across the rear, hugging one of his many pillows. He looked _cute_. Yes, "_cute_," there was no other word to describe the boy at this moment. Ciel often thought that Alois sometimes resembled a golden retriever puppy. He wasn't really sure _why._

"Alois, wake up." He said, lightly shaking the blonde.

In response, the flaxen-headed boy sleepily swatted at the other boy's hand, before cuddling back up against his pillow. This annoyed Ciel.

"Alois, _wake up."_ he said a little louder, but this was met with the blonde making a whiny noise and swatting the hand once more.

Ciel now had an idea. He walked over to the end of the bed, and grabbed the comforter. With a swift pull, the blanket came off, leaving the blonde bare and defenseless against the cold morning air.

"Nnnn.. Jerk..." he said, trying to cover himself with a pillow.

"That's what you get. Now get up and get dressed."

Alois rolled over towards one edge of the bed before sitting up, and leaving his precious sleeping spot. He drowsily walked over to the closet and picked out some clothes.

"Well?"

"'Well' _what?" _

_ "_Are you getting out, or did you want a _show?"_

The slate-haired boy flushed at this and turned to exit the room. "I was just _leaving!" _he declared and following, the door was slammed shut.

Alois giggled at his response and began to make himself decent_. "He's so cute." _He thought to himself. He had chosen a short-sleeved, sort of punk rock dres-shirt and tie with skulls and safety pins on it, worn sloppily, with black skinny-jeans (as his shorts where too cold). And skipped out the door.

"So we meet again, Sir Phantomhive!"

"Stop being stupid, we're going to town."

"_Ooh_! For what?"

"To _play."_

Ciel using the word "play" was both exciting and scary, as he has only used in a sadistic sense, so Alois was expecting to see some dead bodies.

_ "Play _how?" he asked, just to specify.

"Ever been to a movie theater?"

At this, the blonde began to dance. He frequently would when he was excited. Especially in public, where he would get scolded for embarrassing his rather serious friend. He couldn't see why this was so embarrassing. Maybe if Ciel himself knew how to dance, it would be less so, he would assume. Perhaps he would teach the other boy sometime. Alois was _quite_ the dancer, you know.

The smaller boy's palm met his forehead. This would happen just about as frequently as Alois danced, if not more so. "Just get your coat and scarf and get in the car."

"Aye-aye, Cap'n!"

Ours boys rode into town, Alois was mesmerized by the lights, and Ciel was looking out the window, as per usual. As they neared the movie theater, the blonde asked the question that's been bothering him for awhile, now.

"We aren't going to watch a... _scary_ movie are we?" he said with a hint of nervousness.

"I don't know, you're picking."

_"Really?!"_

Ciel turned his head to face his friend. "Yeah, and then_ next _time, _I'll _pick. And you will have to watch the _entire time_." The boy put emphasis on key words, just to scare Alois. He was so fun to scare. The blonde's face was _priceless_ when he jumped and yelped at horror movies.

"You're... You're just messing with me!" declared the blonde, half unsure as to whether or not he was right.

"You're no _fun..."_ Ciel said.

The blonde boy posing dramatically, and coated his words with sarcasm. "I know, I'm simply _boring!_ If only I would subject myself willingly to terror! But alas, I am _dead."_

"You mean _un_dead."

"I'm a_ zombie?!"_

The car rolled to a stop in front of the theater. Ciel rolled his eye and got out of the car while his friend followed suit. "I'll call you when we're ready to go home, Sebastian."

"Very well, then. Have a good time, my young master." the man behind the wheel said before driving away. He was going to go to the pet store on his way home to play with kittens, but that is a different story _entirely._

"So what are we going to see, _blondie?"_

"Hmmm..." Alois had assumed his thinking pose, with him furrowing his brow, rubbing his chin with his index finger, and placing his free hand on his hip. "_Wreck It Ralph _looked interesting."

Alois likes video-games. To the blonde, who always wanted to travel to strange lands and go on adventures, they were _fantastic._ You could save villages, fight monsters, and all sorts of things, right in your living room. He learned even more about games after learning how to use the internet, don't let me get started on the blonde and the _internet._

"Sounds fine to me." he turned to the lady in the booth, "two tickets for _Wreck It Ralph_, please."

"Alright, would you like normal or in 3D?" At this, Ciel smiled, and glanced at the confused-looking blonde.

"3D."

"Alright, here are your tickets and glasses. Enjoy the show!"

Ciel and Alois entered that theater. It was a grand-looking place, almost like Ciel's mansion, except there where more people, and there was a snack bar, which the boys quickly raided. Alois pulled himself from his wonderment long enough to ask: "What's _3D?"_

The bluenette looked at the boy with a small smile. "When we get into the room with '_the giant TV'_, put on the glasses the lady gave you and you'll see." he made sure to praise it this way, in order for the technologically challenged blonde to understand, and to keep it a surprise. The way Alois' face lights up when he found something that "wowed" him was simply _cute._

The Phantomhive boy frowned. "'_Cute'? Why do I keep thinking 'cute'?"_ he thought.

His thoughts where broken off by his friend grabbing his shoulder. "Ciel! Isn't that where the movie's playing?" he asked, pointing at a door with a sign above it in lights, that read the title of the film there desired to see. _He had nearly walked right past it._

"Oh, yes. I didn't see it." he muttered.

His fair-haired friend covered his own eye and said, "Aargh! Shall we go see the movie, then? Yar..." mockingly in his best pirate voice.

"I can_ too _see with my eyepatch on!" the slate-haired teen snapped while shoving the other boy into the room.

"Then why are you taking it off?"

_"...The 3D glasses won't work with it on..."_

_** "Hah!"**_ the flaxen boy turned to see the giant screen before him. He was speechless before it's grandeur. It was like the biggest TV in the history of TVs! Alois had never seen anything like it. Ciel had to drag him to a seat and make him sit down, he was so mesmerized by the item.

"Glasses on." his companion instructed, and the teen quickly put on his 3D spectacles.

"Whoa..."

That was all the boy could say. Even the ads before the movie where in 3D. He took his glasses off, and put them back on, experimentally. He extended his arm to try to touch the images reaching out to him. Then, the movie actually started.

_** "WHOAH!"**_

_**"Sssssh!" **_A bunch of older people shushed him, hissing like a bunch of snakes. Alois didn't care. He was too busy watching this wonderful other world appear before him. His eyes sparkled and his smile only grew wider. When a character or especially a bad guy would reach out to him all of a sudden, he would duck to try to avoid getting hit, and yelp. As a result the snakes would hiss again.

Ciel was amused, laughing at him more than the movie. The blonde was far more entertaining. Whenever tension would build up on the screen, he would look over to Alois, who would be hanging onto every word with a concerned-looking face. _Cute..._

_ "Dammit, there's that word again..."_ he caught himself once again. He shouldn't think that about Alois, they were both boys! But whenever he would see that face, that's the word that would pop into his mind. He couldn't seem to help it. The boy's thoughts wandered back to what Alois had told him at school earlier that week.

"_I'm not gay, I'm bisexual."_

Again he wondered about those words. Ciel has thought girls to be pretty, but maybe boys could be too? Does it really matter to demons? Wait, do demons even go through _puberty?_

_"_Ciel, are you okay? You're face is really red..."

Just like that, he snapped back to reality. He looked up and saw that the moive was over. Was it really that short?

"Is it?" he asked.

"Yeah. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm _fine."_ This was embarrassing. Could he not think of the blonde that way? What does Alois think of_ him? _He didn't think he could live for eternity with someone who could never return this emotion, nor could he do so without this person. What a conundrum this was.

_ "Oh! _Is it from the_ kiss _towards the end?" teased the blonde. He was grinning from ear-to-ear.

"_What?!_ **No!"**

"Aw, is little Cielykins still inexperienced when it comes to such intimacies?" he was now giggling his head off. "There, there. It's okay." he patted the smaller boy's head.

"Don't touch me!" said the flustered boy while putting his eyepatch back on. "If you don't stop this, I won't take you to the next spot!"

Alois immediately fell silent. His teasing stopped. His petting ceased. His giggling muted. "_Where?"_

A smirk formed on Ciel's face as he got up and stretched his legs. "I told you I'd take you there, didn't I?"

"The _Ferry-thingy?!"_ He had the blonde's attention. Alois quickly stood up and looked at the other demon with anticipation.

"You mean _'Ferris Wheel', _and yes._"_

The flaxen-headed teen squealed with delight over this declaration. He quickly grabbed his friend's hand, and tugged on it. "Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

Ciel averted his eye from the other's at this gesture. "Fine, let's go." he said with feigned disinterest.

Fortunately for the two, the boy knew this city like the back of his hand. They where in south London by nightfall. Ciel had hoped for this. They would be able to see all of the lights of London this way, including the illumination on the wheel itself. Located on the south-bank of the River Thames, the landmark stands about a hundred-thirty metres tall, and was in full swing, as lines to get tickets where long. Despite this, Ciel had foreseen it, and bought tickets in advance. Standing in such a long line with none other than the _notorious_ Alois Trancy could very well end badly if he got too bored.

They boarded the oviodial capsule that would take them into the sky. There where other people there, but the boys didn't mind. Alois got right up against the glass, and stared in amazement as they ascended high above the city. It glowed as if it where on fire, but it wasn't scary at all. This inferno was many different colours, with oranges and greens and blues. It was beautiful the way the streets glowed, and the many windows of the many buildings all looked like fireflies. All of this reflected off the river the Eye was located near, bouncing back the same image as if it where painted with watercolors. The illumination blended with the blackish blue of the night sky in a way that made it seem almost unreal. It all seemed so unreal.

The colour of the sky reminded him of the bluenette who had brought him there. His hair matched it so perfectly. It was then he realized he was still gripping the hand of said boy. He turned away from the beautiful scene to look at the boy, who was also enjoying himself. He didn't at all seem to mind the physical contact.

He tightened his grip on the other's hand for a moment, which was enough to snap the slate-haired boy back to his senses as well. The boy returned the blonde's gaze, curious as to why he was being stared at. The light from the safe inferno caressed his face and reflected off his visible eye.

Alois smiled. He felt like he should say something, yet he didn't want to ruin this moment. He wanted to save it in his mind forever.

They where like this city, now shrouded in night's dark cloak. Yet there was a warm light illuminating that they found in each other that only made them want to glow brighter together. No longer where they alone.

_ "Ciel, your hand is warm."_

* * *

**A/N: So saaaaappyyyyyyyy... This fluuuuuuuuuuff...**_  
_

**I probably could've divided this into three chapters, but I really wanted to finish it._ Because I care._  
**

**I couldn't think of a name for this chapter, so I named it after the flash-drive/memory-stick (whatever you want to call it) that I keep it on! No real reason, other than that. All of my flash-drives have names. It makes it easier for me to find them on my desktop. In addition to Clementine, there is Pengo, Moriarty, and Re-L.  
**

**When I got to the end of this, I realized I had no one-liner or clever quip to end it with, so I simply had fabricate something out of thin air. I hope you don't mind!  
**

**Until we meet in the next chapter, my duckies! Adieu!  
**


	21. It's A Deal

A boy sat in a corner of the schoolyard reading under a shady tree. The boy had short, straight black hair that had a strange sort of blue tint to it, but his most distinguishing feature had to be his eyepatch covering his right eye. No one knew why the boy had to wear the eyepatch. They didn't know if it was an injury or a fashion choice. When asked, he would simply say, "An accident".

_"An accident."_ This was true, as he did not intend to summon a devil all those many years ago. He had this contract etched into his eye for the very purpose of survival, and for revenge.

But that was years ago. Now, the small boy was a sort of "_demon king."_ He tamed not one, but two demons, and became one himself. Together they roam the earth consuming souls for all eternity.

Yes, this mysterious boy at the edge of the schoolyard with a seemingly otherworldly air wasn't what he seemed. The boy's name is Ciel Phantomhive, and he is a _demon._

And as a creature such as this, the boy is able to be summoned and can grant wishes in exchange for the summoner's immortal soul. Fortunately, in a city as large as london, there where plenty people in peril, and he need not answer often. But today, the summoner was close. On campus, even, in the library, to be exact.

If his memory was correct, his friend was in the library today. Alois had to sort books today as punishment for disrupting class one time too many. Ciel knew that his blonde companion, being a new demon, was certain to answer the call.

Alois Trancy became a demon by being summoned back to the mortal plane from Limbo, and had never devoured a soul before. He cannot become a full-fledged demon before doing this, and it was certain that after feeling the summon, that his instincts would kick in and he would enter a contract.

The boy at the edge of the yard had mixed feelings about this. He was happy that the his _friend _was going to obtain full demonhood, but he also felt a sort of_ negative feeling _that his _friend_ was going to enter a contract.

Jealousy? Hardly. Ciel Phantomhive does not feel jealousy. Regardless, he chose to vacate his precious reading spot to investigate.

Ciel walked to the school library, made sure that no one was looking, and jumped to the second-story window of the building. Warwick private school had a massive library, however it was almost always vacant of people.

Through that second-story window he was ever so carefully perched on, he could see the summoner, a girl that looked slightly older than he _appeared_ to be. She had on the standard Warwick uniform on, with a black tie and matching stockings. The girl had dark circles under her eyes, from either lack of sleep or _crying_. She looked pitiful. The slate-haired demon was hoping his friend would get a soul that wasn't so _pathetic._

His eyes scanned the inside of the building, and saw his blonde compliment round the corner and lean against the bookshelf the girl was hiding behind. As a feind, Ciel could easily hear their conversation quite clearly.

"You called?" the blonde said with a smirk, peering down at the girl who had summoned him sitting on the floor.

"N-no! I was just..." the weak-looking girl stood up, attempting to hide her summoning circle.

"Summoning a demon? I know, and here I am. What is so troublesome that you required the aide of someone so sinister?"

The girl looked at the odd blonde boy before her. "You? _You're_ a _demon?"_

"Duh. Out with it, already!" he said, his eyes glowing crimson, "I don't have all day!"

Startled, the meek girl stood there to take in what this boy was saying. Hesitantly, she told the boy why she required a demon. "I-I... need someone_ dead_."

"Really? Who?"

_ "My father."_

The young demon blinked at this wish. It sounded _familiar. _"That's a _heavy_ request, and having any wish granted by me comes with a_ heavy _price. Still, I will grant it. But in return, I will devour your immortal soul. While the fact that this meeting occurred will never be erased, it's still not too late to turn back." Alois smiled, "So,_ what will it be?"_

The girl thought about this for awhile. A soul is a valuable thing, after all. Nevertheless, she made her decision quickly_. "Deal."_

_ "Like a professional."_ thought the demon in the window. Surely this would be interesting. It would most likely be breif since merely killing someone isn't that difficult. _"This is for the best. It would be annoying if he where bonded to that stupid girl for very long."_

And so it begins...

* * *

**A/N: What a weird development. This was an idea that came to me after I wrote about Alois not being a "full-fledged demon." This probably will only take one or two chapters. Don't worry, the chick isn't going to be some annoying "Mary-Sue" type character. I won't use her again after I finish this little bit. She will be replaced with fluff and comedy. I miss comedy. I seriously need to think of some more jokes. We seem to be lacking in the comedy department, lately...  
**

**Is Ciel jelly? He's totally jelly...**


	22. That Lad, Thoroughly Embarrassed

Ciel was in full "stalker mode", as Alois went home with his contract-holder to murder the girl's father. Curious, the boy did some looking into this girl before following them. Other than her name being "Amy Nathans", there wasn't that much information he could come up with. He even went to his usual informant, _Audrey Baines_, who would give out any information about anything or anyone in the school for a Pixie-stick, and not even _he_ knew much about her, other than her name and what her parents do for a living.

The slate-haired teen decided to follow, as he was (though not admittedly,) worried about his blonde friend. He stayed hidden in the trees, watching as they walked up to the house.

They split up, _Amy_ went into the house, and Alois went around the side of the building. Naturally, he followed the blonde, who was his initial target. The blonde snuck his way into an upstairs window, and hid himself in the room.

Ciel watched through the window undetected as the girl was dragged into the room by her hair by none other that a man who appeared to be her father. The boy listened.

"You're late! How many times have I told you to come home as soon as school's out?!" the man bellowed.

All the girl could do was yell "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" again and again while trying to free herself. The man was abusive, that's why she wanted him gone. Was she willing to risk her life to kill this man? Did she know the consequences of losing a soul? Even with this level of abuse, it is possible to go on living.

Or at least that was what the boy thought, before the man started to beat her. His fists flying. Alois had seen enough.

"Oh, now that's not very nice." the blonde said as he stepped out of the shadows. "You should be more hospitable towards one another. You _are family_, after all."

The man stopped for a moment. He stopped his fists long enough to look at the offender. "Who are you?! How did you get in here!?" The man's brow was furrowed in anger at this boy. "Do I need to call the cops?!"

"Don't worry, they'll come. But first, we need a _crime scene_." Alois was wasting no time to complete his task. The promise of a soul was an excellent motivator for any demon. He glided over to the man, smirking the entire time.

"What are you-?"

_**CRACK!**_

Alois didn't hold back. He wanted this over with. He punched this man so hard, his head spun around one hundred and eighty-degrees. His neck twisted like a pretzel before his body landed on the ground with a thud.

The girl was shocked. She sat on th ground, mouth open, staring at her father's now lifeless body. "Y-you... really did it..." was all she could make herself say.

"Of course._ A deal's a deal_, after all." Alois said, walking over to the frightened girl. "I won't ask how bad it was. I won't ask if you thought it was worth it. All I ask is that you hold up your end of the bargain." his words where harsh, but his voice was gentle, disarming. It was not peculiar in the slightest for a demon to talk to his prey this way.

For the first time, the girl gave a confident answer. "I know. I will. I have nothing to live for, anyway." Her voice was unwavered, her face serious, she made eye contact with the devil as she said this.

Ciel was looking in as a bystander to all of this in his hiding place in the trees. Both his jaw, and his heart dropped, as he witnessed his friend, his... his... his _crush_ kiss this girl. This _random, stupid _girl! Granted, it was only a _demon's kiss_, meant only to retrieve a soul, but that doesn't mean it didn't still _hurt._ The slate-haired teen felt _anger_ building up inside him as he clenched his fists. He felt _embarrassment _as his face flushed a bright red, much to his relief, hidden by the tree leaves, and by the black veil of nighttime. And most of all, he felt _defeated._ Defeated that this girl had Alois' lips at this moment. And even more so, defeated that he now_ knew why he was feeling this way._

Alois stopped, and dropped the girl's body to the floor. His business was done. He got what he came for; A soul that promoted him the full demonhood. The blonde teen turned and climbed out the window, landing on the soft grass with his feet. He looked straight ahead, and said.

_"How long are you going to stay up there, Ciel?"_

_ "Shit._" the bluenette fiend thought. Alois could now _sense_ him. He jumped down from his hiding place to meet the other boy. There was a long silence before either of them spoke.

"I figured you'd follow me." the fair-haired teen said finally.

_ "Why's that?"_ asked the other in a rather grouchy tone, his brow furrowed.

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. It was just a hunch." He said, "Afraid I'd get into trouble, maybe?"

"That's _precisely_ why." Ciel began. He was relieved he was given a cover. "I leave you alone for a bit, and you_ kill _two people. Honestly, _why do I even bother?"_

"I don't know about that, but_ I just wanted to be like you."_

His anger was suddenly cooled by those words. The demon swallowed. "_What?"_

"It means exactly as I said:_ 'I wanted to be like you'_." The blonde repeated. He walked towards his companion. "Why else would I go through with all of this? I wanted to become a full-fledged demon, _just like you_."

Ciel was completely speechless.

"_Are you mad at me?"_ Alois stood, guiltily fidgeting with the edges of his uniform.

"I'm not mad."

"But-"

"I said,_ I'm not mad." _How could he stay mad at that face? _That guilty, golden-retriever puppy-dog face._

Alois cut off this train of thought by teasing the boy. "Will you stop being mad if I give you a kiss too?" he said jokingly as he blew a kiss to his companion.

"_**No." **_The flustered Phantomhive boy lied before turning and beginning to walk off in the opposite direction. "Now, let's get out of here before someone finds the bodies."

The Trancy boy watched him for a moment before following the embarrassed teen. "No need to be _shy_, Ciel. _I know you want to!"_

_**"Shut up before I leave you here!"**_

* * *

**A/N: Well, that was quick... **

**Killin' off random characters! WHEE!  
**

**Ciel having feelings! WHEE!  
**

**I probably could have stretched this idea out, but my brain was simply NOT having it. (whee?)  
**

**Until number twenty-three, my duckies... (WHEE!)  
**


	23. You Are NOT Fit!

Alois and Ciel where "volunteered" (forced) into working on Warwick private school's Drama production. Today is the day that the title of the play will be announced to the public. The scene was the Warwick Auditorium. Mr. Bronze, the drama director, enters from stage left.

The man had long, slicked-back hair, wore outrageous suits and wore sunglasses everywhere at all times, even indoors and at night. "Welcome, welcome! Thank you all for volunteering to work on this years play. This year, we will be working on a production called '_Into The Woods'._ It's a wonderful retelling of various tales from the brother's Grimm, that intertwines them in a magnificent hour-long musical!"

"Ooh! _Can I be Little Red Riding Hood?!" _

The attention of everyone in the room suddenly went to a blonde boy, raising his hand with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Trancy, the part of _Little Red Riding Hood _is a _female_ role."

"Yeah, I know, but I look _bloody amazing in a dress!"_

All the children in the room irrupted in laughter. All of them, except _one._ The boy wearing an eyepatch sitting next to the blonde was not laughing. The palm of that boy's hand met his forehead. He is friends with Alois Trancy, and is often embarrassed by his friends outrageous remarks and shenanigans. Although, he had to admit, the blonde _did_ look good in a dress.

The boy's palm met his forehead once more. He's been catching his thoughts drifting off in that direction, lately...

"Mister Trancy, if you want to audition for a role, you'll have to audition for a male role." the instructor said with an exasperated sigh.

_ "Bollocks!"_

It was at that moment, a script flew threw the air and became acquainted with the blonde's face. Mr. Bronze went on: "Now, everyone who is interested in a part, please come up and take a script. I already gave you yours, Alois, so you can remain seated."

"Mighty kind of ya, guv'..." said the boy in question while rubbing his face.

"Everyone take thirty minutes to look over the script to learn more about the musical and the character you want to play."

Ciel had no interest in performing. In fact, he had no interest in _participating_, but he would settle for working backstage. Alois was far more suited for the limelight anyway. He would _love_ the attention. And, as a bonus, they would get out of class for a _few weeks._

Ciel looked over to the fair-haired boy who was currently flipping through the pages of his script, looking for a character the met his fancy. "So who are you going to audition for?"

"Dunno." Alois replied, "Maybe _the Wolf_ or one of _the princes."_

"Giving up on your dream of being _Little Red_, are you?"

"_Hell no_. I'm gonna audition for her too."

The thought of Alois in a _Red Riding Hood costume_ was both ridiculous and appealing at the same time. The blunette shook his head disapprovingly, but chortled all the same.

When the blonde teen had decided he had enough of reading he got up. "I'm going for it." he said to his friend before running up the the stage to audition.

He read lines for _everybody._ If there was a scene they where reading, and nobody wanted to be a particular character, he would read it. He read for _Jack, The Baker, The Witch, Rupunzel, Rapunzel's Prince, Cinderella's Prince, Little Red's Grandmother, _and _The Wolf. _He never did get to read for _Little Red_, herself because that's the part all the girls seemed to want. Regardless of this, he was having one _hell_ of a time.

Personally, Ciel liked the blonde's rendition of _the Princes_ and especially _The Witch. _He was the only one capable of portraying the Motherly, and the Controlling and Dominating aspects of the character. Possibly because he could tie it into his past experiences somehow. The slate-haired gentleman liked the way he did the Princes too, simply because he would exaggerate _everything._ It was like he was performing a satire of all nobility,_ including Ciel._

The one he disliked the most was _the Wolf._ Something about the blonde being the big bad wolf didn't sit well with the bluenette. Perhaps it was because of displacement between Alois' real self and the character, or the fact that _the girls_ in the class liked it.

"All right! Good work everyone! The cast list will be on the door tomorrow morning. We start rehearsal tomorrow so don't be late!" Bronze finally said.

"Wha'd ya think?" the blonde teen asked his friend excitedly as he rushed up to him. The poor boy was slightly sweaty from being under the stage lights, and was out of breath from all the reading.

"Not bad. _Grandmother _was funny."

"_You dang dirty wolf! I'll skin ya!"_ he said in his best grandmotherly voice while shaking his fist. "I still say I'd be an awesome_ Red Riding Hood_."

"Can't argue with that." The blunette didn't catch himself saying that out loud until he heard the other boy giggling.

"_You'd like to see that, huh?"_ the flaxen-headed boy teased. Ciel blushed.

"You in a dress was offensive when we first met, and it _still is!"_

"Whatever, you thought I was_ fit."_

_** "I did not!"**_

* * *

_**A/N: **_**And so, ****another chapter ends with Ciel yelling.**_**  
**_

**I had bought the soundtrack for this musical because I had gotten a part in the school's production of it and I needed to learn the songs. (I played _The Witch_ LIKE A BOSS) Anyway, I was listening to random crap on my MP3 player and came across it again. Then _this chapter_ sort of _happened._  
**

**The Broadway version is totally on Netflix. I'ma go watch dat shet right now, mm-hm.  
**

**See ya later!  
**

**_QUACK-QUACK!_  
**


	24. The Rehearsal, Scene One

The cast list was taped to the Warwick auditorium door on this morning, and a certain blonde was enthusiastic to see it. Alois nearly shoved people out of the way to get to the scrap of paper, and Ciel was trying hard to just keep up. After all, he had to stop and apologize to some of the students his friend had pushed. Finally, they reached their destination and saw the results.

"_Blah, blah, blah, not me, not me... __**There I am!"**_ the flaxen boy shouted excitedly.

"'_Alois Trancy: Cinderella's Prince and... The Wolf?" _the shorter boy read off, not too pleased with his companion being _the Wolf._

"I got _two parts!_ I. Am. A-MA-ZING!" Alois chanted, followed by some enthusiastic fist-pumps.

"So you'll have to do a costume-change during the performance." Ciel said. He also didn't want the other boy to be changing clothes backstage. _"He'd run around in his underwear if I'd let him..."_ the slate-haired boy thought to himself.

"Who cares? I can totally pull that off, no problem!" the blonde looked back to the list. "Ugh, '_Kristopherson Miles as Rapunzel's Prince'"_ he said, making gagging noises.

"They probably mistook his pompous attitude for _acting_." suggested the blunette.

His comment made the other boy giggle. "Yeah, that's _totally_ it!"

They walked into the auditorium and Mr. Bronze was already up onstage. "Congratulations to everyone who got a part! If you didn't get a part, you are still valuable as the crew who makes the magic happen! Everyone, give yourselves a round of applause!" he said, and the massive room filled with applause and a few whistles.

"Now, rehearsal for _Into The Woods_ officially begins! Now, everyone in scene one of act one, come up on stage and let's get to work!"

Neither of our boys where in this scene, so they sat in the auditorium seats, and conversed about the play, about school, and just this, that, and the other. Then, out of nowhere, _he_ appeared.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't _'Alois Trampsy'._" Said the snobbish boy now before him in his silly pink tie. "And you even got a part in the play! _Good for you._ Just don't slow me down and try to keep up."

"If this is your way of _hitting on me,_ you need to rethink your strategy, sir." said our blonde in a bored manner. He knew that the easiest way to deal with a supposed homophobe is to _suggest that they are hiding in the closet._

It worked _wonders_. "Why would _I _ever hit on _you_, '_Trampsy'?!" _Pink tie boy shrieked.

"Probably because you're secretly a _flaming homosexual_, _'Shit-for-brains'."_ Alois was trying to keep as straight a face as possible, but both he, and the boy sitting next to him where laughing their asses off internally.

"That name wasn't even _clever!"_

_ "_I wasn't _trying_ to be. I was pointing out, rather plainly, that you are more than just 'kind of' and idiot."

"We'll see about _that_, Trancy! I'll see you onstage!" And thus, the boy with the silly tie stormed off...

Following that exchange, the blunette was the first to speak. "Huh, If _Lizzie_ where to be reincarnated, I think that may be her."

Alois snickered at bit. "Your _cousin?_ The one I danced with at my costume ball?"

"Yes. Why did you dance with her, anyway?"

The blonde paused for a moment. "I thought it would piss you off." he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Did it?"

"Only a little."

"Whatever happened to her? Do you know?"

Ciel thought for a moment before answering. "Well I assume she married someone else." The boy stared into space, a behaviour uncommon for him.

Alois took this in before asking, hesitantly: "Did you _love_ her?"

This, Ciel pondered. He _did_ love Elizabeth. They where _family_, after all. But not in the way he correctly assumed the blonde was referring to. He thought of how to answer this.

_"Sorry, you don't have to answer that."_

The bluenette boy looked over at the blonde seated next to him rather puzzledly. What was he sorry for? For asking this question? It didn't really _offend_ Ciel in anyway, although he was a bit sad that his cousin had passed. Why was the blonde apologizing to him? Similar questions circled around in the slate-headed boy's head before finally coming out with:

"No, it's alright. And I _did _love her, but more like family. I could never really wrap my head around the fact that I was supposed to _marry _her."

At this, the Trancy boy perked up a bit. "Oh, I see." and thus, he went back to reading his script.

"_The hell was with that?_" Ciel thought.

Suddenly, his thoughts where shattered but the sound of Mr. Bronze's voice. "_Wolf, _I need you and _Little Red_ on stage, let's go!"

Alois got up and walked to the stage, and so did another girl. _"Wait, who's playing Red Riding Hood?"_ Ciel asked himself.

"Alois, this is _Anastasia, Anastasia Miles, Alois Trancy."_

_ "Hello."_ said the girl.

"Hi." Alois replied.

Upon learning her name, Alois immediately didn't like her. _Anastasia Miles. Miles, _as in, _Kristopherson Miles._ She was obviously his sister. She even had her hair bleached in the same way, but tied in a ponytail. Moreover, she didn't have a silly tie like her brother, she had a light blue one.

The natural blonde looked at his friend in the audience with a pained face. All Ciel could do was smile and wave in attempt to comfort him.

"I hope you listened to your song last night." said the instructor

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"Good, we can get started, then! _Audrey,_ play the track for Scene Two in three, two, one, _action!"_

The music started to play, and the two blondes began to do the routine as close to the script as possible. Each reciting their lines perfectly. Then, they had to _sing._

_ "Hello, little girl, _

_ what's your rush?_

_ You're missing all the flowers, _

_ the sun won't set for hours,_

_ take your time!"_

Alois projected his voice to fill the room, but he added a creepy softness to it that made up for the fact that it wasn't entirely _masculine._ He danced around _Anastasia,_ with _Anastasia,_ and in turn, she did the same with him. He really acted like a _wolf._

Then, the scene was over. Alois was Alois once more, and he walked back to his seat to wait for his next scene. "How was I?" the blonde boy asked.

"Very good. You where rather _creepy_." This was true. Ciel was creeped-out by "_Wolf-Alois."_ But this was only part of it. At the same time, it made Ciel want to _crush_ him and assert himself. The reason for this, however, is a _completely different kind of story._

"Good. I was trying my best not to _puke_ on her." Alois made a disgusted face, and a gagging sound.

"Pink tie's sister?"

** "Pink tie's sister."**

* * *

**A/N: O hai thar.  
**

**Thank you all for your lovely, lovely reviews! They fill my heart with _sparkles_ and_ rainbows. _I really like it when you guys tell me what you liked so I can try and put more of that in here. _Oh gawd so many feelings I don't even-!_  
**

**_I need a bucket to hold all my tears of joy!  
_**

**I shall return to you with more _Devils Like To Dance!_  
**

**Y'know, I'm not even sure why I named it that. I really am terrible with names and titles...  
**


	25. The Rehearsal, Scene Two

Over the next few days, the boys worked on this musical while simultaneously butting heads with Kristopherson and mocking his tie. They helped build sets, Alois rehearsed his scenes, and Ciel somehow became the stage manager. Rehearsal for the Warwick Private School production of _Into the Woods_ was still underway.

"Princes get ready to go on" Ciel said, looking up from his clipboard with the script.

"Copy that, over and out!" Alois replied, heading towards the stage right entrance.

Heading to the entrance opposite the blonde, _Kristopherson_ got ready to perform his role as _Rapunzel's Prince._ He was hardly "charming". The boy had an awful attitude and felt the need to relentlessly pick on and thwart our heroes for some reason. He had hid props, tripped Alois more than once, and tried to break Ciel's headset. The kid was a total _wanker._

Regardless, the boys pressed on. Ciel spoke into his headset microphone to contact the audio booth. "I need music for Scene three: '_Agony'_ in three, two, one..."

The sound of fanfares played, filling the entire room. Alois ran out on stage, followed by the rotten Kristopherson. They meet and begin their scene.

Kristoperson, the faux-blonde was first to speak. "'Ah, there you are, good brother. Father and I had wandered where you had gone.'"

"'I have been looking all night...for _her.'"_ Alois recited his lines with clarity and with the nobility of the prince he was playing. Believe it or not, it was Ciel who was his main inspiration for the role. He would mimic the grace, poise, and dignity with which the blunette spoke, often using mannerisms and gestures of his as well. "'The beautiful one I danced the evening with.'"

The source of the blonde's inspiration watched from backstage. Ignoring the things he should be watching for in order for the run-through to be successful. He was supposed to be seeing if the props where in order, people were where they were supposed to be, appropriate costume changes where made, but the usually serious and dutiful boy ignored all this momentarily to watch his friend perform.

_"'Did I abuse her _

_or show her disdain?_

_Why does she run from me?_

_If I should lose her,_

_How shall I regain_

_The heart she has won from me?'"_

Alois even sang with the same finesse. He even went down an octave than usual, trying to make a more manly or "princely" voice.

"'_Agony! _

_Beyond power of speech,_

_When the one thing you want_

_Is the only thing out of your reach.'"_

His delicate sound was cut off by Kristopherson's more brash singing.

"'_High in her tower,_

_She sits by the hour,_

_Maintaining her hair._

_Blithe and becoming,_

_And frequently humming, _

_A light-hearted air."_

It was as though they where trying to best one another in the choral duel. Alois would sing, then the other boy would sing louder. When Kristopherson did this, Alois would sing even louder. Back and forth, this tug-of-war waged on until the song ended. Then all that was heard was Mr. Bronze freaking out.

"I love, love, _loved_ it! The way you tried to out-do each other was _genius!_ Comedy gold! You two have _great _chemistry here!"

"Ew, don't associate me with _him._" said Alois, pointing objectively at the faux-blonde.

"_Excuse me,_ but you are _lucky_ to be even_ graced _with my presence, _TRAMPSY!" _

"That, Kristopherson, is a blessing that I would throw back if _Jesus himself _gave it to me_."_ A small rumble of giggles was heard throughout the backstage area. "I'd aim for_ his head_, too."

That small rumble erupted into full-on laughter at that. "Alright, alright, settle down, children." The instructor instructed.

"_Tch, _fine." Alois went backstage to where his friend was standing. "So, how'd I do, mister _Stage Manager?_" the boy poked his companion's face.

"Alright." the blunette stated, ignoring the contact. "Too bad you sound _like a girl."_

"_**What?!"**_

"I'm _kidding,_" Ciel paused, "_mostly."_

"You_ arse!" _said the blonde with a smile as he playfully patted Ciel's back.

"You where prince-like, at the very least."

"I was just copying you."

Ciel looked confused by this statement. "Me?"

"Yes. You're just so very rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrregal!" the blonde said rolling his "R", bowing his head.

"You're so weird.' That's all the bluenette could think of to say. He was very flattered by Alois' comments, but incredibly unsure how to respond to them. However, the blonde boy continued.

"It's true! If I were a princess, I'd let you rescue me _any day._" he said poking the other boy's chest playfully with his index finger.

The blonde's words where embarrassing. They made an uncomfortable feeling appear in his stomach and a blush appear on his face. But the image of Alois in a tower wearing the stereotypical princess get-up was too funny, so the slate-haired boy had to laugh a bit.

"But I get your sorry arse out of trouble enough, anyway." he jested.

"_Ohmigawsh! Am I your princess?!"_ the blonde put his hands on his cheeks in mock astonishment.

"**No,** you are not_ my_, nor _anyone else's_ princess!"

"What if I _want _to be your princess?"

"N-_no._.." Ciel looked away from the blonde, trying to hide his flushed face. However, this effort was in vain, as the blonde then leaned in closer to whisper softly in the boy's ear:

"..._And Happily Ever After."_

_ "__**Piss off!"**_


	26. Into The Woods

It was the night of the school play. All of the participants where backstage busily getting ready. Alois Trancy, the boy who was to play both _The Wolf_ and _The Prince,_ as it was traditional for one actor to play both, was being swarmed by girls who were prepping his makeup.

The blonde boy's good friend, Ciel Phantomhive, was the stage manager, however, he did take time out of his prepping for the performance to watch his application. He wouldn't miss such a humourous display _for the world._ He watched as the other boy wiggled in his seat, making faces, and he had to tell the blonde, more than _once,_ I might add, to _not spit on the girls doing his makeup._

"Augh! Don't stick that _pencil _in my _eye!"_ the Trancy boy protested.

"Calm down, it's just _eyeliner! _Hold still, or I really will poke your eye!" The head applicant was trying to do his eye-makeup so they would appear under the harsh stage lights. "Stop making those faces! We'll mess up and have to start over!"

"_Pfft!"_ the Phantomhive boy did his absolute best to hide his amusement at the scene before him. He nearly lost it when they had to call in some more stage hands to hold his friend down.

"_Stop laughing at me!"_

"I'm not _laughing_," he said to the blonde, "I was... wait, no, I _was_ laughing. Just think, when it's time to become a prince, you'll have to do this _again."_ he taunted.

"_Noooooooooooo!"_

The blonde boy was wearing a suit jacket and a dress shirt with the sleeves torn off, black, fingerless gloves, and dark grey dress pants with tears in them. His hair was intentionally a mess, to make him look more _wild_ and _scruffy_. He had on wolf ears and a tail, both fashioned from grey faux-fur. His companion, who was disturbed by this form of Alois, was amused by the fact that this wolf was being tormented by a bunch of high-school girls, and "whining like a _bitch._" about it.

With Alois' torment over, the bluenette could now focus on seeing to the rest of the performance. His job as a stage manager suited him perfectly, due to his natural ability to assume command in any situation and his organization. Ciel tended to the sets, and the props, and the sound, and seeing as everything was in order, decided to make sure the actors were where they were supposed to be.

The boy listed the parts he had saw to already, "Cinderella, _Lucinda, Florinda, _ _Wolf/Cinderella's Prince, Rapunzel's Prince,The Baker, The Baker's Wife, The Witch, The Narrator, Mysterious Man, Granny..."_ Ciel noticed one that was _not_ checked off. He scanned the backstage area in search of the actress playing _Little Red Riding Hood._

"Kristopherson, where is your sister?"

The boy, Kristopherson, played the role of _Rapunzel's Prince_, and as such, was adorned in princely attire. His cape was pink, matching both his tie, and his princess's dress, and his shirt was decorated in gold in silver. The boy looked up, seeing it was Phantomhive, the best friend of his _nemisis,_ addressed the other boy in a bored and rather rude manner.

"Like I would know!" said the faux-blonde. "She might have gone to the bathroom or something! What do you want with her, anyway?"

"She is not at her post, she is in the _very first scene,_ and the performance starts in _ten minutes._" replied the slate-headed boy in a rather peeved tone.

"Then go _get_ her."

"I can't go into the women's bathroom, Miles."

"Then I guess we're_ screwed."_

Ciel gave up on interrogating the rude boy, and went in search of a female stage hand who could go get the tardy actress.

"Two minutes, before curtain, everyone!" called Mr. Bronze.

The bluenette was at this point, in a panic. There was no sign of _Little Red_ and the show was about to start. Even _worse_, Sebastian was in the audience and _knew_ it was Ciel's job to have everything in order. If _Little Red_ was missing from the performance, he would have to withstand the butler's insesant teasing for _God_ knows how long!

Then, the curtain rose, and the opening song began. "I am _doomed._" said the boy with his head in his hands.

Everything went smoothly, until it was time for _Red Riding Hood_ to appear. Ciel was dreading the audiances reaction, but then heard singing coming from the stage.

_"I wish..._

_It's not for me,_

_It's for my granny in the woods._

_Just a loaf of bread, Please-_

_To bring my poor old hungry granny in the woods..._

_Just a loaf of bread, please..."_

_Little Red?_ But how? The actress hasn't been found yet! But then, it hit the small bluenette boy. That was _not_ the actress. That was _Alois._

The blonde boy was wearing the actress' costume with the hood up, so no one could tell it was him. With his skinny legs, slender waist, and girlish voice, (girled up _to the maximum,_) you couldn't at all tell he was, in fact, male.

Ciel couldn't help but laugh at this. His friend had taken it upon himself to cover for the actress until she returned, saved Ciel's reputation, and most of all, _he got to be Little Red Riding Hood._

"Is that Anastasia?"

"No, she isn't here, yet."

"Then who is it?"

"Beat's me..."

Whispers questioning the identity of the mystery actress circled the backstage area. Nobody could guess that it was Alois. He did say he would play her, but _surely_ he wasn't _serious_, right?

"Phantomhive! It's awful! Now the wolf is missing too!" said the panicking instructor, "Now we can't find mister Trancy! This play is _ruined!"_ the man continued, forcing back tears.

"No, Mr. Bronze, Alois is _right there."_ Ciel pointed to the "girl" onstage.

Following the boy's finger, the instructor came to a shocking realization. "The mystery actress?! The mystery actress is _Trancy?!"_ he said with both hands on the sides of his head.

"Ciel! Ciel! I found her, but we can't find her costume!" said the stage hand he had sent to track down the original _Little Red._

_ "Who is that?"_ asked the tardy actress.

The bluenette looked over to the girl with a smile, a bit unsual for the boy. "That, is none other than _the_ _Notorious Alois Trancy."_

No matter how he tried to deny it, the blonde _did _look rather fetching in a dress.

"_...But into the woods,_

_Into the woods,_

_Into the woods_

_To grandmother's house,_

_And home before dark!"_

And with that, Alois' debut as _Little Red Riding Hood_ was over once he stepped backstage. The boy removed his hood, and everyone let out an audible _gasp._ Some where appalled by the fact that he would go onstage like that, some were immensely confused, others confused for thinking he was _hot_, and rest congratulated the boy.

"Oh my god! That was Alois?!"

"What a weirdo!"

"Oh my god, _she's_ a _he..."_

"That has got to be, hands down, the _ballsiest _thing I have ever seen in my life, Trancy."

"That was _badass."_

Alois eventually escaped from this to change into his own costume. Once properly dressed, he exited the boy's dressing room and returned the costume to it's rightful owner.

"Here. You need to be Red for the rest of the show."

"_Ew!_ I'm not wearing that after it's been on your _body!"_ Anastasia reacted with disgust.

"Pardon my ghetto, but _bitch please_. There are more important things going on right now than _your stupid germophobia_. I can't replace you the entire play because I have to be the wolf. You almost _ruined_ the performance by being late. You _owe_ the rest of us. Now put on the dress!" Alois was bold. It was amazing how he was able to pull the right words out of thin air. He was able to get everyone around them on his side, and convince the stubborn girl to dawn her costume.

"Fine."

The flaxen haired boy, barked in celebration, and got ready for his next scene. Now he was the wolf. A predator. He was going to eat the little girl on stage with him. The boy's personality turned a complete one hundred and eighty degrees as he put on this persona.

The girl entered stage right, and thus, the boy entered stage left. _"'Good day, young lady!"_

_ "Good day, mister Wolf."_

"'_Wither away so hurriedly?'"_

_ "To my grandmother's."_

The scene went on as the two sang and danced. Ciel hated this scene. It drove him mad to see his friend dancing with a girl, even if it was pretend. The boy knew the other didn't like the girl, in fact, _he detested_ her, but it was still revolting to watch. He went back to making sure things where in order. The props in check, the sets ready to move, the actors knew when to go on, the sound booth had their queues.

Everything was in order and now he had nothing to do. Upon discovering this, the lad went to go look for his blonde companion in order to converse with him between scenes. It didn't take long, as he heard arguing coming from the make-up room once more.

"Careful! Don't _burn my head _with that_ thing!"_

"How can you _not_ know what a _straightener_ is?!"

"We _know." _one of the girls said, followed by the others giggling.

"Just _what_ exactly are you _insinuating?"_

The girl with the hot device answered. "Oh _please_. Don't think for a second he never noticed how you hang around-"

"and _on."_

_ "..._Yes, _and on _Phantomhive _all _the time." she continued, adding in her friend's input.

The blonde boy blushed a dark scarlet. This was a first. Seeing the blonde, the _same blonde,_ who went out on stage earlier _in a dress_, the _same blonde _who had supposedly _forgotten_ the definition of _"shame_", actually _embarrassed, _was quite a sight.

"_Cute..." _the bluenette who was being discussed, hidden in shadows, thought. This was an image he wanted to remember.

The female tormentors continued, "There's nothing _wrong_ with being _gay,_ Alois. We were just teasing you."

"Who, dear? Me, dear? Gay, dear? No, dear. _I_ am not _gay. I _am _bisexual_, thank you very much!" Alois insisted.

_**"Oooooh!"**_the girls cooed at once.

"Does that mean _we_ still have a chance?" one said, causing the rest of them to giggle. Alois just sank a bit in his chair and ignored the question. He couldn't wait to leave. He hoped this wasn't going to jeopardize his on-stage performance.

Ciel decided to walk in the room. He was done with stalking. "Alois, you're on in a few minutes." he said. His friend sat up suddenly, his eyes wide, his face redder. The blonde _knew _there was _no way_ Ciel _did not _hear all of that.

He wasn't the devil, here. It was those giggling girls.

Alois got up and fixed his Prince costume, giving the other boy a simple, "Okay" before leaving. He didn't know how to face his friend. He couldn't even look him in the eye. _The Notorious Alois Trancy, was humiliated._

He now had to go onstage and act like_ that _boy. _That boy,_ who had given him this new life. _That boy_, who he respected more than any other person. _That boy,_ that he simply _adored._

The blonde just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide there for a few years. But no, he had to perform. He strode out onstage gallantly, as though nothing had happened, he recited his lines with character, and he sang his song with _Kristopherson._

Oh, how he wanted this night to be _over._

Ciel, on the other hand, was quite excited. He now knew he at _least_ had a _chance_ with the blonde. He mused on this further throughout the night, wondering about the various obstacles in his way.

On this night, the two had definitely gone _into the woods._

By this time, the performance was almost over. The conflict was resolved. The Princesses got their Prince, Little Red and her grandmother where safe, The Baker and his Wife had broken the curse on their house, and the Witch got what she deserved. Everyone's wishes came true, and they didn't even need a _demon_ to grant them. They did it all on their own.

_"you go into the woods, where nothing's clear, where witches, ghosts, and wolves appear. Into the woods, and through the fear, you have to take the journey!"_

The bluenette watched from the sidelines as his friend sang with the chorus as they performed their last song.

The blonde on stage thought he saw a familiar butler in the audience waving at him.

The butler in the audience had just sat through an hour of this.

_ "...Into the woods, and out of the woods, and happily ever after!"_

* * *

**A/N: Hullo, and how are you?  
**

**This was just going to be them performing the play, but it turned into so much more! OH. EM. GEE.  
**

**Alois lived his dream! I'm so proud!  
**

**_The Catherine Tate Show _references for the _win!_  
**

**Anyways, I'll see you in the next chapter, my duckies! (Why do I call you ducks?)  
**


	27. Gaga Tree Accidents

It was an ordinary day at Warwick, just like any other day at such a fine school. Mrs. Pierce was going through her usual fifth period maths class. Pierce was a quiet woman; very ordinary, actually, with a slightly nervous disposition. The instructor was going over how to set up algebraic equations, and solve them, with her class, since they apparently weren't paying attention the first time. This was not uncommon, since Msr. Pierce seemed to lack a spine, at times, and was thus walked all over by both students_ and _staff.

"Now, who wants to come up to the board and write down an equation for the class to solve?" said the woman.

The room went silent. Nobody wanted to do something so seemingly meaningless. So the students remained quiet, avoiding eye contact with the teacher so they wouldn't be called on. Their notes were very fascinating all of a sudden.

"Anyone? No?" said the meek lady at the front of the room.

A hand went up. "I'll do it." it's owner said. Everyone's head spun around in the direction of the voice. It was very peculiar for this particular boy to volunteer for a _math_ question.

Mrs. Pierce adjusted her glasses and looked at the boy questionably. "_Alois Trancy?_ Well, how odd. Come on up here, then. There's nothing I won't be able to solve, heheh." she laughed nervously while trying to joke with the boy.

Alois raised himself up out of his desk, and strode confidently to the front of the room. Normally he would shrink like the other children when it came to math. Yet Alois stood directly in front of the board and picked up the chalk. The blonde wrote:

"_Ra^2+Ah^3+Ra(Ma+Ma^2)+Ga^2+Ooh(La^2)=_"_

With a smirk, the flaxen-headed teen stepped to the side to display his work. He lifted his arm, gesturing to the problem and said only two words: "Solve it."

The teacher had no idea what to make of this problem. She shifted his glasses back to the bridge of her nose, and read the problem aloud in a hushed tone repeatedly in order to make sense of it. Eventually, she gave up. "Mister Trancy, that's not a real equation", she said.

"Yes it is!" retorted the boy, "It's perfectly good one, too!"

"How? You can't solve it! There's no answer, so you can't even find the numbers!"

"That's because you're supposed to _find_ the answer, _duh_! That's the whole point of a '_problem', _Mrs. P."

Mrs. Pierce was not happy with the boy. Not one bit. Still, it was in her nature to be gentle. "Then how do you solve it?"

Alois smiled wide and picked up the piece of chalk once more. "It's _easy_. You just have to read the problem _very carefully_." he began.

The boy reread his equation aloud to his class. "_Ra^2+Ah^3+Ra(Ma+Ma^2)+Ga^2+Ooh(La^2)=__Bad Romance.__"_ he said with a grin.

The students erupted with laughter, getting the joke. However, Mrs. Pierce on the other hand, did _not._ "What's so funny?" she asked nervously. "How is that the answer?"

"'_Ra-ra, ah-ah-ah! Ra-ma, ra-ma-ma! Ga-ga, ooh-la-la! Want your __**Bad Romance**__!_ It's called, '_The Gagaian Law'_._"_ the blonde sang, much to the amusement of the other children. He then took a bow and placed the chalk carefully back in it's place. The boy was a clown. He simply couldn't seem to help himself when it came to stealing the spotlight. Alois did things like this in many classes, and always seemed to get away with it. Today, however, was not a day he_ would_.

** "Stop it!"** Mrs. Pierce yelled, and the room went silent. The children were speechless. Never had they heard the woman _yell_ before. She was always so passive, and yet, she yelled in anger. Obviously, the poor woman was tired of being stepped on.

She wrote her _own_ problem on the board. Obviously nothing the blonde could actually _solve_. Not even in a_ million _years. There where symbols there that most of the children had never even _seen_ before.

"Now _solve it,_ mister Trancy." the disgruntled woman said in a harsh tone.

Alois blinked and analyzed the problem for a moment. The teen rubbed his chin and pointed at various points in the equation, as though trying to deceifer their secrets. Finally, he knew what he was going to do.

The blonde crudely drew a picture of a smiley face next to the equation, looked at the teacher, _**and jumped out the window.**_

Everyone in the room was shocked. This room was on the _fourth floor, _and somebody just jumped out the window. It took several seconds for this to sink in, but once it did, all hell had broken loose.

Children where screaming, others ran over to the window to see where he had landed, the teacher was trying, (and failing) to calm both her, and her students down. What the hell just happened? Did Alois just commit_ suicide?_

_ No._

It would take much more than that to kill him. He wasn't _human_, after all. Our blonde hero had simply landed in some nearby trees, and was nearly out of sight by all those looking down below. However, he was now regretting his impulsive decision, as he was now _stuck_ in this tree.

Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem. He'd just allow the tree to tear a hole in his jacket, and/or shirt, and climb down. Easy, right? Unfortunately, this tree had him by his _pants_. Not _just _his pants, but both his pants _and_ his _underpants._ Now he was certainly in a pickle. He could force his way out, but that would mean potentially _exposing_ himself to his peers. And_ streaking _is something not even _this _blonde would do. So, he had to swallow what little pride he had, and call for help. Alois reached into his coat pocket, and texted Ciel.

"_Hey, I'm stuck in a tree over by building four can you help me?_

_-AT"_

_Send._

And so, he waited. Alois stayed in that tree for several minutes, _attempting_ to endure the horrible wedgie nature was giving him before his phone vibrated.

"_WHAT. DID. YOU. DO._

_-CP"_

This was taking a turn for the worse. His poor judgement was now not only costing him his pants, but now, he was also going to get his arse kicked by Ciel. He had to choose his next words _very _carefully. If he messes up, Ciel may very well leave him there until school ends.

_"Something __**really**__ stupid. I jumped out a window. I can be such an idiot sometimes._

_-AT"_

_Send._

He waited. Anxious to see what his companion's reply would be. The blonde hoped admitting it was a bad decision would lessen his punishment. Time passed, and the bell rang, signifying that is was now time for the class change. Alois waited still. He saw other children pass him, unable to see him in his position up in the tree. He waited, and waited.

Finally, his prince charming arrived to save him. He looked rather annoyed, so Alois knew he was in for it, but still, was he glad to see the bluenette. The poor boy's rear was now asleep from the continuous wedgie.

"Alois! Can you hear me?" his friend called.

"Yeah! I'm up here!"

"I'll get you down, just hang on." Ciel said in a frustrated tone as he started to make his way up the tree."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

The bluenette made eventually reached the blonde. Upon seeing his companion, he _laughed._ Ciel Phantomhive _laughed._ "_Pffft!_ Ahhahaha-hahaha-ha-ha! _Oh my god_! Is this why you couldn't get down yourself?! Hahaha-hahaha! Oh, _my_ _sides_! Hahaha!"

The blonde's face heated up. "_**It's not funny!"**_ he shrieked.

"Ha... Yes it is. Wait, wait!" the bluenette pulled out his cell phone. "_Smile, Alois_."

_Click!_

** "Stop taking pictures and help me down!"**

"Hang on, let me set this to my wallpaper..."

** "You better **_**not!"**_

Ciel looked up from his phone at the blonde. He paused and said: "Have you forgotten you are currently at my _mercy?" _

He was right. Alois _knew_ he was right. Had the bluenette felt like it, he could just _leave_ the blonde there. Then he'd be royally _screwed_.

They only other way down was to ditch his trousers, whether intentionally or not. Then he'd _really_ have a hard time facing the other boy. The blonde could hardly do so since knowing he overheard his conversation with the makeup crew backstage at the musical the other day.

_God_, he was embarrassed. Ciel hadn't said anything about it, but he _knew_ the slate-haired boy heard them. Where his feelings _that_ obvious? If so, did Ciel already know _before _then? And if that was the case, was Alois in the _friend zone?_

These questions tugged at the blonde's chest since then. Lately he's had trouble even looking his friend in the eye. But for now, he tried to crush these thoughts down and focus on his current predicament.

"Fine..." he surrendered, "Just get me down..."

"That's _better_." Replied the bluenette.

Ciel, on the other hand, was exceptionally cheerful. After finding out his companion was _at least interested_ in him, some of his previously unsettling thoughts were set at ease. However he was also burdened with some question's of his own. What will Sebastian say? What would happen to his reputation? What if he was _wrong?_

However, he pushed these inquiries aside for the moment to come to the aide of the blonde in question. The slate-haired teen climbed to the branch that Alois was on and inspected the damage.

_ "Mother of God..."_ the words escaped the boy's lips and reached the ears of the other, further giving him increasing amounts of distress.

"What?! What is it?!" the blonde asked. He frantically tried to turn his head to see for himself, but failed.

Ciel paused for a moment before declaring: "It's a _half-moon.._."

"**Quit starin' at my ass!"**

The Phantomhive boy cleared his throat and attempted to hide his blush. "I wasn't _staring._ I was simply pointing out your current state of affairs. Do you want help or not?"

"...Yes, please."

With a heave, Ciel pulled up his friend and unhooked his trousers from the clutches of the _vile branch_. Alois was attempting to fix his pants, and rid himself of the infernal wedgie, when a most peculiar sound was heard.

_Crack!_

"What was that?"

In turn, the other boy answered the blonde. "I don't know."

_Crack, crack!_

"There is is again!"

"Wait, I think it's the-!"

_SNAP!_

The branch that the two were sitting on could no longer support their weight, and gave way. Phantomhive and Trancy fell, hitting a few other branches on their descent, breaking them as well. Down they fell, destroying bird's nests, being slapped by leaves, and letting out a few "oofs". Although it didn't seem like it, it wasn't long until the boys crashed into the earth with a gut wrenching _thud._

Their terror has ended, or so they thought until they examined the position they were in. As payment for rescuing him, Ciel had (unintentionally) used the other boy to cushion his fall, and was thus above him in a rather _curious_ way.

Quickly, they scrambled to untangle themselves before anyone saw. Each now had an apparent blush on their faces.

"What the bloody hell was _that?!"_ exclaimed the boy in the eyepatch, demanding an explanation to what just occured.

"How should _I _know?! It was _you_ on top of _me!"_ declared the other while pointing at his companion accusingly.

"I didn't do it on _purpose! _It was an _accident!"_

Both paused for a moment. An "accident". Well, that's what is was. It was really no one's fault. It was just an accident. And without even using words, they knew that's what they agreed upon.

The blonde got up , dusted himself off, and cleared his throat. "_Ahem._ Well, that's all there is too it, then." He extended a hand to help his friend up.

"Yes, _an accident._ Let's just pretend that didn't happen, shall we?" taking up the blonde's offered appendage.

"Agreed."

They walked to class, which they were now late for. They would have to give an explanation for their attire. They both had leaves, dirt, and other such things on their uniforms. _God, what conclusion's would the other students jump to? _Nothing _appropriate_, most likely.

But it was an _accident._ Both boys agreed. Just a _pleasant_ accident...

"Thanks for saving me again, _'Prince Charming'."_

_**"Shut up."**_

* * *

**A/N: Oh my~!**

**No, this fic shall remain rated T _and that's final._  
**

**I was a bit late on this today. Sorry! My _entire_ _School District _is out most the week due to an influenza epidemic, so we got out early today. My immune system's been fightin' off the virus, so far. Which is pretty good, since I forgot to fill out the paper to get a flu-shot! Regardless, I still feel kinda cruddy so I was just resting most the day.  
**

**So lazy.  
**

**Everything changed when the ProcrastiNATION attacked...  
**

**Anyways, expect more chapters tomorrow!  
**

**Wimpyninja, over and out!  
**


	28. Don't Even Pretend

Since jumping out of the window at school, the Trancy boy was given "_Out Of School Suspension_" for four days. He's stayed at home for three days now, with nothing to do. It was just like the days before he went to school, only this time, he can use the internet. This made it a bit better. The blonde was bored by himself while Ciel was out. Well, Sebastian was home, but something told Alois that he was still a bit peeved about the whole "_Forcing him into servitude for eternity_" thing.

When Ciel came home, he brought home the homework assignments Alois had missed and helped him figure them out. They where in Alois' room, going over the problem's and such. Currently, they where studying for their government class, when the blonde suddenly threw down his pencil and put his hands up in the air.

"I don't get it!" he yelled.

"How can you not?! Her Majesty is _not_ the same as the Prime Minister!"

"But why not?! If her Majesty doesn't run the government, and the Prime Minister _does,_ why do we still have a Queen?!"

"_You can't just call the Queen_ _**useless!**__"_

"I just _**did!**__"_

Ciel furrowed his brow in frustration and rubbed his forehead. He stepped back and thought for a moment on how to explain the British Government to this air-headed blonde boy caught in a _time-warp_. Of course the shorter teen _understood _government, he was her Majesty's Gaurd Dog, after all. But understanding and _explaining_ are two very different things.

_"Look,_ the Queen has the most power of anyone in the governmental system, but she _rarely_ uses that power except in cases of emergencies, got it?"

Alois sat in the floor with his legs criss-crossed, staring at the other boy. "Yeah, I think I'm with ya, so far..."

The bluenette continued his explanation. "Alright, so the _Prime Minister _is appointed by the Queen. The Prime Minister, along with the rest of the Cabinet, run the country..."

"I thought you said _the Queen_ had the most power?"

"She does."

"And with that, you've lost me." said the blonde making a hand gesture that seemed to represent his attention span floating away.

"Right. I need to look up how to explain this." The Phantomhive boy said, standing up. "Can I borrow your computer?"

"Why, I'd be insulted if you didn't!" replied the blonde whilst drawing a crude picture of what looked like a duck eating a sandwich.

Ciel walked over to the Alois' desk where the blonde's computer. He sat down, logged on, and pulled up Firefox. The bluenette pulled up Google and searched for the appropriate documents. The computer was a had-me-down for the boy, so he knew it was slow, but he didn't remember it being quite _this _slow.

Finally, after becoming irritated by the crawling speed the computer was going, Ciel finally had to ask the fair-haired boy: "Did you do something to this computer?"

"I _used_ it?" he replied. "It's been really slow lately for some reason. I dunno why."

The petite boy began clicking around, trying to discover the reason for this. He tried messing with the settings, but everything was set to the default. He tried seeing if the blonde had downloaded something, but there was nothing. He looked to see if the thing was even connected to the internet, it was. Something obviously wasn't right with this computer, but the eyepatched gentleman could not figure out _what_. He leaned back in the chair and cycled through all the possible problems he could think of with his basic knowledge of computers. Finally, something hit him. Something he hadn't checked.

"Alois, _have you deleted your history at all?"_

Confused, the blonde looked up at the other boy. "Deleted my _what?" _

Bingo. It wasn't a guaranteed fix, but it was all the bluenette could think of. He moved his cursor to the right corner of the window and clicked on his desired target. Just by glancing at it, he _knew_ the boy had never deleted a thing. Problem solved, right? He was going to delete the contents of the folder, however, upon further inspection, he discovered the _websites_ Alois had visted.

Now, most of them were perfectly good websites. There was Youtube, Huffingtonpost, deviantart, BBC, Google, and Wikipedia. All fine sites, but there where some... let's just say,_ "not so good sites."_

"Alois?"

"Yeah?"

"What's with this?"

The flaxen-haired boy scooted over to the desk and rested his chin on the table, looking up at the screen. There was a small blush on his cheeks, as would there anyone's when something so private of theirs is discovered. But he hid his embarrassment behind his best poker-face. "Oh...that? I get bored sometimes."

"That's _disgusting."_

The blonde paused and looked up at his friend. "Don't even pretend you _don't_..."

"..._shut up_..."

* * *

**A/N: Oh my~!**

**_Teenagers_, eh?  
**

**I was trying to understand the United Kingdom's system of government _and this is what happens?! Brain, THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!__  
_I haven't the faintest idea if anything they said was even accurate. Even about the computer...  
**

**Filler-ish? Yeah, no character development here. I just thought the idea was kind of funny. A rather ordinary situation, but still, funny. (Unless of course, you're in it.)**

** It happens, am I right?  
**

**If there was an "Older Teen" rating on this site...  
**

**..._Anyways, _I hope nobody was offended by any of this. I'll get back to other crap, I promise.  
**

**I wanted to do another _murder mystery_, but I'm not sure how to top _the Sudoku Killer. _The idea for that sucker-punched me in the face while typing the beginning of chapter four. Not sure what to do about that, since my best ideas are all spontaneous. Also, I'm afraid murder mysteries might get old, y'know? Fortunately, those are the most interesting types of mysteries. Phantomhive and Trancy finding missing pets? Rubbish!  
**

**OH GOD I'M RAMBLING AGAIN! Until next time, readers, _Auf Wiedersehen!_  
**


	29. Friends And Mischief

The Trancy boy returned to Warwick after he filled his sentence and everyone was asking him questions. Things such as, "Why'd you do it", "Are you okay", and "what happened". No matter how many times he assured them that everything was fine and he just didn't like math class, they simply wouldn't leave him alone. Not even Ciel could get them to leave. The bluenette had a hard time even getting _close_ to his friend because of the swarm. The blonde was starting to become irritated, and when he's irritated, _bad things happen._

His desk was surrounded by concerned classmates. Boys and girls alike were harassing the blonde incessantly. It took the input of one boy to get them to stop. That boy's name? No, it wasn't Ciel Phantomhive, if that's what you where wondering. His name was _Travis Sullivan_. Travis had dark, curly hair, a square-ish jaw, and an angry brow. He was a big boy, in fact, he was the tallest kid in the grade. Travis' father was a professional wrestler, but his mother owned a jewelry company, however, this was not known as broadly as the "pro-wrestler" bit. He was also considered "the toughest kid in the school", because of this. Our boys, however, knew that he wouldn't harm a _fly._

"That's _enough."_ he said in his booming voice. "You're bothering him."

That right there was enough to clear the area. The other children fled, leaving only the three boys to themselves. "Thanks, _Sully."_

The scary-looking boy smiled slightly. "Anytime." he said patting the blonde's head before walking back to his own seat.

Ciel rubbed his forehead and sighed in exasperation. "I'm _so_ glad that's over."

"At least for _this_ _class period, _anyway." added Alois. He knew that he would be hounded until the weekend came.

"You brought it upon yourself, you know." replied the bluenette. "_Human boy,_ remember?" he whispered.

"What's the fun in being a demonic apparition if you can't _enjoy _it?" Alois whispered back.

He yelped as he was slapped on the back by none other than _Daniel Westley_. His dad was a politician, and was friends with _everybody_, even if he really wasn't. The plain-looking boy was loud, obnoxious, and worst of all, _overly friendly._ Ciel _especially _found him annoying for this reason. Physically, his hair was brown, and parted towards the right. The trimming on his uniform was blue, while his tie was red. Either way, the kid was "nice".

"Alois Trancy! Ya crazy bastard! How's life treatin' you?" He said with a grin.

The blonde rubbed the spot where the boy had hit him. "Pretty good I guess."

"Good to hear!" he said a bit louder than necessary. "Hey, I wanted to ask you and Phantomhive something."

"What is it?" The bluenette finally chimed in, hearing his name.

"Well, Travis, Preston, Audrey, Kristopherson and I where going to go on a bit of an adventure this weekend, and were wondering if you guys would like to come!"

"'_Adventure?'"_

"Yeah! You know the old abandoned mansion?"

"The one that is supposedly 'haunted'?"

"The very same. We where going to go check it out Saturday night. So, you in?"

Before the blonde could object, Ciel declared. "We'll be there."

"Great! We'll be meeting outside it's gates at 9 o' clock! See ya there!" And like that, he left. Apparently somebody he was _"friends"_ with was feeling down about something. Probably just some stupid teenage pseudo-problems.

Alois finally had his chance to speak again. _"Eugh_! _Kristopherson?!_ I don't want to go anywhere with _Kristopherson!"_ he spat the faux-blonde's name out like it was a disease.

"I know. Neither do I. But there's been reports about people going _missing_ at the site over the years, and I thought we should investigate." said Ciel.

"Oh, so it's potential murder or kidnapping that interests you?"

"You have the _same interest_, do you not?"

The blonde paused for a moment, pondering his next move. His friend was right, he had to admit that. In all honesty, he just simply _did not_ want to go. "I know, but still..."

"What are you, afraid of _ghosts?" _the bluenette said with a smirk.

Bulls-eye. He didn't want to got for those two reasons: Kristopherson, and the fact that the place was supposedly "haunted". Alois just sat there, trying to think of an excuse. Something to prove that Ciel was wrong.

He wasn't. "Don't worry," the eyepatched boy began, "there are no ghosts there, but the _ghosts of the past._"

"What do you mean?"

"This mansion we're going to; it's been abandoned so long that no one even remembers it's name, or who it belonged to. But _you_ know it, and_ I _know it."

"You don't mean..."

"Yes._**Trancy Manor**__."_

* * *

**A/N: KRISTOPHERSON, WHY YOU GOTTA RUIN EVERYBODY'S TRIPS TO HAUNTED ABANDONED MANSIONS?!**


	30. The Haunted Painting

Saturday night came around, and the hour of nine drew ever closer. The boys had Sebastian drop them off near the deserted estate, and they walked the rest of the way. The reason for this, being that Ciel did not want to explain that Sebastian was _not_ his father. They brought flashlights and batteries, although they didn't really need them. Demons can see in the dark. Even Alois, who used to be afraid of the dark, was no longer after becoming a fully-fledged demon.

They met up with the other children outside the gates to the manor. The gates where rusted and falling off, and the mansion was in pretty poor shape as well. Windows where broken, weeds grew all around, graffiti was on the walls, the fountain was dry and crumbling, and that was just the _outside._

Alois had really mixed feelings about this. It was funny to him to see the place of his imprisonment in such disarray, but it was sad to see his former _home_ this way. No matter what happened here, it was still part of him. A big part. He remembered it being so grand, so beautiful, but now, it was in ruins.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the Phantomhive boy. The gesture silently communicated that it was okay. Ciel could imagine what he was feeling at the moment, and understood. It was moments like this where the two really felt like they could confide in each other a bit.

Daniel elected himself the group leader. "Alright! Here's the deal! Whoever can make it out without crying for their mommies wins!"

"Wins _what?" _asked Travis.

"Yes, games aren't any fun without a _prize_." Alois added.

"Right, uhm..." Daniel thought for awhile. He was never an especially creative thinker. He often felt that the_ means _were more important than the _ends_, the complete opposite of what the son of a _politician_ should think.

"Losers have to be the winner's slaves for a day." interrupted Kristopherson. He looked over to Alois when he did. The faux-blonde was probably thinking of tormenting him if he won, which by the way, was highly _unlikely._

Alois saw this, and ignored it, looking over to Ciel. _"This'll be too easy!" _he whispered to his friend.

_"That's not what you'll be saying when I win." _Ciel whispered back.

"That's _**it!**_" Daniel shouted. _Loudly._ "We'll split up into teams of two, and will try to scare each other shitless!_ Preston_! Give everybody their walkies!"

"Right." _Preston Omid_ was a shy boy of Indian descent. He was asked to get the walkies-talkies because his family own a technology and electronics company. The boy honestly didn't care who was in his group as long as it wasn't Kristopherson. The faux-blonde would often torment the boy about his lineage, often saying that he "wasn't really English", never mind the fact that he and most of his family up until the 1800s were born and raised here. Regardless, he did what he was told, and handed them out.

Everyone tuned into the same frequency and tested the devices, (Alois made sure to save his questions about the new technology for later) and settled on their teams. Daniel went in with Kristopherson, Preston with Travis, leaving our two demons together. They walked into the house, and the teams separated.

The floors were covered in dirt and grime, dust covered every surface, graffiti covered the inside walls, too, and spiderwebs. There where spiderwebs everywhere. Even after being abandoned, the Trancy estate's custom of letting the creatures live was still upheld, it seemed. Alois thought this and let out a small laugh.

"You okay?" the bluenette asked, giving the blonde a concerned look.

"Yeah..." the blonde said, kicking up a bit of dirt with his foot. "It feels so surreal. This place. It's like I'm in some sort of alternate reality or something." He brushed the dirt aside, revealing part of the Trancy crest on the foyer floor. "Look, it's still here."

"I know what you mean." The bluenette felt it too. He also spent time here, although at the time, he was trying to destroy the boy next to him, his then enemy, now friend. "Well, we should probably get to work."

"With what?"

"Scaring the others, of course. We both know this place, you knowing it the best, and we're demons. This shouldn't be difficult in the slightest." he gave a small smile and looked at the blonde. "It's still your house, that makes you the host. Let's give them some good old-fashioned _hospitality."_

A smile returned to the blonde's face. "Yeah! Let's give 'em a time they won't ever forget!" And so, the two planned their attack.

However, in another part of the manor, Kristopherson and Daniel where not having fun. You see, the two boys where now lost in a supposedly haunted, decaying mansion.

"I thought you said you knew where we where going!?" Kristopherson said angry, but in a hushed tone. It felt taboo to speak above a whisper in this house.

"How could I? I've never been here before." the other boy replied with a similar degree of a whisper.

"What?! S-so we're _lost?!"_

_ "_We aren't _lost_, we just don't know where we're going." Daniel continued walking, but then the other boy didn't reply. The sudden silence was discomforting to the boy. "Kristopherson? Are you still back there?" he turned around to face the other boy.

Kristopherson stood frozen. Mouth open, speechless. There wasn't a ghost or anything like that. No, what the boy was gawking at, was a _painting_. In the painting, there was a boy who looked about fourteen. He was wearing a dark purple coat that stopped just a bit past his buttocks, short black shorts and brown stockings. The boy in the picture had pale skin, ice blue eyes, and pale blonde hair, swept to his left, and an arrogant, evil little smirk.

Daniel examined the painting. "Whoa, that kid looks just like..."

He was cut off when he saw Kristopherson raise him arm to point. Following the boy's finger to the bottom of the dusty frame, he saw something most peculiar. A name, inscribed on the frame. That name was, none other than...

**_"Alois... Trancy..."_**

* * *

**__A/N: Bum, bum, BUM! **

**And so the plot thickens...  
**

**I simply love reading your reviews, you guys. Each and every single one gives me so many _FEELINGS._  
**

**No, wimpyninja, pull yourself together. No tears, no tears. Not even joy-tears. *sniff* Okay, maybe just a little...  
**

**Whenever I write these, I listen to a playlist of _Jormungand_ OST's. It's the same composer as Kuroshitsuji, Taku Iwasaki. (Trufax.) It, in a bizarre way, has a similar feel in most of the songs. They are also more modern, and I find it _extremely_ helpful.  
**

**Listening to Kuro, however, gives me the wrong sort of feeling, because it's a different time period, y'know?  
**

**OH GOD, THE RAMBLING AGAIN.  
**

**Well, until later, my beloved little duckies!  
**


	31. Ghosts Are Totally Real!

Daniel and Kristopherson summoned the other boys via walkies-talkies to see this. The boy in the painting beared a striking resemblance to Alois, from his facial features to his peculiar fashion sense.

"See? Looks just like him. Shorty-shorts and everything!" said Daniel.

"I wonder if he was ever arrested. Being dressed like that for the time period was highly frowned upon." Preston mused.

"What would you know about Victorian England? Your family was still in India!" Kristopherson said in an attempt to put the boy down.

The boy sighed in exasperation. "Piss off, Kris."

"It's _Kristopherson!"_

_ "Whatever."_

Alois stared at the painting for a long time without saying anything. He looked at his reflection wondering about who he was. Was he really the rotten, evil-looking little boy in the picture? He looked to his bluenette companion with a questioning look.

In response, the other boy shrugged. He really didn't know what to say. He remembers Alois as being his nemesis, his arch-rival. He was so different now, that the eyepatched teen was at a loss for words.

That said, the picture gave him an idea. An idea on how they can win this silly competition. But, he would have to wait until the others where gone to convey it to his blonde friend.

"As fascinating as this has been, we should explore the mansion some more." he said.

"Yeah! We might be able to find out more about this kid! C'mon, Kris!"

"It's _Kristopherson!"_ the faux-blonde yelled while following the adventurous son of a politician.

"We should probably go to, Travis. I want to know more about this, too!" Preston had never been so excited in his life.

"Yeah."

Suddenly, the two demons where alone again. The other's went off to discover more about the mystery boy. Only, he wasn't one. It was no coincidence that there was a strong resemblance between he and the blonde standing here today.

"So, what now?" he asked.

The bluenette paused. "We can use this."

"What?"

"Now they know _this_ Alois Trancy existed. With just a bit of demonic power, we can use this to scare he living hell out of everyone."

Now this, the blonde pearked up at. "What's the plan?" he asked with a grin.

"We show them the memory."

"And like that, you've lost me."

Ciel shook his head. "It means what I said. We go to a room, and I can rig it to show a flashback when someone walks in."

Alois stood silent for a moment, letting this sink in. He wasn't sure if he liked this plan. Afterall, there where terrible memories hidden within this house.

"You don't have to do it." the bluenette said suddenly, pulling the blonde back to reality. "We can find another way, of course. It was just an idea."

The flaxen-haired boy looked at his friend for a moment. Thinking about what he just said. Ciel was harsh, cold, and disinterested on the outside, but on another level, _considerate._ Almost _sweet, _even. Alois of course, couln't say no to this boy.

"Alright, but nothing... extreme, alright?"

"Naturally." replied the bluenette with his usual small, awkward smile. It was when he smiled like this, you knew he was sincere. "What's the nearest room you know they'll be compelled to walk into?"

"The Dining room. Start there?"

"_Of course_."

The boys then initiated their plan. They carefully laid out their diabolic circles at the entrances and exits to these rooms, and planted a memory. Ciel would draw the circle, Alois would provide a memory, Ciel would draw the circle, and Alois would provide a memory. They continued this while their friends searched the estate for details about the boy in the painting. Half an hour or so had passed, and and the group consisting of Daniel and Kristopherson neared the dining room.

"I can't beleive we've found absolutely _nothing!_" Daniel whined.

"Shut up! I recomended going into what looked like the records room, but _no_, 'books are too _boring!'_ Didn't it ever occur to you that maybe there was a diary or something in there that could tell us something?" Kristopherson was not happy. It's been hour and a half since they entered this mansion, and all they've found was dirt, dust, and _spiders_. Some adventure this was turning out to be.

"I was hoping for a ghost or something."

"Please! Ghosts aren't real!" After saying that, they entered the dining room. While walking up to it, they swore it looked as dirty and dingy as any other room, but now, standing inside of it, it looks _brand new._

_ "What in blazes is going on?!" _ Kristopherson whispered. The boy's voice contained more than just a trace of panic.

"_I don't know!" _said Daniel in a similar hushed tone. "_Wait, what's that?"_

The boy pointed at a boy sitting at the end of the table, appearing to be eating breakfast. The boy was blonde with his hair brushed to his left, wearing a dress shirt, a green vest with a black collar and black stripes reaching either down or up, either way you looked at the vertical lines. The large bow around his neck was also black, as where his short-shorts and stockings. It was none other than _the boy in the painting._

However, there was another person in the room. A maid with long silver hair, and tan skin stood at the boy's side while he played with his food. The two explorers had no idea who she was, but agreed that she was beautiful.

Suddenly, the boy spoke. "_Hannah,"_ he appeared not to take notice to the visitors, "_Don't you think eggs are pitiable? It's shell is broken and it's forced to publicly show an indecorous appearance. Then it becomes an eyeball, internal organs, or a plume."_ he broke the eggs yolk with his utensil and it spread across his plate. "_And I rob it of any and all possibilities." _the boy said, looking over to the woman, would it seem goes by the name, "Hannah".

She didn't return his gaze.

The phantom looked back to his spread, playing with his silverware. His touched his knife to the edge of his glass, enviably spilling it. The purplish-red liquid soild the tablecloth as well as the boy's clothes.

"_Hannah."_

The maid glanced over at the boy, and, seeing the mess, rushed over to clean it. Suddenly, the boy let out a yelp, followed by a scream. This grabbed the woman's attention. She looked up at the young master to see what was the matter, making eye contact with the boy.

His mouth warped into a smirk, and he let out a giggle. _"Yes, truly pathetic, indeed."_ The boy's face looked deranged as he extended his fingers to the woman's. He did not simply touch the woman's face. Oh, no. The boy dug his fingers into the woman's eye socket, gouging out the organ and robbing her of her sight on her left side.

Daniel and Kristopherson looked on in horror as the boy did this, while continuing to smile. Daniel tried running up to the boy in an attempt to stop him.

"**Stop it!" **he cried, reaching to grab the estranged child's shoulder to force him to cease his actions. To his surprise, his hand went right through the boy. He couldn't stop him. _He wasn't really there._

It would appear that the "spirit" took no notice, as it continued to act out the memory. "_Hasn't Claude taught you any better? A maid mustn't look directly at her master. It's rude!"_

The poor woman let out a whimper as the boy continued. "_Do forgive me,"_ the boy said, looking away with a face of feigned regret, almost as if he was sorry._ "Claude will be most upset if I don't punish you, so..."_ He removed his fingers and allowed the woman to fall to the ground. She did not scream, nor cry. She just crouched, clutching the source of her agony.

Then, everything faded. The boy and the maid disappeared and the blue room reverted to it's current state, with peeling wallpaper, dust and grime, and _spiders._ Oh, the _spiders. _

Kristopherson and Daniel simply couldn't take it. They screamed in terror and ran for the exit. The ran as fast as their legs could carry them, occasionally tripping over rubble. Rounding the corner, Kristopherson fell backwards after colliding with a familiar face.

"Ow! Watch where you're going!" shouted the blonde boy, while he got up, rubbing his rear, now pained from reaching contact with the ground. He looked at the other boy, sitting where he landed, speechless, as was the boy behind him. "What? You look like you've seen a _ghost!" _he said with a smirk.

At that, the other two's terror was rejuvenated as they scrambled to there feet and fled the mansion. They stopped at the gate to phone their comrades.

"A _ghost?"_ Ciel repeated, with his ear up to the walkie-talkie. "That's ridiculous, _ghosts don't exist."_

"But we _saw_ it!" yelled the panicked voice on the other end. "In the dining room! The kid in the picture gouged out a lady's _eye_!"

"You're imagining things." Ciel assured them while giving his blonde friend a look. "There's no way."

"But it _did_! It _was_ real!" Kristopherson insisted.

"Whatever. Just don't bitch on Monday when you have to be a slave." with that, he turned off the device and returned it to his pocket.

"What?" asked Alois, responding to the look Ciel was giving him.

"Your maid's eye, really?"

The blonde shrugged with a guilty face. "I admit it was wrong. I was a terrible person."

"Aren't we both?"

_ "Always."_

* * *

**A/N:"After all this time?"  
**

**"Always."  
**

**Harry Potter, wut?  
**

**Two down, two to go. Kristopherson, you pansy.  
**

**Remember that one scene? Good times, good times...  
**

**The dialogue for that was taken from the English dub. Luci Christian, mm-hm. I thought she did a good job in most parts, but there where times when I was like, _"He's not the same as Honey, Luci!"_ Like the scene when Blondie got shanked? Baby talking, bleeding Alois? I don't even...  
**

**But still,  
**

**DVD/Blu-ray box-sets for the _WIN._  
**

**_Does anyone still understand what I'm talking about?  
_**

**Whatever...**

**Anyways, until the next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	32. Memories And Imminent Danger

In the library of the old, abandonned Trancy manor, Alois and Ciel where planning their next attack. Daniel and Kristopherson were already vanquished, leaving only Travis and Preston in the way between them, and total victory.

"This is surprisingly fun. I don't even remember why I was so against coming here." the blonde said.

"Because you're a scaredy-demon?" said Ciel as he was finishing up this last diabolic circle.

"I am _not!"_

_ "'Oh no! A haunted mansion! Whatever shall I do?'" _the bluenette teased, in his best "Alois-voice". Putting his hands on his face in mock-terror.

"_Hey_, I've seen demons and grim reapers, so why wouldn't there be ghosts?"

"Whatever."

"And didn't you say kids were _disappearing_ around here? That's a pretty good reason to be frightened."

Ciel put the finishing touches on his circle, and stood up. "Yes, that's why I said we'd come, after all. These traps are also for whoever is responsible."

"_Bullshit,_ you just wanted to scare everyone."

"That too." The bluenette dusted himself off. The library was just as filthy as all the other rooms in the manor. However, it looked almost exactly as the boy remembered. (Minus the dirt, of course.) The suits of armour and decorative weaponry on the walls. Well, what hasn't been stolen or vandalized by local kids. It was in this room where the boys dueled.

He remembered the rush of adrenaline he got while fending off the blonde's attacks. How he felt while in turn, striking at the blonde. The memory of being pinned down and taunted by Alois seems as though it only happened yesterday. The stinging of catching the boy's blade in his hand, and the sensation of piercing the boy's abdomen with his own. He shuddered at the thought.

It appeared that Alois too, remembered all this. But he chose to hide it. At least for now. He walked around the room, taking it all in, and reliving that moment as it unfolded. The blonde spun around in a circle as he did this. He was about to turn to his friend, when he saw something strange. Something that wasn't there before.

In the corner, behind the staircase, was what appeared to be bedding.

"Hey, Ciel, what's that?" he asked.

The bluenette walked over to the other boy to investigate. "It looks like someone's been living here. " he said, walking over to the pile.

"Homeless?"

"Looks like it."

Alois thought about his time as a child. It wasn't particularly fun, but he had Luka. He also thought this person seemed to have found a really good place to stay, with the exception of the occasional hooligan popping in on a dare. He'd have preferred that a place like this too, when he was with Luca.

"Alois, I think we have a problem."

The blonde was pulled out of his thoughts by the sudden news. "What?"

Ciel moved a piece of the bedding off to the side. Underneath, many of the swords and knives previously on the wall were hidden. Some of them had _dried blood _on them. Furthermore, there where pots and pans nearby, probably taken from the kitchen. The contents were appalling.

"Teeth?! Fingers?! What the hell?!" exclaimed the blonde. He could now smell it. _human remains._

_ "Cannibalism_. _Disgusting."_ The bluenette said. "Question is, where _are they now?"_

The boys suddenly looked at each other, realizing that the others where in danger. This lunatic was the reason this place was considered haunted. This lunatic was the reason for the disappearances of the local children. And this lunatic, was now somewhere in the mansion with two unsuspecting children.

But unfortunately for _this lunatic,_ he was also trapped in this mansion with two _demons. _The boys knew what they had to do.

"We have to get them out. _Now."_ said the blonde with an oddly determined face.

Ciel smiled at this. Such a face was uncommon for the boy, as was the sudden care for the well-being of others. He had to respect this. "As a bonus, I'll get to solve this series of disappearances." he said.

They boys each pulled a sword off the wall and set off in search of a cannibalistic boogeyman. Their rematch would have to wait.

* * *

**A/N: Short chapter is short. **

**Magical setup for the next chapter, whee!  
**

**Who remembers Ciel saying anything about disappearing children? Kudos to those who do. I think it was, what? Three chapters ago or somethin'?  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	33. Gone Home

It was on this night at the old abandoned mansion, that another group of boys decided to test their bravery. Two boys made it outside and now wait for the four remaining. Two of the boys still inside where named Preston, and Travis.

The boy who went by Preston was getting tired. It was a little after midnight by this time, and this game was wearing on far too long for his tastes. It was at this time when the boy's tiredness was starting to affrct him. He would yelp at every creak the floorboard made and every odd shadow. All Preston wanted to do right now was go home.

_Creak!_

"_Eep! What was that?!"_ he said in a whisper.

Travis was a big, tough-looking boy who seldom spoke. He wore a mask of indifference that rivaled even sir Phantomhive's, hiding his own paranoia.

"Probably just the wind." he said plainly.

_Creak!_

_ "There it is again!"_

It would appear the noises that where causing the boys distress where coming from behind them. They stopped and turned, shining the flashlight in the general area, trying to discover it's source. Nothing was there. Just the same mold and dirt and nasty peeling wallpaper, in the empty hallway.

"See? It was nothing." said Travis, turning around to move forward.

_"AUGH!" _the two boys screamed at once. There in front of them, was something that wasn't there before. A boy, similar to the one in the painting, and to that with which they arrived at the estate. But this boy, was different from either of them.

This boy had horns, for starters. A tail, too, like that of a monkey's. Long, black fingernails, and pointed ears. He too wore black short-shorts as his likenesses did, but he also had black thigh-high boots, black, fingerless gloves that reached slightly past the elbow, and a black shirt too, with no sleeves, that reached the end of his ribcage, exposing his abdomen. In his hand, he held a sword. No, this boy was _very different_. The other two similar looking boys, at least Preston and Travis thought, were _human._

_ "Good evening." _he said, flashing his pointed canines as he smiled.

"H-hi..." Travis managed to choke out.

"So, what can I help you two with?"

The two human boys looked at each other, then back to the demon, questionably. "What?"

The demon played with the tip of the blade in a rather bored-looking manner. "_Surely you must know."_ he said, "After all, you came all this way to _my_ mansion, didn't you?"

Preston looked at the boys hands, then back at his face. He looked like he was _dying_ to use that sword on _someone._ "W-we don't know. W-we didn't k-know that this w-was _your_ mansion..." he said, his fear apparent.

The boy then frowned and stuck his sword in the wooden floorboard in a huff. "So you think it's fine to just barge into other people's houses willy-nilly?!" he eyes glowed as he roared.

_ "We're sorry! We're sorry! We'll leave now! We'll leave __**now!"**_

"_Ten."_

_ "Huh?"_

_ "_You have until I count to _ten. _After that, _I'll come and get you." _He grabbed the handle of the blade once more. "_One..."_ he began, plucking the weapon out of the wooden floor.

In panic, the two boys screamed, and ran away. The demon didn't even make it to "two" before they were completely out of sight. The demon boy smiled.

"Hey, Ciel, how long do you think until they're completely out of the mansion?" he said.

Out of the shadows came another boy with hair of and awkward blueish-black and wearing an eyepatch. "Who knows? I'd give them a couple of minutes."

"Think they'll run into the cannibal?"

"Doubt it. I'm sensing he is in the opposite direction." he said, looking over his shoulder.

The demon boy smiled. "That's good."

"_Alois..._"

"Yeah?"

_ "Change back into your regular form."_

For the bluenette, the blonde's current appearance was too much to bear. Ciel could hardly look at him without gawking. _"How can anyone's demonic form be so... revealing?" _he thought, hiding his blush and averting his gaze.

Alois stood there and observed the other boy's obvious discomfort, trying not to smile. He loved how he was able to evoke such a reaction from his companion. It's not like he _chose_ this form. It just sort of happened. "Why?" he asked, testing the limits of this.

Ciel snuck a peak at the blonde. "_Because_... Because it's shameful! A man holding such a ridiculous appearance is absurd! Not to mention, your tail! It is rude to show another demon your tail! It's ungentleman-like!" the slate-haired teen ranted a bit too loudly.

The blonde demon tried his best to contain his laughter. He felt like he was going to loose it at any second. "Whatever." he said, walking towards his friend. "We still have to catch a cannibalistic lunatic, _remember?"_ he said, walking past the other. He made sure his tail rubbed underneath the boy's chin as he did."

Ciel slapped it away a bit too late. Shivers had already gone down his spine. "_Just change back first!"_

With a sigh, the flaxen-haired demon complied, reverting back to Warwick private school's own class clown: _Alois Trancy_. "You're no fun. By the way, I haven't seen _your_ demon form yet." he said, glancing over his shoulder at the bluenette in a suggestive fashion.

"That's because unlike _you, I_ have a bit more _class."_ the boy stated, once again, desperately trying to conceal his blush.

_ "Pfft. _Okay, mister _stuffy britches_." and the blonde kept walking. "Let's go take care of the _bad, bad man_."

"_Arse_."

"_I love you too, __**muffin**__."_

They ventured deeper into the mansion, stepping over broken furniture, and fighting off the urge to sneeze from all the dust in the air. The boys left no stone unturned in the hunt for this _freak._ They searched the records room, the servants quarters, the office, all leaving them with nothing. The two searched every room they came across, all empty, aside from the spiders and the occasional rodent. Eventually, they reached the Trancy kitchen. The room would seem silent to any normal person, but these boys, they heard _breathing._

The boys needed no flashlight to see through this darkness, being creatures of darkness themselves, so they could very well take this person by surprise. In the room, there was a dirty-looking man covered head to toe in dirt searching for usable resources. With a long beard, disgusting grimy, filthy, oily hair, grotesque fingernails, and a blind eye. However, none of these where the most _distinguishing _feature the man had. No, this had to be the _necklace with human fingers as charms_ around his throat.

Quietly, the two predators closed in. Now, they weren't going to exactly _eat _this man or his _soul._ No, at most they would just kill him. Plain and simple. And that's just what they did.

From both sides, they attacked, piercing the man's being with the blades they borrowed back from the house. Quietly, methodically, and coldly.

He didn't even know what happened. With a pained scream, he fell to the floor, and lay in a pool of his own blood. They made sure toe stab him in the head, so he wouldn't suffer long. It was sort of them showing "kindness" to this man.

From a realistic perspective, he would not be missed. Sad, but true. It was too much of a hassle to deal with getting him out of the house to arrest him with the other kids out front, waiting. Ciel and Alois knew all of this. It was a harsh reality, but these boy's knew of harsh realities, and expected no kindness from the world around them. However, they knew they could rely on each other, which was comforting.

So they left the building to rejoin the other children. All of them went their separate ways. Their parents where surely worried about them. Must be nice. The tow demon boys went home, back to Sebastian, back to Phantomhive manor, where there were no spiders no rats, nor cannibalistic homeless men. They won the game, and no children will disappear on those grounds again.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that was a bit anti-climatic...**

**It seems so, huh? I hope you aren't too disappointed. I didn't want him to be handled in the same way as the Sudoku Killer, y'know?**

**Hopefully Ciel _will_ (eventually) reveal his demon form. I just need to get a clear image in my head of what it is! Fingers crossed!**

**I like giving you moments where it's like, "Aw they're so cute!" and then having them turn around and be sociopaths again. It's an odd displacement. Fun to play with, yes.  
**

**Until next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	34. Those Boys, Troublemaking

It was Monday morning once more at Warwick, and all six boys where still attempting to recover from the horror they had experienced the previous Saturday night. Well, four of them at least. Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy where mysteriously unfazed. They blamed it on them "not seeing anything out of the ordinary", unlike the others. But this was not true. The two had in fact been the _cause_ of the four boy's horrifying expeiriance.

"_Agh!_ I _still_ have nightmares!" said a certain loudmouth who went by the name Daniel.

"That's because you're a coward." a faux-blonde called "Kristopherson" explained with a smug face.

"_Whatever, Kris. _We _saw_ you running out. You were screaming and crying your eyes out like a _bitch."_ Alois, the previously mentioned faux-blonde's "_arch-nemesis"_, corrected. He rubbed his eyes and made "boo-hooeing" noises in order to taunt the boy, laughing as he did.

"_Piss off, _Trancy."

"Ah, ah, ah!" Alois waved his finger in front of the boy's face. "_You _lost, _remember?_ You can't talk to your _master _that way." said the blonde, smiling.

Yes, the boys had a bet. The last group to leave the building won. Losers had to be the winner's slaves for a day, and Alois was _not_ wasting this opportunity. He was going to rub it in Kristopherson's face as much as possible. He used his won authority to mock Kristopherson, copy Prestron's homework, use Travis as a personal bodyguard, and finally, _get Daniel to shut up once and a while. _

His bluenette friend, however, found no need for the authority. Ciel couldn't think of any way to _use_ it. All he wanted was to _win._ That's just his competitive nature. Even if he lost, (which would _never_ happen) he wouldn't obey any commands, because that would be stupid. Watching Alois taunt the others, however, was pretty entertaining. The way the blonde blatantly abuses it was just so_ interesting_. He was creative like that, apparently. He once asked the bluenette: "_If you ordered Sebastian to punch himself in the face, he would have to follow your orders and do it, wouldn't he?" _ Ciel smiled to himself at this thought.

Suddenly, the voice of the politician's son pulled him from his thoughts. "Oh, hey! I was wondering if you guys wanted to see a movie after school today."

"A movie?" Alois asked, trying his hardest to mask his excitement. Last time he went to the movie theater was with Ciel. They saw _Wreck It Ralph_ in the "_3D"_, and it was a_ magical _experience to the blonde.

"Yeah. '_Devil Butler: 2' _is out, and I've been dying to see it!"

"What's it about?"

"Well, '_Devil Butler' _is set in the 1800s and is about this kid named _Cecil Hauntington_ who owns this _candy company_, and he looses his parents in an accident so he inherits the company. _Then_, he summons a_ demon _named _Alfred_, who becomes his _butler_ and he uses him to get _revenge on the people who killed his parents_. In _'Devil Butler: 2', Cecil_ _looses his memory of everything that happened in the first movie _and then has to kill this other kid, _Alphonse Tracy,_ who _also _has a _demon butler." _the boy explained with much enthusiasm.

Ciel and Alois stared at him for a moment with bored looks on their faces. "That..." the bluenette began, "has got to be the most _idiotic_ premise for a movie I have _ever_ heard of _in my life._" His blonde companion just nodded in agreement.

"Oh _come on!_" Daniel whined. "Preston, you'll go, won't you?"

"Sorry, I have violin lessons after school." the boy replied.

"Kristopherson?"

** "No." **

_ "Travis?"_

"I have club activities after school, so I can't." Travis said.

"You're in a club, Travis?" Alois asked the large boy, looking at him questioningly.

"Yes." the boy said with a slight smile. "_The gardening club."_

Daniel stood up, whining about not getting his way. "You guys _suck!"_

_ "_Well, you _blow!"_

Alois' response was automatic. Ciel had said this to him many times before, and so, he perfected his counter-attack. Thus, the slate-haired boy learned not to ever say that to the blonde. It would _always _backfire in ways that made the boy regret his choice of words, just as Daniel did now, as laughter filled the circle.

"Mister Trancy, you will _not_ shout such _obscene_ things in _my_ classroom." A dark figure loomed over the giggling blonde, silencing him as he heard the man's rough voice. It was Mr. Irons, the History teacher, and he was _not_ amused. "Do I make myself _clear?"_

_ "Yes, sir."_ the blonde said, lowering his head, as the other boys tried to keep from snickering.

"_Good."_ said the man, returning to his desk. He was now ready to begin class. "Now, continuing from where we left off yesterday, what can you tell me about _the 1800s,_ class?"

"People wore top-hats and rode in carriages." said one boy.

"Yes."

"The women had to cover their ankles and wear weird dresses." said one girl.

"That's correct."

"Jack the Ripper went around _killing hookers!"_ shouted a certain blonde, as the bluenette boy couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"_Trancy. Phantomhive. Headmaster's office. __**Now!"**_

* * *

**A/N: Filler? Even I don't know yet. **

**I looked at the screen, my fingers started moving, and _this_ happened.**

**And that is basically how typing this story goes...  
**

**A bit later than usual today. So sorry! I'll post more than one tomorrow, howzzat?  
**

**On another note, would _you_ watch "_Devil Butler_"?  
**

**I don't even know how that came about...  
**

**Until chapter 35, my duckies!  
**


	35. Flee From The Dreaded Harpies

The boys where in the headmaster's office once more, following Alois' _poor choice of words._ Ciel was only with him because the teacher assumed he was involved. It was now up to Headmaster Horton, to sort this problem child out.

"Well if it isn't Mister Trancy," the portly man began, "As often as I see you in here, perhaps we should just give you your own desk!"

The blonde was unusually silent. This was understandable, due to his past experiences. It seems to have left him with severe distrust of authoritative adults, men, especially. He sat there in the chair in the opposite side of the headmaster's desk, fidgeting.

Horton continued. "And Mister Phantomhive! It would seem as though he's dragged you into this as well! Perhaps it is time to rethink your choice in friends."

"I couldn't if I _tried_, Sir. You see, Alois is my _adoptive brother._ I couldn't leave him alone." the bluenette replied. Yes, this was the lie that the school was fed. In order to get in, you must be related to a prominent family. And since the _Trancy's _where no longer known, the _Phantomhives_ where the next bet. On paper, it says that_ Sebastian _is the adoptive father of both boys.

The headmaster leaned forward, intertwining his fingers. "Ah, now I remember." he said in a serious tone. "I'm sorry, it slipped my mind."

"In addition, you shouldn't be so harsh on Alois. He simply cannot control his behaviour." the boy leaned forward across the desk to whisper. _"In his previous home, he suffered some psychological trauma, you see. We don't like to talk about it. He's talked to many doctors, but there wasn't much they could do."_

"I see..." said Horton, feeling guilty for being rude to the poor boy. "It's fine, just go back to class. Both of you." He gestured them out.

"Thank you for your understanding."

The two took the man up on his offer, and vacated the room. They walked down the lonesome hallways on their way back to homeroom, mostly in silence, as it seemed taboo to speak.

"Thanks for covering for me, Ciel." said the blonde, finally.

"It's no big deal. It would be a hassle if you where constantly getting in trouble for this. There are perfectly normal children who go to school with special conditions like this. It's a shame we didn't think of that sooner!" Ciel replied. This wasn't the entire truth, however, as the boy just didn't like seeing his friend in the office. He wouldn't say this, due to the fact the he feels as though he should keep up his cool, and serious act.

"Do _you?"_

_ "_No, I'm a high-functioning sociopath, so it would seem like I wouldn't need them."

"Well, at least it's comforting to know that you admit you are _disturbed_ like me." said the blonde, jokingly.

Ciel couldn't help but smile a bit at that as well. One of the things they liked about one another, is that they each understood the other's "_issues"_. Oh, if only they had got along sooner! It would've saved them both a lot of trouble, wouldn't it have?

Out of the corner of his eye, the boy noticed a group of girls putting up posters around the building. He avoided eye contact however, so hopefully they would be left alone. The bulenette seldom enjoyed the company of others, especially from a group of girls that seemed as giggly and annoying as those. They where definitely the type to go on about nothing but their "boy problems" to one another, and otherwise have nothing interesting to talk about.

"_Alois! Ciel!"_ Too late. They had been spotted. He glanced over in that direction, and surely enough, one of the girls was waving at them. Beckoning them to come over. Even worse, Alois _had_ made eye contact, now they _had_ to come over.

Reluctantly, the boys stretched their legs, bringing them ever closer to the _girly menace._ The girls where obviously cheerleaders, judging by their bags with pom-poms leaking out that said the word "_Cheer"_ in big, bright letters on the front. Ciel mentally prepared himself for the iminant barrage of stupid questions and attempts for conversation.

"Hey, _Sarah, Sammantha, Kate."_ the blonde beside him greeted. To his surprise, his friend knew their names. The blunette had been in this school far longer than Alois had, and yet he didn't know these girls. He chalked it up to the blonde's (fake) social personality. "What are you girls doing?" Alois asked.

"We're putting up poster's for the school dance! It's going to be _really_ fun!" one of the girls said, with a giggle. "Are you guys going?"

Before the bluenette could say "no", the blonde said "I dunno. I've never really_ been _to a dance before." only a _half_ lie, this time. Alois had only been to balls and parties of the elite during the Victorian era, which was certainly different than a _school dance._

The girls let out a simultaneous gasp at that. A different girl said. "We thought you'd be the type who'd love to go to a dance, Alois! There's dancing and music, and you can hang out and stuff!"

"I can't believe you've never been!" added the other.

"Really? That sounds fun!" the bluenette couldn't tell if the boy was serious, or just putting on airs. He did _not_ want to go. Surely if Alois did, he would be forced to go along. It didn't sound fun in _the slightest._ He hated the balls of the Victorian age, and he hated the dances of this one.

The girls let out a squeal so high pitched, that only dogs should be able to hear it.

"Do you have anyone in mind to go with?" one of them asked

"Ooh! You should go with me!" said another.

the last one interrupted, "No, me!"

Ciel felt his eye twitch. He _would not _ allow Alois to go with one of these _harpies_. Quickly, he grabbed the boys wrist and dragged him. "We have to get back to class. He'll get back to you on that, okay?" he shouted over his shoulder, leaving a confused looking flock of girls behind him.

Alois was also confused. Not only by his friends sudden action, but by the girls. Where you supposed to go with someone? Like a _date?_ He looked at the boy who had his wrist and flushed. _"No way would Ciel agree to that."_ the blonde thought.

"Hey, should you be doing that?" he asked, "Someone might see and get the wrong idea." he said, letting out a nervous laugh. He tried to joke about the situation he was in.

"I don't _care_." the bluenette stated, much to the surprise of them both. Suddenly, his face was turning red as well, like the other boy, whose face was getting an increasingly darker shade. He couldn't believe he said that out loud. He had to cover his tracks, quickly. "_I-I had to get you away from those annoying witches before they dragged to to that stupid dance!_" The last thing he wanted anyone to know was that he had _feelings_.

For the first time, Alois got the impression that he had a chance with the other boy. He had gotten hints that the bluenette dropped unintentionally, but never one quite so blatant. Never had he thought that these feelings of his where mutual. Ciel was so proud, surely he wouldn't be caught _dead_ being interested in _a boy._ Alois knew this. Ciel thought this. But now, it was as though the mask was slipping, revealing the preferences underneath.

Alois would not act on this immediately, however. He was still much too afraid of ruining his friendship. The only _real_ friendship he's had in a long time. What if he was wrong and Ciel was disgusted with him and pushed him away? He couldn't bear the thought. Nor was he willing to open up completely, only to be hurt again by someone he trusts. Like Ciel, he too was afraid of _feelings_, and hid them to protect himself.

But maybe, someday, they _could_ end up together. Is that entirely possible? The blonde thought as he was pulled through the hallway. Judging by the fact that Ciel still had his hand, current signs where pointing to a _yes._

* * *

**A/N: Oh ho ho! Now what is _this?_  
**

**I dunno what to say about this_. It just happened.  
_**

**A harpy is a creature from Greek mythology, that was best known for stealing food from _Phineus. _It's name literally means, "That which snatches".  
**

**Deep and meaningful subtext?! No, I looked that up afterwards. You can interpret it that way, though. It makes it seem like I did that on purpose.  
**

**__****I miss Bernard, Alois' rubber duck. I want to put him back in here, somehow.**

**Some of you didn't care for the "Devil Butler" bit last chapter. Sorry! It was meant as a parody. (You thought I was serious?) I actually forgot to put in a few details about it, like how it was_ "based on the graphic novel by Yanao Rock"_. "Yanao Rock", being a pen name of Yana Toboso's when she wrote Yaoi manga. It was meant as a joke, I swear! I wasn't even going to mention it again. (That said, you're going to look up Yanao Rock now, aren't you? To save you some trouble, look up "Glamorous Lip", instead. Yeah, I know what you did...)  
**

**(I, of course, prefer Shounen Ai to Yaoi, and have never read it_, obviously!)_  
**

**(There IS a difference between Shounen Ai and Yaoi, and knowing it_ can save your life.)  
_**

**_(And knowing is half the battle! G.I. Joooooooooooooe!)  
_**

**So many parentheses... **

**Anyways, until next time, my duckies!  
**


	36. Gunfight At Phantomhive Manor

Phantomhive Manor. A mansion that has stood on the outskirts of London for over a hundred years, and home to the Phantomhive family. Many secrets lie within the confines of these walls. Dark secrets of murder, conspiracy, and the dark arts.

One of such secrets, is the true nature of the three gentlemen who live there. The young master of the household and his associates are in fact, demons. Creatures of darkness from the depths of hell, who devour the souls of weak humans. The oldest is the butler, Sebastian. He would never say _how_ old he was, but it is understood that he caused the Black Death that ravaged Europe in the middles ages. Ciel is the middle demon, if you go by how long the children have actually_ been demons _at the approximate age of one-hundred and twenty four. He's one hundred and thirty-seven if you count his human life. Alois is the youngest, at the age of one. However, when he was alive, he was fourteen, making him fifteen if you go by his living age. He's one-hundred and thirty-eight, older than the other boy if you go by _years existed._

It's all so very confusing.

All the same, the two "children" are still children, thus they act like it. Even Ciel, who previously has acted like an adult up until recently does this. While the butler is happy for his master's new found childish nature, he _doesn't_ like the mess.

By that, I mean the Nerf gun battle that happened on this day. The young master had brought home a movie by the name of _"KiLL BiLL"_, and the boys had watched it together. They had no swords, so they decided to shoot out their differences.

"Did you eat the pudding I left in the fridge yesterday?" the bluenette boy demanded.

"That was _yours?"_ asked the blonde. He had committed a terrible sin for the Phantomhive household. Eating Ciel's sweets was like spitting in his face, and was often met with retribution.

"You. Me. _Nerf_ battle to the _death. Now." _

The blonde liked this game. It was always fun when his friend decided to act like the "kid" he was. It was seldom, but it happens. He jumped up off the couch and ran for a gun. He always kept one loaded in his room. However, the other boy had brought his with him.

This showed that the boys each had their own tactics. For example, Ciel would keep all of his ammunition with him, while Alois would keep his hidden in various locations throughout the mansion. He claimed that it was "too keep himself moving, and to discourage him from using all of his darts at once. A silly move.

Alois made a mad dash up the stairs to get his gun, dodging the bluenette's fire as he did. Fortunately, the other boy was conservative with his share of orange foam darts, and he made it up the to the second floor.

"No fair!" he said before narrowly escaping behind a wall.

He dashed into his room and locked the door, before grabbing his weapon and checking to see if it was loaded properly. One might think that all this is a bit much for a battle with toy guns, but when you're playing against Ciel Phantomhive, it's entirely necessary.

The bluenette was relentless when it came to winning. He'd even fire head-shots if he thought it would help him win. The boy would use any trick he could to lure you into his sights. To him, it wasn't just a game. It was a matter of pride.

Without missing a beat, the blonde exited his room quickly, but cautiously, in case he had been followed up the stairs. He turned the corner, expecting to see the bluenette standing there, gun at the ready, only to see no one. He continued through the hallway with care, reaching the stairs once more. He peeked out and saw him there, at the bottom.

He smiled at this. Ciel hadn't thought to follow him. The slate-haired boy must've thought he's have to come back down eventually, so he'd just wait. Alois however, knew that having the higher ground gave him the upper hand. He swung around the corner, and opened fire.

Ciel was taken by surprise by this attack. he dodged the darts, and hid behind a pillar, having no other cover, and returned fire. The blonde hid behind the corner for a moment before making a run for it. He grabbed a few of his foes darts that where fired earlier along the way. The blonde risked jumping over the railing. In order to avoid having to run down the stairs.

Time stood still in those few seconds between the time he jumped and the time he landed. Alois managed to land on his feet and fire a few more shots at his foe, before running into another room. The bluenette took this opportunity to reload. He had underestimated the blonde. He took off inpursuit, opening the door to the drawing room, and, seeing movement, opened fire. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't the blonde, but it was Sebastian instead.

The man caught the orange foam projectiles instead of getting hit by them. Without even turning around, even. "Playing this game again, young master? Could you two try not to make as big a mess as last time? I'm still finding foam darts around the manor." he said.

"Sorry, I thought you were Alois." the boy said, catching his breath. "Have you seen him?"

Sebastian turned around and gave the Earl a smile. "Yes, I have. In fact, he's right behind you my lord."

Ciel's eye went wide as he turned around, only to be staring down the barrel of the blonde's weapon. For a moment, everything seemed to stand still, even though it was really only a second before the blonde pulled the trigger and hit the other boy right in the forehead.

"Boom! Head-shot!" the blonde giggled before running away.

The fact that he said this only added insult to injury. The bluenette was infuriated at this point. He got hit by Alois Trancy! The blonde was going to pay, now.

"Sebastian! _You traitor!"_

"But my lord, I thought his presence was obvious. I would have definitely told you sooner had I not assumed that it was within your ability to sense him." the man said, with a small smile.

"_Whatever!" _he boy shouted before taking off.

He chased the giggling boy throughout the manor. Through hallways, up stairs, down stairs, into rooms out of rooms. Each boy was able to get the other a number of times, but nothing really substantial. It would appear they where evenly matched.

Down the hallway they flew, nearing the stairs. It was thought that Alois was going to loose, now. He was out of ammunition and the railing grew ever nearer. It was game over. This was it. But then, the unthinkable happened. Once more, the blonde _flew._

He took a running jump over the railing. His arms and legs flailed about as though trying to reach out to something, but only grabbing air. Finally, he grabbed onto the chandilier, causing it to shake violently. He swung himself up like a monkey. He knew that his friend wouldn't dare to shoot down his grand light soucrce.

_"Trancy! _You _wanker! _Get down from there right now!" Ciel shouted. He almost didn't stop himself from going over the rail as well.

"No way! If I do you'll shoot me!" the blonde shouted back.

"If you break that chandelier, so help me, I will _end _you!"

"_I love you too muffin_!" the boy was feeling confident in his ability to keep from getting shot now. The only problem now was that the lights where hurting his eyes, and his hands were slipping.

_His hands were slipping._

"_OH SHI-!" _was all the boy could say before he let go and fell to the floor.

Ciel quickly ran down the stairs to make sure his friend was alright. "Alois, you dead yet?"

"Nah, I'm fine, mate." said the blonde, rubbing his sore back. "Thanks for askin'."

"That's good." said the bluenette with a twisted smirk. Slowly, the barrel of his gun aimed toward the boy laying on the floor. "_Checkmate."_

"What're you-? Ow! OW! Stop! OW! QUIT IT! OW! THAT HURTS!"

Ciel continued to fire until he had hit the blonde with his last dart. Although the orange rounds were made of foam, with their rubber tips and being fired at a close range, they still stung. And that is why you should take all games played with a Phantomhive, _quite seriously._

* * *

**A/N: Have some filler, duckies.  
**

**I am stalling. That's my explanation. I introduced the idea of a School Dance in the last one, but I've seen that before in... something... I'll edit this and put the name of the fanfic and author because I don't remember it right now and I feel bad about it. Anyway, I didn't want this to turn into that one, because that would be douchey of me.  
**

**Aiming for orginality, here!  
**

**Anyway, I'm trying to work out how that's going to work, so until the next chapter, I am Wimpyninja, and you may still be duckies, maybe? I don't know. I stopped making sense a long time ago.  
**


	37. The Dance Debate And Continuous Laughter

The Warwick annual dance was a few weeks away, but still, it seemed like the entire school was buzzing about it. No matter the era, one thing that always remained apparent was the stupidity of teenagers. Don't they realize that there's more important things in life than these silly little gatherings? That there's more to life than any of that? Who cares if mommy won't buy you the dress you wanted, there's a girl down the street who would feel _blessed_ to acquire some _shoes_ of any sort. Our boys often wondered about this. Unlike the other children, _they _knew that life doesn't _owe_ you anything. The world is a stage that is not always kind to it's players, you see. Whatever problem you are currently having, there is someone else who has it a thousand times worse than you. Who knows this better than Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy?

"It's _disgusting_." the blonde said aloud. A girl in the class was sobbing while her friends cooed in her ears words they knew she wanted to hear. "She's crying because a boy doesn't want to go with her to a dance?"

"Yes." said the bluenette. "There are a many countless reasons why he would do that. Perhaps he doesn't fancy her. Perhaps he just doesn't plan on going."

"Yeah, what if his grandmother died or something? I bet she'd feel like a bitch, then."

"Probably not, since she's '_daddy's little princess'."_ Ciel said satirically, causing the other boy to giggle.

"Uhm, excuse me..." their conversation was interrupted by another girl and her friends. "I was wondering, Ciel, if you'd..." the girl looked behind her at one of her friends, who motioned for her to continue. They where apparently there as backup in cause the plan went awry. She continued, restating her question. "I was wondering if you'd like to go to the dance with me, Ciel."

Before he could even open his mouth, the blonde spoke. "He can't!" he exclaimed.

"Huh? Why not?" she asked, looking at him questioningly. Ciel did the same, having no idea where the blonde was going with this.

"Because..." he began, not so sure of this himself. Suddenly his face lit up as he discovered the answer. "Because..." he said, walking over to his friend and put his arms around him in a good 'ol _christian side-hug,_ "...He's going with _me."_ he stated with a smirk.

A simultaneous "What?!" was uttered by both the group of girls, and the bluenette himself.

"Whatever! Get off of me!" the boy in question shouted, his facial hue entering into a slight crimson shade, as he tried to force the blonde off of him. "I don't even _want_ to go! Don't even_ joke _like that!"

_"Do not denyyyyy our loooooove!" _the blonde said in a sing-song voice, in the few seconds he wasn't laughing, whilst resiting the slate-haired boy's shoves.

The girls just looked on as if unsure what they were supposed to do, other bystanders laughed at the ridiculous scene. Ciel finally managed to kick the laughing boy off, and he landed in his own seat. The blonde shifted until he was now laying sideways, his head and legs hanging off the chair, and was dying with laughter.

_"I'm going to __**kill **__you..." _the bluenette told him between clenched teeth. He was giving the blonde a death glare like no other.

"So... is that a 'no'?" one of the girl's friends asked after a long while of being speechless.

Ciel took a deep breath and tried to calm himself before looking over at the group. He put of his best mask of _giving a damn_ and said: "I'm sorry, but no. I don't plan on going at all, to tell you the truth. Social gatherings just really aren't _my thing."_ He tried his best to be convincing, but the embarrassment the blonde forced him through was slipping through various gaps in his armour (as did his utter annoyance).

"Oh... that's okay. I understand." the girl said sadly. The boy just hoped she didn't _cry._ If she did, he would immediately be painted the villain, regardless of circumstance. She and her friends walked away, them cooing as the friends of the girl from before did.

After he was sure they had moved on, he looked at the blonde still laying in his chair, but finally calming down. He punched the boy's leg.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Alois whined, sitting up.

_"For being an __**idiot**__!" _Ciel shouted angrily. A faint blush was still visible on his cheeks.

From the back of the class, _Daniel Westly_ sat. He stood up and sang at the two, causing everyone in the room to roar in laughter. "_Caaaaaaan you feeeel the loooooove toniiiiight?"_

_**"Do you want to die?!"**_

* * *

**A/N: He mad.  
**

**Ah, what to do, what to do? I'm going to ease myself into this one maybe perhaps probably(?)  
**

**If I don't reply to your messages, that doesn't mean I'm not interested or that I haven't read them. It means that even with the anonymity the internet grants me, I am still, by nature, an _extremely_ shy person. (Self proclaimed, "High Priestess of Geekdom", I am, yes.) I can never think of how to reply! I just wanted to make this clear, yes.**

**Thanks for your support, yadda, yadda, yadda... Ramble on, once more...  
**

**See ya later, duckies!  
**


	38. Dancing Devils

As the dance grew closer, the school classes changed as well. Well, study hall, at least. The children where instructed to move the desks to the edges of the room so the center of the room was clear. They where given no further instructions, so it was a surprise when the ballet instructor walked in.

Yes, Warwick offers a wide variety of extra-curricular activities, ballet being one of them. Therefore the school had such an instructor, obviously. Mrs. Bristow appeared to be in her late thirties. She wore a nice dress, and had an almost _eerily_ cheery disposition. The children whispered amongst themselves as to what she could be doing here, of all places.

"Alright, children, settle down." he said, clapping her hands to get their attention. "I suppose you're all wondering why I'm here. Well, as you all know, the Warwick annual dance is coming up," she spoke will great enthusiasm, as indicated by her not only voice, but her excessive use of gesticulation. The children, mostly boys, actually, let out a nearly simultaneous "aaaaw". Once more, she clapped her hands to get their attention.

"Children, I don't need your input while I'm trying to talk. Now, it is traditional for the first half of the dance to be formal, and requires that you know how to _dance_ formerly. The second half will be more loose, so in other words, _come late._" an almost buzzing noise, caused by small amounts of laughter from the children was heard. The rest of them remained silent, dreading where this was going. "So, the school asks me every year to teach the students how to waltz for that first half."

_"Shit."_ a petite boy with hair of the most awkward shade of blueish black muttered under his breath.

"_What is it?"_ a slightly taller boy with flaxen hair whispered to the first.

"_Do you even know when the last time I waltzed was? It was at your stupid costume party in the 1800s!"_

_ "Yeah, and you sucked at it then, too."_

_ "Piss off."_

"Now," the woman continued, "If I may have a volunteer to demonstrate?" The room went silent. "Anyone? Anyone at all?" Of course no one stepped forward. What kind of idiot would _volunteer_ to dance with a _teacher_ in front of the _entire class_? "Does _anyone _here know how to waltz."

With a smirk, the bluenette shoved his blonde friend forward. He stumbled to balance himself. He turned to his friend. "_What was that for?!"_ he inquired in a hushed tone. Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Ah! Finally! A volunteer!" Alois looked at the woman questioningly before he realized where he was standing. Once more, the children laughed. Ciel even laughed, covering his mouth so no one could see. "And your name is?"

"_Alois Trancy, _ma'am."

"Alois Trancy, do you know how to waltz?"

"Yeah."

"Well then, would you please take my waist?"

Now the class was roaring. That last sentence really set them off. Alois struggled to maintain his poker face, his face turned a very subtle shade of pink.

"Now, now! Settle down!" Mrs. Bristow clapped her hands once more. "Mister Trancy, if you would please?"

Swallowing whatever pride he had left, Alois took the standard position. Placing his left hand on the woman's waist, and taking her right. The class snickered, and in response, the blonde not-so-subtly mouthed the words, "_piss off_" to the offenders.

"Audrey, could you start the music please?" the woman asked, looking over to a boy in the corner of the room next to a CD player.

"Yes, ma'am." and thus, music crept into the room.

"Begin, left foot first..." the woman began, but soon no longer required giving any further instruction. The blonde moved his left foot, followed by his right. His right foot moved outward, followed by his left. Next, his right moved backward, then his left moved out. These movements were repeated on loop around the room, much to the disbeleif of the students, including Sir Phantomhive.

"Where on earth did you learn this dance?"

"I had a tutor." the blonde answered without missing a beat. His answer shockingly honest to the Phantomhive. He expected some nonsense like, "_I taught myself", _or, "_Google."_

_ "_This is the Viennese Waltz, correct? Now _that's_ traditional dancing." the instructor replied.

"I think so? I don't really remember the name."

The class watched as the two danced. Alois even pulled of a rather ambitious twirl, much to the woman's delight. His bluenette friend, however, was getting a bit _creeped out _by this.

Finally, Mrs. Bristow stopped laughing for a moment and parted from the boy, who even bowed, like a true Victorian Englishman would. She addressed the class. "And _that _is how it's done!" she declared, applauding the boy.

Joining into the applause, the other students were starting to get a bit excited as well. They looked like they were having fun, so the others became curious to try it as well. Brstow began teaching another boy, and Alois was instructed to do the same with a girl, and when those students felt like they got it, they would in turn, teach another. Soon the waltz was spreading like a disease as everyone in the room began to dance. Everyone, except _Ciel._

Ciel was not keen on dancing. He did not like dances nor parties or any social event, for that matter. He just leaned against the wall and waited for the class to be over. That is, until a certain blonde walked up.

"Come on, then." he said.

_ "What?"_ the bluenette partially whined, yelled, and asked.

"You're the only one left, come on."

"Alois, in case you haven't noticed, neither of us are girls." Ciel crossed his arms to cement himself to the ground. He was _not _dancing, and that was final. _Especially with a boy._

"Oh, _get off it_. In case you haven't noticed, _there are no girls left, _and _you_ still need a refresher course." the blonde insisted, offering his hand.

Ciel felt his face start to heat up. Class was over in about ten minutes. If he could stall Alois for that long, he'd be free. "I don't even _want _to go to the stupid dance."

"_Everyone _has to take this class, Ciel."

"No."

"Don't be a baby. _Just take my waist."_

At that, the flush on the bluenette's face became visible. The thought of touching the other boy's _waist_ was just...

"_**No!" **_He was not going to budge.

"Want me to take_ yours _then?"

_** "Fine."**_ he caved in. The blonde was going to pester him relentlessly until class was over. In fact, there was no garuntee it would stop there. Ciel just couldn't stand it.

He knew he was going to face some severe ridicule for this, but for the moment, he didn't care. He placed his left hand on the blonde's waist, unsuccessfully hiding his blush, and took the other boy's right.

"Even though I'm being the female, I'll lead since you can't remember, m'kay?"

"Fine, _whatever."_

Alois moved his right foot back, urging the other to follow him with his left. The blonde moved his left foot outwards while the bluenette moved his right. They went through all the steps of the waltz, and repeated them. Ciel stepped on the blonde's foot on more than one occasion.

Eventually, the bluenette managed to calm down, however this was just as the bell rang. And as promised, Alois separated from him, giving him a joking curtsy as he did. He had more fun than he thought he would, the bluenette. It was almost a _shame_ they had to switch classes.

Before leaving, the instructor addressed the class one last time. "Remember, children: we'll be doing this on Tuesday's and Thursday from now until the dance!"

Alois looked to his friend with a patronizing smirk, letting his expression speak for him. Blushing at the fact that the boy knew about his secret enjoyment of the class period, all Ciel could do was instruct the blonde through clenched teeth.

"**Not. A. Word."**

* * *

**A/N: Mother of god.  
**

**_The title._  
**

**I'm not sure if I explained the waltz that well, or if I was even accurate.  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	39. Awkward Conversation

Days went by, and after the dance class, rumors were spreading throughout the campus about the two boys. Children would call Alois "Ciel's Wife", or "Mrs. Phantomhive" after that, as well as a plethora of other rude things. The same went for the bluenette, as people he _didn't even know_ called him things like, "homo", "poof", "woofter", and things related. It was embarrassing, but the boy did his best to ignore it.

He walked to his next class like he always did, except the blonde was not with him, as Alois had once again gotten into trouble, and was put back on library duty. Shocking, isn't it? The bluenette walked with purpose, trying to avoid anyone who would possibly stop him and cause him to be late. As you could possibly guess, his efforts were in vain as a certain, Daniel Westly walked up (more like jogged to catch up) beside the boy.

"Hey, Ciel! I haven't seen you today! Where you been?" he said, keeping pace with the other boy.

"In class, like always." Ciel replied. He didn't even bother to look at Daniel, and kept walking.

"Huh. I guess it's 'cause Trancy isn't around. You're so quiet without him."

"Am I?" the question was rhetorical. He didn't really care for an answer.

"Yeah." the taller boy said, pausing for a moment, "So is it true?"

"About what?"

"You and Trancy. Do you fancy him, I mean?"

"_No."_ his response was automatic. It was also a _lie._

Of course he had feelings for the blonde. To him, everything about the boy was just so, _**cute.**_"_From his stupid girly giggle, to his stupid face." _the bluenette often thought. He wasn't going to admit it, obviously, especially to a loudmouth like the one walking beside him.

"Oh." the brown-haired boy said. "It's okay, if you _did_, y'know. I'm not judging."

Ciel chose to remain silent, and keep walking. He couldn't really think of anything to say to that. The two walked a short distance longer in silence before the other boy broke it again.

He asked: "Hey, did you know that _Kristopherson's _a _gay?"_

The bluenette blinked, and finally turned to the other boy. "_Kristopherson?"_ he echoed. Surely that wasn't true. After all, he taunted Alois for supposedly being homosexual. Clearly he was against the lifestyle. Of course, the faux-blonde _did_ wear that _pink tie._

"Yeah." the other answered, "He's still in the closet, though."

"How do you know?"

"His _sister_ told me."

_Anastasia Miles._ Of course she would know. The siblings were always close, after all. They even bleached their hair blonde similarly. The real question was, _why would she tell Daniel?_

The son-of-a-politician answered this with a smile, as though he were bragging. Apparently, he had asked her to the dance, and they've been going steady ever since. The daughter of an actor and a fashion designer with a politician's son? Even Ciel had to admit, that was a powerful combination, reputation-wise. However, he was doubtful the relationship would last.

"Kristopherson taunted Alois at the beginning of the year, though. Was that just a cover up, then?" he asked.

"Concerned about _your wife,_ huh, Phantomhive?" the other boy teased while elbowing the slate-haired teen.

"He's _not_ my _wife."_

"Yeah, yeah. A _likely story. _Anyways, to answer your question, _yeah._ Apparently he fancies Trancy, too, so watch out."

This stopped the bluenette in his tracks for a moment. There was that feeling again. What was it called? _Jealousy._ The green beast clawed at his stomach and heart regardless of the fact that there was no change _in hell_ that Alois would _ever_ pick the faux-blonde. Regardless, the feeling was there. It angered the boy to feel this. It was _stupid, _it was _pointless, _but it was simply not in the boy's control. He kept walking once more.

Noticing the boy's action's the brown-haired teen jested. "Oh? What's wrong? The thought of a little competition got you upset, there, Phantomhive?"

"_What competition?_ There is no _competition."_ Ciel stated plainly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, we know Trancy only has eyes for you."

Ciel punched the boy in the shoulder in exasperation. "_Shut up."_

Daniel couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, don't get your knickers in a twist! Just don't tell anyone I told you about _Kris_. _Anna _will kill me if she found out I told you."

"You deserve it, you loudmouth."

"Should I tell everyone about you and your '_Trancy fancy'_?"

_**"Piss off."**_

* * *

_****_**A/N: Agh! So short! So Short!  
**

**Well what do we have here?  
**

**I stared at the page for a long time and was like: "The hell am I gonna dooooo?" SO, if there's stuff you'd like to see, or you have ideas, feel free to shoot them my way.  
**

**I just hit a wall today, writing-wise. No biggie.  
**

**Holy crud! We're on chapter 39?! Dafuq did that happen?! Seriously in all seriousness, I only intended to write four chapters, then it just escalated from there...  
**

**HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN, I DON'T EVEN-!  
**

**Look forward to the next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	40. The Second Waltz

It was the night of the annual Warwick Private School's Formal Dance, and the event was in full swing. Children of the elite who were students at Warwick were privileged to attend, as dances like this are few. It supposedly replicates the balls of the Victorian era for the first half, then slips into a more casual setting. The Warwick ballroom was decorated elegantly, as were the guests in their snazzy suits, tuxedos and dresses and such. Even the refreshment table was classy, complete with an ice sculpture.

Yes, most of the Warwick students were there, having a good time. To the contrary, there where two students we know of, who were _not._ Ciel Phantomhive had not the slightest interest in going to such a silly event and as a result, his friend Alois Trancy, stayed home as well. The two spent their time as they would any other Friday evening. Ciel was in his room, reading, and Alois was... _Alois-ing._

However bluenette was having a hard time getting into his book. There was a faint noise of an unknown origin thwarting his attempts to enjoy his reading experience. He listened as closely as he could, but the sound was so delicate, he simply could not identify it.

In a huff, he put down his book and stood up. He proceeded to walk around the room to better place the sound, but to no avail. Finally he walked to the door and briskly turned the knob. Peeking his head out into the hallway, the sound could still be heard, albeit a little more clear.

The bluenette stepped out into the hallway and located the direction that the mystery sound was coming from, and started walking. As he got closer, the sound got clearer.

"_A song?"_ he thought, "_it sounds like I've heard it before somewhere."_

As he grew closer still, he realized that it was, in fact, a song. Even closer, he concluded that it was a woman's voice. Closer, it was Italian.

Ciel found himself if front of the blonde's room. The door was cracked open, and music seeped out. The blonde was on the bed was laying on the bed with his arm over his eyes. He didn't appear to be asleep, he looked as though he was just enjoying the sound. It was slightly melancholy with a unmistakeable romantic and powerful sound. Ciel listened and tried to make out the words.

"_O mio babbino caro,_

_mi piace, è bello bello,_

_vo'andare in Porta Rossa_

_a comperar l'anello!_

_Si, si, ci voglio andare!_

_E se l'amassi indarno,_

_andrei sul Ponte Vecchio_

_ma per buttarmi in Arno!"_

It was no use trying to deceiver the song's meaning. The bluenette simply did not know Italian. He opened the door and let himself in, immediately informing the other boy of his presence.

Alois lifted his arm slightly and peaked out. His icy-blue eyes were only slightly visible, as he looked at the intruder.

"Hullo, what can I do for you?" he chimed.

The bluenette walked a few more steps into the room. "That's really loud. I could hear it all the way down the hall." he said.

Springing himself up off the bed, Alois walked over to the CD player and adjusted the volume. "Sorry." he said smiling at his friend.

"It's fine. What song is that?"

Alois perked up at the question. "It's called, '_O Mio Babbino Caro'."_ he said with a twirl.

"By who?"

He reached over to grab the CD case on his desk, and turned it over to view it's back. "It says 'Renée Fleming', but it's a cover, I think."

"I didn't know you liked _Opera_." The slate-haired teen walked over and grabbed the case, to inspect it. "The title just says '_Classical Hits'."_

"Yeah, it's a mix tape of classical music. It was cheap."

"_Charlotte Church, Bond, John Williams, Sarah Brightman..."_ he listed off the names of the artists. "Still, it has some pretty big names on it." he continued, "What's your favourite one?"

"That would be '_The Second Waltz'_ by André Rieu."

Ciel paused for a moment. "Oh yeah..." he began, "the dance was tonight, wasn't it? I'm surprised you didn't want to go, considering how much you like to dance."

The blonde giggled and flashed the bluenette a smile. "Well, if we went, you'd hate it. And I couldn't go by myself, it simply wouldn't be any fun without you!" he said.

A flush crept over Ciel's face at those words. "_...it simply wouldn't be any fun without you"?_ Stop it. And that _smile_ and _giggle?_ How can one person be so _cute?_

A long silence lingered in the air, aside from the soft music in the background. Wordlessly, the bluenette looked at the case once more before changing the track. He pressed the skip button until he reached a song oh so familiar to the blonde, _"The Second Waltz"._

He extended a hand to the blonde, who stood speechless by the boy's actions. It was so unlike Ciel to willingly offer _to dance_. Hesitantly, the blonde took his hand and curtsied, taking a moment to smile at his friend, and fight off his growing blush. Ordinarily, he would let loose a taunting remark such as, "_Oh, Ciel Phantomhive wants to dance? Have pigs learned to fly, yet?" _but no. Not tonight. He was _not_ going to ruin this moment, as it may never have a repeat performance.

They assumed the standard position. Ciel put his left hand on Alois' hip, while the blonde put his right hand on the boy's shoulder. The bluentte's right and the blonde's left hand intertwined like they were supposed to. Then, both boy paused to look at the other, blushing, before they took the first step.

_One, two, three, four_. Step after step they took, moving to the music. It was a slightly faster pace than the bluenette was used to, so he managed to step on the other boy's foot more than once. He would stutter a quick "sorry" and the blonde would just giggle and tell him it was alright. He didn't mind. Neither of them did.

They spun around and around until the the song came to a close, and the two realized how close they where to one another. Time stood still as they stared into the other's eyes. Suddenly, their eyelids became heavy and fluttered closed as they inched ever closer. Closer, closer, and closer, until their lips weren't even an inch apart...

_Knock, knock, knock!_

Their eyes snapped open and they scrambled to separate themselves as a knock on the door was heard. Quickly, _awkwardly, _they straightened themselves, and cleared their throats. One nodded to the the other when they felt like they were settled.

"_Come in."_ Ciel called, trying to keep his voice easy.

The door eased open and a tall man clad in black appeared from behind it. "Pardon my intrusion, my lord, but I'd like to inform you that dinner is served." he said.

"Oh, thank you, Sebastian. We'll be down in a few moments."

"Very well, my lord." Sebastian bowed one and disappeared once more behind the door, closing it.

Once more, silence entered the room, leaving nothing but the sound of the CD playing in the background. Alois cleared his throat and shifted his gaze from the floor to the other boy in the room. "Shall we be off, then?" he asked.

"_Yeah, let's."_ Ciel replied, taking a few steps toward the door before motioning for the other to follow.

All was quiet at the dinner table that night. Both boys were too embarrassed to face the other right now. Likewise, both boys were thing the exact same thing:

"_Sebastian, you traitorous swine."_


	41. Uneasy Feelings

The weekend dragged on, and the boys hardly spoke. It seemed as though they were flat-out avoiding each other. Since the night of the dance, each boy couldn't even face the other. Small talk would be exchanged now and again, but they weren't spending nearly as much time together as they used to.

"_I fucked up." _Alois thought, "_I fucked up real bad."_ The boy was laying face down on his bed, sulking. "_Did you see how he looked at you today? He's probably disgusted. Way to go, Alois..."_ He rolled over on his side.

His plan was to just wait until the event was no longer at the forefront of the other boy's thoughts, then make an attempt to patch things up and resume life as usual. If he lost this friendship he had with the bluenette, he didn't know what he'd do.

Similarly, in another part of the mansion, the other boy was engrossed in his own thoughts on the matter. The boy sat at his desk and stared into space. His head rested on his hand, and his elbow sat on the wooden surface. Ciel was embarrassed at his prior actions, but the events on that Friday night were playing on loop in his mind against his own will. With a sigh, the boy ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to get it to stop.

The bluenette hadn't the slightest idea on how he could face the _stupid_ blonde. Never before had the Earl had a feeling even close to this for _anyone,_ but of _anyone_ in the world, it had to be _that_ blonde with behavioral problems and deep mental scarring. What if he the sudden action frightened him? Trauma stemming from the blonde's sexual abuse was still very evident in his fear and distrust of adults. What if the bluenette made it worse? What if Alois didn't _even feel _the same way he did?

Everything was so complicated and awkward. Unbeknownst to the other, both boys longed for the days when they just had fun together and played. Was all of that gone now just because of _one _little _almost-kiss?_

The slate-haired teen rubbed his temples in frustration. For once, Ciel Phantomhive had not the faintest clue of what on earth he was going to do. Maybe if he acted as though nothing happened, it would all just go away? Probably not, the damage was done. Maybe if he just owned up to his actions and confessed to the blonde, he would understand? No, Ciel just didn't have the courage for that. Not yet. He was still too afraid of his own thoughts and feelings.

He often thought throughout his life that if he really _didn't_ have any feelings or emotions, living would be so much easier. He had spent years building up a shell between the outside world and his own heart in order to protect himself for any attack, but now, someone had cracked that shell. That blonde boy had managed to sneak his way through it, and was now launching a full-scale invasion. Ciel now felt _vulnerable,_ and he didn't like it. _Not one single bit._

Alois had a comparable war waging onward inside of him as well. Since the betrayal of his former butler, _Claude Faustus,_ he had sworn to never be so familiar or trusting of anyone else ever again. Yet, here he was. He was angry at himself for allowing this to happen. He was angry at the fact that he could not fix this problem, too.

If only he had been born without a heart; without feeling. Then nothing would ever be able to truly hurt him. Physical wounds can heal, but mental, and wounds of the heart may sometimes never. But for a while, it seemed like they could. By opening up to the other boy, Alois felt as though maybe his past did not define him, and that the future could be bright. He had stumbled around in darkness for the entirety of his life up until reuniting with the demon. And it was by seeking solace in a creature of darkness, was he finally granted the ability to see through the blackness that enveloped his existence and find a path to happiness. Never before had he felt so light.

But all of this came crashing down when it became obvious once more that upon opening your heart to another, you make yourself susceptible to them. Yes, happiness comes at the price of pain. You cannot have the one without the other; that is absolute, as is the fact that knowing another person entirely is impossible.

He could not know what Ciel was thinking or feeling unless the bluenette told him in complete honesty, which was unlikely. He was just as guarded as the blonde. If only they could know the other's intentions. This story would be much simpler, yes? However, life does not work that way, nor will it ever.

Not knowing is always worse than knowing. The suspense feels like it's slowly killing you. Ciel and Alois where each trying to come up with a plan on how to gain knowledge of the other's true feelings and fix all of this.

After a while, the flaxen-haired teen started to feel claustrophobic, cooped up in his room. He felt trapped, and needed to leave in order to rid himself of his growing restlessness and be able to breathe again. Alois got up and walked to the door, turned the knob, and walked out into the hallway. Then, a door opened as he passed it. He froze as he saw who was behind it.

Ciel stood there frozen as well. He did not expect to see the blonde there. He had both hoped he would, and _wouldn't _run into the other boy. He had both wanted to talk to the boy and wanted to see the him, and wanted to sulk in silence.

"Hey." he greeted, feeling as though he should say _something._

"Hey..." Alois said back. "Taking a break?"

"Yeah. I think if I spend one more moment in that room, I'll go _insane."_ he heard a small giggle come from the blonde before he caught himself and stopped. Ciel felt his heart flutter for a bit. "So, what are _you_ up to?"

"Going to watch a movie." Said the blonde.

"What one?"

"_Shaun of the Dead,_ I heard it was funny."

There was hesitation before the bluenette responded. "Mind if I join?" he asked. "I've nothing better to do."

The corners of the blonde's lips couldn't help but form a smile. _Maybe Ciel wasn't so disgusted with him after all._ "Why, I'd be insulted if you didn't!" he jested.

Over the next two hours, the boys sat and watched the film. Alois would laugh at a joke, only to jump at a zombie. Ciel would chortle at a joke, and laugh at _Alois _jumping at the zombies. Reconciliation appeared to be easier than they had initially thought. All they needed to do was allow themselves to have fun together once again for even just a moment.

* * *

**A/N: O hai thar.**

**I probably could've ended it last chapter, but then I was like: "Nah!"  
**

**I enjoy writing on this too much, and I don't think you guys are done with it, are you? And that is why last chapter ended the way it did.  
**

**That, and I thought it was funny.  
**

**Sebastian: _Can't let you do that. *C*ckblocks*_  
**

**This chapter. Is about. Feelings. How many times have I put the word, "Feelings" in the title of a chapter already? (It's only been two. Calm down, me.)  
**

**It has a lot of words for a kinda short page.  
**

**Character development, I guess?  
**

**I never reread these after I type them. I only do so to do a quick spelling and grammar check before posting, and maybe to see where I am, what's I've already done, things I can bring back in future chapters; crap like that.  
**

**Otherwise, I can't stand reading them. Whenever I do, I'm like: "Ugh! This is awful! I'm such a disgrace!"  
**

**I guess that's just the curse of the artist. Never 100% happy with the work we do. Personally, I think my prose could use major improvement. Any advice? (Seriously, in all seriousness.)  
**

**Still, it's a lot of fun, and I really do like making you all happy. That's what really matters, yes. (not even bullsh*tting, you guys.)  
**

**I'll keep doing my best!  
**

**Until next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	42. That Boy, Nemesis

Monday morning came and it was life attending school as usual. The boys were their usual selves once more, and they attended the same classes with the same unsuspecting students, however there was something _unusual_ going on around here. Whispers spread once more throughout Warwick about something _peculiar_.

"What's everyone on about?" asked the blonde.

"I don't know. Whatever it is, it's got the entire school buzzing." the bluenette said, seated in his usual seat by the window and to the blonde's left. "Though I suppose we'll find out as soon as Daniel comes over he-"

He was cut off by the class loudmouth, Daniel Westly, who ran up to the two boys with purpose. "You guys! Did you hear about the new kid?!"

"New kid? No, what about him?" Ciel asked, adjusting his eyepatch.

"He's a scholarship winner. He studied his way in here, since his family couldn't afford it." Daniel said as though the kid had cheated the rules of society. "That's not all! Have you seen 'im? He's weird looking! Even weirder than blondie's shorts weird!"

"My shorts are _not weird!_" Alois protested.

"Whatever stops the tears at night, Trancy." Daniel teased.

"_Sod off."_

The palm of Ciel's hand met his forehead in that moment. He ignored the boy's shorts to ask: "How is he weird looking?"

Daniel paused in order to gather his thoughts. "His _hair,_ and his _eyes_." he said. The boy however didn't get the chance to continue, as Mister Irons walked in the room, looking a tad bit angrier than usual.

"Alright, sit down and shut up, _espcially_ you, Westly." he said, and pointed at the boy, causing him to quickly dash to his seat. "Now listen up! There's been rumours going around that we have a new student here on a scholarship. Well, I'm just gonna tell you right here and now that this is true. So, shut up and stop bugging me about it!" He looked over to the door and paused. "Well what are you waiting for?! Get in here! I haven't got all day!" he shouted, motioning for the boy to enter.

The boy who walked into the room _was_ strange-looking, just as Daniel had said. He had silver slicked-back hair, without a single stray strand out of place. His eyes where amethyst, and calm. The newcomer had a pale skin, and a warm smile. This boy wore his uniform perfectly, without a wrinkle. It had white trimming and he wore it with a white tie that nearly blended in with his dress shirt. Around his throat was a gold chain with a cross pendant that rested on the knot of the tie. It was evident to the Phantomhive what this boy was. He had seen _his kind_ before many years ago, but for now, he would remain quiet until he had the chance to communicate with Sebastian. He didn't like it, but the man's advice could come in handy. Then, he would have to warn Alois. But now was not the time. Everyone watched in awe as the scholarship student entered.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice sounded so gentle, "My shoe was untied." He turned his attention to the class. "Should I introduce myself? I'm _Maxwell Goddard,_ hello." He smiled.

"Got that? Try to be nice, and treat him like you would anybody else, you hear me?"

In unison, the class provided the answer of "Yes sir" in order to stop Mr. Irons from yelling at them for the next minute or so.

"Alright, now have a seat, Gaddard." and the instructor's attention shifted to the board in order to write down the class objective for the day. Maxwell sat down on the opposite side of the room from the two boys, and looked over at them, giving them a sweet smile and a wave.

In response, Ciel scoffed and looked away from him. Alois shrugged his shoulder's, puzzled by his friend's actions, which were entirely understandable. The blonde didn't know what the scholarship student was, but Ciel _did_. He knew. He knew the moment he walked into the room.

That student, that boy over there was going to cause a whole _mess_ of problems for the demons. His eyes, his voice, and his smile where all very disarming, but that's what they're supposed to do. Disarm. That boy sitting on the right side of the room was their natural enemy. That boy, was not a mere _boy._ That boy was, in fact, _an angel._

* * *

**A/N: Aw _snap!_**_  
_

**A new challenger has appeared! Those damn, dirty angels. They always gotta mess ev'rythang up!  
**

**Are the OC's getting annoying? But it wouldn't make sense to bring back a bunch of random dead characters, now would it? I like Maxwell, he's especially fun to _draw_, and to _hate_. I wonder how he's gonna turn out, y'know? As a side note, I had a hard time debating what his surname was going to be. It was originally "Goodman", but that sounded so half-assed, boring, and Mary Sue-ish. (You mean "Gary Stu-ish"?) I'm not sure if Goddard has a very good ring to it, though...  
**

**_Whatever._  
**

**Man, this is a short chapter. It's not even Alois' shorts short. It's more like, _speedo_ short.  
**

**_Ew._  
**

**Let's see how this turns out, shall we? Until the next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	43. The Death Of Alois Trancy

Homeroom ended. The bell had rang. Ciel Phantomhive nearly jumped out of his seat brfore gathering his things. He looked over at his friend.

"Quickly." he said. "We need to leave."

"Why the hurry?" his blonde friend asked. "Class will still be there even if we don't."

"It's not the class I'm worried about. We need to leave so we can talk."

"What do you need?"

"I can't say, _he_ could be listening."

Alois gave up on getting a straight answer. Nevertheless, he did as he was told and gathered his belongings with haste and followed his friend out the door.

They entered the crowded hallway, nearly gagging on the smell of the teenagers around them, as always. Some kids simply did not understand the concept of deodorant. Others did and wore overpowering scents that felt like they where burning your nosehair. With haste, they walked through the hallway, dodging people left and right, and trying to get around slow walking couples holding hands who felt the need to take up the _entire_ walkway for some unknown reason.

Eventually, they made it to a secluded spot, and Ciel looked around to see if anyone else was around.

"What are we doing here?" the blonde asked, tilting his head a bit in confusion.

The bluenette took a moment to gather his thoughts, so he could explain things properly. "You saw the new kid, _Maxwell_, right?"

"Yeah."

"He's an _angel_."

Alois arched his eyebrow. "_What?"_ He had absolutely no idea what Ciel meant by that, as the expression he wore made evident.

"Maxwell. He's an angel. You know, a _literal_ angel. Mortal enemies of demons, remember?"

"Oh! Yeah, I get it now." The blond nodded. "_Is he?_ I guess that explains the white hair and such. The plan?"

"_Stay away from him._" Ciel said. "For now, that's all we _can_ do." He pulled out his cell phone. " I need to tell Sebastian. We're going to be late for class."

"I can go on ahead, if you need me to. People are starting to find it _odd_ how we're _always_ late to class together." There was an unintentional undertone to that. Unintentional, but still there.

Ciel's palm met his forehead and he sighed. "It doesn't matter." said the bluenette. "If Maxwell has that class, he could launch an attack while we're separated."

"In a crowded classroom?"

"There are ways to attack someone other than the use of fisticuffs."

"What, like, _talking?_ I think I can fight him off if he just calls me _names_, Ciel." He said confidantly with his hands on his hips.

The bluenette dialed his phone. "Whatever." he said before placing the phone up to his ear.

Suddenly, the blonde's mouth warped into a grin, and he walked closer to the other boy. "Of _maybe_ you just wanted to be _alone_ with _me_?" he teased, nearly causing Ciel to drop his phone.

"I assure you, that certainly _not_ the case." He said, fighting away the red-ish hue threatening to spread across his face.

Sebastian picked up. "_Hello?"_

Alois leaned over to try to hear the man on the other end. "Sebastian, an angel has entered the school." Ciel began, wasting no time to even give a small "_hello"._ The bluenette swallowed his pride just this once."As much as I _hate _to say this, I am at a nearly complete loss on how to handle this."

Sebastian was silent on the other line for a while. "_An angel? I'm afraid there is simply not much you can do, other than __**kill it**__, my lord." _he said. _"I, however,_ _prefer to not make the first move with angels. We should at __**least**__ try to find out what it wants first, correct?"_ Ciel could almost _hear_ the smirk on the butler's face.

"I suppose."

"_Very well, then. Is there anything else you require, my lord?"_

Just then, the blond boy snatched the cellular device from his friend's hand. "_Mmh, yes! Take me, master!"_ he said before quickly pressing the red "end call" button with his thumb. He was now in tears, doubled over, almost on the ground, dying of laughter at his amazing joke. The bluenette however, was _far less than amused._

_ "What the __**fuck**__ is __**wrong**__ with you?!"_ he roared, snatching back his phone and punching the other boy. His expression was angry and dyed a deep crimson.

Alois managed somehow between laughs and punches the reply: "Hahaha! Ha.. Many, many, things! Hahahahahah!"

_**"I AM GOING TO **__**KILL **__**YOU!"**_

* * *

**Epilogue:  
**

After a few minutes, the boys where caught by a teacher, fighting on campus. However conveniently for them, they where able to use this as their excuse as to why they where late to class.

On the other end of the phone, Sebastian recognized the voice of the Trancy boy, and chalked it up to one of the boy's _bizarre_ jokes. He then waited for the phone call from the school, informing him that the two were caught fighting on campus. It was just a hunch of his that they would.

* * *

**A/N: I REGRET _NOTHING._**

_okay, maybe a little..._


	44. A Chat In The Library

It was another day at Warwick, where the children of the elite do their studying. However there were supernatural forces behind these walls. Forces of darkness and forces of light dwelled here against the knowledge of the students and staff. Two demons and an angel. Not very fair, is it?

Au contraire, my friends, angels can be every bit as crafty as a demon. They are birds of a similar feather, after all. How are they kin, you may ask? It should be well known that the first devil, _the _devil, was in fact, an angel. In other legends it is said an angel is what you get when you cross an angel with a human. Yet those who hail from Paridiso despise those from Limbo and vice versa, due to one single solitary disagreement many millennium ago over the first man, Adam, after Lucifer refused to bow to a creature he believed to be weaker than he. Thus, he was cast from heaven, and shortly after, demons came to be. You see, demons look down on humanity and thus use them as food, while angels feel the need to protect them be it from devils, or even _themselves._ Yet this just further proves that they are similar. In a way, feeling the need to "protect" humans just instills that they too believe humanity to be weaker then they. While things that maybe different range from wing colour to fashion sense, it is this, the two beings _priorities_ that truly set them apart. To one, humans are food, to the other, defenseless children of God. Nevertheless, their bitter rivalry and hatred for each other exists, and there is nothing in this world that will _ever_ change that.

Today, at Warwick, there are two demons, former humans themselves, and an angel about which not much is known other than the fact that he is refereed to by his classmates and the staff as "_Maxwell Goddard."_ The divine being was eager to become acquainted with his "distant relatives" and as such, was searching for them. Whenever he thought he saw them, they'd vanish once he was spotted. It was unknown to the demons _why _the angelic boy pursued them, but an encounter with an angel in such a public place could prove to be catastrophic, thus, they kept their distance for now.

Once more the blonde demon was put on library duty for acting up in class. Once more was he assigned to stack and sort the books before putting them back on the shelves. And it was once more, that there were strange forces at work in this large library as Alois did his task. He climbed down off the ladder that was propped up against the shelves in order to reach the high-placed books in order to get some more to place, when he felt this disturbance. Even he could feel this energy, the boy turned around to gaze upon it's source, seeing none other than _Maxwell Goddard._

"_Hello._" said the angel, giving the blonde a kind smile. "You're in my History class, aren't you? I'm Maxwell, and you are?"

"I'm _Jesus H. Christ. _Cut the garbage, what do you want?" Alois snapped, remembering what Ciel and Sebastian told him. _Do not fight unless engaged, and try to avoid contact as best as you can._

The angel seemed taken aback for a moment. _"_Oh, direct, aren't we?" he asked. "Isn't it a bit ironic for a _demon_ to claim to be the Lord?"

"Oh, so you were able to _understand_ my joke?" the blonde smirked.

Maxwell's face suddenly became serious. "_Don't even joke like that, demon."_

"I can say whatever I please. God has given us all free will, after all."

The angel was _clearly_ enraged by that remark. However, taking a deep breath, that anger subsided. "Let's talk, shall we?"

"About what, precisely?"

"You and your..._friend._ As you know, adolescence is a difficult time for human beings. It is a time in their life where they often feel vulnerable, or trapped, and as a result, their hearts waver."

"The _point_, please?" Alois interrupted impatiently. He wanted away from this boy _now._

"My _point_ is, that having a bunch of demons around such _easy prey_ distresses the lord, and as such, I have been sent to purge the area of any and all_ demon scum_, wither peacefully, or _by force."_

"_Pfffahhahahaha hahaha!"_ laughter erupted from the blonde's throat. For some reason, the angel's words where just so _funny _to the boy.

"_What's so funny?!"_ Maxwell demanded.

Slowly, Alois' giggling subsided and he was once more able to speak. "_You!"_ he said. "_You're _funny!" he fought off the urge to laugh again. "You were _'sent by God'?_ That's ridiculous. I have long since known that there is no such thing as an all-powerful _'God'._ Everything that you need to survive must be fought for on your own, that includes life itself. If God exists and he's so powerful, why doesn't he smite me himself? Why does he need_ you _to do it for him? How can a deity so powerful, that he can create the universe in seven days, not be able to strike down _one single bug?_" Alois smirked. "_God doesn't exist. _You're here on your own, and I am too. I stand here after fighting tooth and nail for my very existence. If God doesn't want me here, than that's too bad. I've earned my right to stay here, and both God, and _you_, can _piss off."_

The angel at this point, was irate. "You _stand_ because _God _wills it! The lord has blessed you with your own will, and you can't even be bothered to _move_ for him?!" he yelled.

"_Ssh!_" Alois put his finger to his lips with a grin, "This is a _library, sir._ I'm going to have to ask you to _keep it down._" he jested.

"You refuse to cooperate? _So be it._ However, I was also ordered to offer you _salvation_ if you so were to choose the path of _light."_

_ "Salvation?" _Alois echoed. He didn't entirely buy it, but he was willing to at least _listen._

"Yes. '_Salvation'."_ Maxwell elaborated, "If you where to abandon your demonity and become one of _us_, you were to be granted access to Paradiso." he grinned.

The blonde was wary. He paused. "Why _me?"_

"Because you did not choose your fate." the angel said smoothly. "It was the _other _who gave you demonity."

"I gave him _his."_

"...In order to thwart a _demon, Jim."_

Alois took a step back. "How did you..."

"...Know your real name?" Maxwell finished his sentence for him. He pulled a small book out of his pocket. "_This," _he said, "Is the record of your entire life, _Jim Macken._ I know all about you. How you've suffered because of demons and those around you. Surely you didn't _choose _this fate?"

The blonde demon was truly frightened by this. A book that contained a record of his life? Everything he's done? Everything he had to do to survive? He wanted no part of that book. He wanted no part of that fate of his, written on those pages.

Finally, he spoke. "_Of course I didn't_..." he muttered. Suddenly, his eye widened as he came to a realization. Ciel had _told _him that angels could fight with their words. He grinned at this.

"_Ciel told me about you._" he said. "This must be why he told me to stay away from you! Because of your _lies."_

Against his expectations, Maxwell _smiled at this._ The angel walked closer. Alois stiffened, and prepared to either flee, or to fight. Calmly, the snow-haired boy walked closer until he stood right next to the boy. "_Ciel_, hm? Is that your demon _friend?"_ he asked. "You were going on about how you had '_free will_', and '_you'll do as you please'."_ Maxwell leaned closer to whisper in the blonde's ear. "_Tell me, would a 'friend' control your thoughts? Is it truly __**your**__ choice to stay away from me, who offered you a __**place in paradise?**__ Or is it '__**Ciel's**__' wish to keep you in chains?"_

And with that, the snow-haired boy simply walked away, leaving the blonde to dwell on this alone. Why exactly _did _Ciel grant him this life?

* * *

**A/N: Whoa. Getting a little _philosophical_ up in here.**

**I know this is some pretty confusing stuff, and I'm not sure if I was exactly _clear_ in my writing of it. (I'm confused as well.) Please do tell me if there's something that doesn't quite... _work,_ and I'll do my best to fix it!  
**

**Oh, just as a side-note because I can: the reason I called Heaven "Paradiso" more than _once_ is because of _Bayonetta_. I just couldn't help myself. Also, I _think _it's Italian for "heaven", or something. Could just be "paradise"... But still, _Bayonetta_ for the win.  
**

**Can't help it, man. I've been obsessed with it lately. _You know how it is._  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	45. Mind Freak

Alois told his bluenette friend of the events that took place in the library that day. He told the boy what the angel wanted, what he threatened, and what he _offered._ The bluenette, of course, was disturbed by all of this. He wasn't going to move simply because a little angel told him to. He certainly wasn't afraid of any threat of violence the snow-haired boy made. _One_ angel against _three_ demons? _Ridiculous!_ However, one thing _did_ worry the boy a bit.

He paced back and forth in his office as he thought about it. _Why Alois? _But more importantly: _ Would the blonde take the offer?_ The promise of heaven is an offer anyone would have a hrad time refusing, and the bluenette just _didn't want his friend to leave_. The very thought saddened the boy. Ciel didn't want to be alone again with only Sebastian at his side. The butler was fine and all, but he wasn't the same as a friend. However, he would never confess this aloud.

The blonde too, kept a few secrets of his own. What the angel had said to him before leaving. "_Is it truly __**your **__choice to stay away from me, who offered you a place in paradise? Or is it __**'Ciel's'**__ wish to keep you in chains?"_ The thought clawed at his mind relentlessly. If Ciel was able to grant him life, what else could he do? At what point did his grasp of control end with the blonde? Perhaps he could plant suggestions in the blonde's mind and convince him they where his own thoughts, or maybe the blonde was just gullible and naive enough to do as the bluenette demon said. The latter of the two infuriated him more, since it suggested he was no better than he was with Claude, an could still fall victim to _lies._ He also hated this new-found doubt in his friend. Surely it was the _Angel _who was putting ideas in his head.

And this was true, but oh, was it a dreadful idea. In reality, Ciel had no control over the blonde's will, nor was the blonde even obligated to the boy in any way. The only thing he had done involving the blonde and his own power was resurrect him. Nothing more. Alois was his own person, and the bluenette valued him as such. If he wanted to control him, it would have been simpler to have made a copy of himself rather than dealing with the blonde menace. It didn't make any sense, but the idea still had caused damage to Alois' sense of trust in the other boy, although he hid it the best he could.

"_Alois!"_ the bluenette yelled, causing the blonde to jump. He had been trying to get the boy's attention for a while, now. However the blonde was trapped in his own thoughts and paranoia.

"_What?!"_

_ "Finally!"_ Ciel said, "What were you, _asleep?"_

The blonde shook his head. "Nah, I was thinking." he said.

"About what?"

"That bloody angel."

Ciel's face turned serious, even more so than his normal face. His pacing stopped, and he walked over to his friend. There was a pause before he asked: "Are you thinking about Gaddard's offer?" He was dignified in his inquiry, but there was a hint of sadness in his voice.

The blonde hesitated. "_Yeah."_ he said, "It's _odd,_ don't you think? That he would make such an offer?"

"You... aren't going to... take it, are you?" the bluenette asked, before turning to conceal his blush. _What was with his voice?_ He sat down at his desk, and looked to the blonde for an answer.

Alois paused to analyze the manner in which that question was asked. There was so much _hesitation. _So much _doubt._ Surely uncommon for the Phantomhive. He smiled before walking over to the desk and sitting on it. "And if I _did?_ What would _you_ do?"

"I'd kill the angel before killing _you._" Ciel said hastily, and plainly at the same time.

"Aw, that's harsh. We're _best friends_ after all."

The bluenette looked away before muttering something. His eyes suddenly catching something of interest on the floor. Pink were his cheeks as he did this.

"What's that? I can't hear you." said the blonde.

The Phantomhive boy took a deep breath before repeating himself in the firmest voice he could muster at the moment. "_Then don't leave..."_ he said, pink turning into red.

Alois blinked at this before a grin plastered itself onto his face. "So does that mean you'd_ miss me?" _he asked, leaning closer.

_ "No..."_

_"Liar._You would, _too."_

Ciel paused for a moment. "Maybe a _little..."_

"See? Was that so hard?"

"_Absolutely painful."_ he teased back. A small smile appeared on his face.

"You're so mean! I'd miss _you_ a whole lot, you know!"

"Like I said, _don't leave, then."_

"Don't worry your pretty little head. I won't. But only because I know how much you _love _me." Alois teased.

The bluenette demon's smile faded as his turned his head to confront the menace. "I-I do _**not!"**_ He stood up as he shouted this.

"Then stop _blushing_ and _stuttering."_

_ "I'm __**not! **_Anyone would get upset if some deranged blond kid claimed that you _l-l-lov..."_ the poor boy couldn't even say it.

Alois, however, erupted into a fit of giggles at the dark-headed boy's reaction. Maybe this _wasn't _a control freak with mind control abilities. Maybe this was just a small boy trapped in eternal puberty. Whatever he was, he was _fun_, and Alois surely wasn't going to abandon the poor thing.

"_**STOP LAUGHING!"**_


	46. May I Have A Word With You?

It was morning once more. The warm sun shone over the prestigious Warwick Academy. Students filed into their classrooms and conversed amongst themselves. This included our two favourite students and a pesky angel. The demons talked about nothing in particular until said angel pranced up t o them and inturrupted their chat.

"_Good morning."_ he said.

"Oh, look, it's _the Vicar of Dibley!"_ Alois said to his bluenette friend in regards to the religious gentleman.

"It's good to see you too, _Alois."_

"Hey, don't be so, familiar with me. That's '_Mister Trancy' _or '_The Blonde Menace'_, to you, _Goddard."_

Maxwell rolled his eyes, before turning to the bluenette. "I don't think we've met. I'm _Maxwell Goddard,_ and you are?" he extended his arm for a handshake.

"_Phantomhive. Ciel Phantomhive._" the boy answered plainly before taking up the snowy-haired boy's offer on the handshake.

"It's good to finally make your acquaintance." the other boy replied, offering a warm smile. "So _you're_ Ciel Phantomhive? I've been anxious to meet _you._ I've been needing to have a word with you sometime."

"Then say it." Ciel said.

"I'm afraid I can't right now. Perhaps in a more private setting? What I have to say isn't for _human_ ears."

"Very well, that can be arranged."

He looked over to his blonde companion, who was staring at him, hands on the sides of his head, mouthing the words, "_what are you doing"_ at him. Ciel wanted answers to all this, and he was going to get them. _One way or the other._ If he needed to resort to violence, he would, and it would be best not to involve too many innocent bystanders.

"How about after school then? My _parents _can pick us up."

_"Parents"?_ There's _more_ angels? This was _not_ good. Not good at all. He was going to need backup, after all. He would need both Alois _and _Sebastian to follow, which could be difficult since angels have sensory as adept as demons. This was bad. _Really_ bad.

Nevertheless, Ciel agreed. "That will be fine." he turned to the blonde boy next to him. "You'll be riding with Sebastian on your own, today." he said.

"O-okay?" The blonde was uncertain about this. Ciel could hear it in his voice. He was uncertain as well, but he needed to feign security as best as he could for both of their sake. He _needed_ information from that stupid angel.

"So it's settled, then?" Maxwell finally asked. "I'll call them and tell them." he turn to walk away, but paused before doing so and looked over his shoulder at the boys. "It was nice to see you, _Jim."_

That was it. He _had _to go down. _No one_ called Alois by that name. _Not even Ciel._ The bluenette was also rather peeved by that. _Who the hell does he think he is?_ All the same, he had to remain calm and keep Alois from trying to snap the boy in half on the spot.

Later that day, Ciel was able to convey his plan to both of his demonic housemates. Later that day, he would be entering the angel's nest.

* * *

**A/N: DAYUM that's a short chapter...**

**_The Vicar of Dibley..._ Been wanting to reference that for a while, now...  
**

**Until next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	47. And You Thought You Knew Someone

Another school day has ended at Warwick, and our bluenette demon has found himself waiting by the school gates in order to accept a ride from a bunch of complete strangers, not to mention also _potentially deadly, killer, demon-hating angels._ Seems legit. As much as he did not want to, he wanted to know more about this angel's motives. He knew Alois. Not only that, he wanted Alois to _join them._ This cannot be allowed to stand. Fortunately, he had his demonic housemates tailing them at a safe distance in case backup is required. Maxwell never said anything about not having them_ follow. _He tried to hide his smirk at this.

Soon a car drove up. It wasn't anything fancy, just an ordinary car that was worthy of being owned by a middle-class family. It stopped and when it did, Maxwell got in, and much to Ciel's confusion, the woman driving was _human._

"Well, are you getting in?" the snowy-haired boy asked, pulling the bluenette from his thoughts.

He climbed in the vechicle and the woman spoke. "Is this the friend you told me about, Maxey?"

"Yeah, _mom, _this is Ciel." Maxwell said.

"It's good to meet you! I'd offer to shake your hand, but I'm driving." she laighed at her own joke. "I'm glad Max was able to make some friends. I was worried when he won that schalorship, that he wouldn't fit in!"

_Well, he certainly stand out in a crowd._ However the bluenette didn't say that, instead he exchanged some small talk with the woman. She seemed to have no knowledge of the boy's identity, nor her supposed "_son's"_ true nature. She was ordinary in every way. But if that's the case, how did this _angel_ get into her life?

Eventually, they drove up a street in a small suburban neighbourhood, and pulled into one of the driveways. The house was white, and looked exactly like all the others. Uniform, boring, and _ordinary._ This was getting weirder by the minute. He was led inside and up the stairs into Maxwell's room, which was equally ordinary. It looked like any other teenage boy's room. What was going on here?

The angel shut the door behind him and looked at the bluenette. "Impressive, isn't it? They don't suspect a thing. They even think I'm their son!" he said braggingly with a smile.

"You mean... your 'parents'?"

"Yes. Just your average middle-class couple in an average neighbourhood, and _humans._ The perfect cover, no?" he said, taking a seat on the bed.

"Let me guess, you broke into the Grim Reaper's Library, and rewrote yourself into their records, didn't you?"

Maxwell was genuinely surprised at the bluenette. "Oh? So you know?"

"I've dealt with your kind before. But what I want to know is, why would you compensate two innocent unknowing human souls for this? They will never be able to get into heaven now that their records have been tampered with."

This was true. Once the records have been tampered with, a soul cannot be judged by the reapers, nor can their records even be stored in the Library. The person's existence is lost forever.

The angel folded his arm and his smile lost it's gentleness. "Sacrifices must be made in order to protect the masses, Mister Phantomhive. I'm sure Saint Peter will let them pass the pearly gates for such a noble deed."

"You're a fool."

"I may be a fool, but at least I'm not some disgusting vermin like yourse-"

"You called me here for a _reason_, did you not?" Ciel interrupted the boy. He didn't come here to be called names. "Get on with it."

Maxwell's smile faded. "Very well," he said, "I'm sure you're keen to know why I'm so interested in Alois Trancy, also known as Jim Macken, yes?"

"That would be correct."

"Well, let me start with this: Jim may not remember, but _I do._ We met shortly before _I died_, in the_ dungeon _of the _Trancy Manor_." Maxwell's face warped into a smirk.

Ciel's eye widened for a moment. He was speechless. _They met? In that place, of all places?_

The bluenette was still at a loss for words, to the angel continued. "_Yes._ I fact, I was on the same cart that brought us there. I sat next to him, although he didn't say anything. None of us could. We knew what was going to happen to us, but there was nothing we _could _do. I remember seeing that old man beat him with his cane during our first inspections. He didn't like Jim's _eyes._ The entire time, he never made a sound. In fact, none of us hardly spoke during our time there in hell."

Ciel held on to every word. He remembered that day too, from when he and the blonde's souls where in the same body. It made him shudder in disgust.

"Anyway, conditions down there weren't exactly _pleasant._ In fact, I died like most of the boys from infection." Maxwell said. "But I prayed. I always did. I prayed to be released from that hell and find _paradise_, thus I became an _angel_."

"So what is it that you want with my _friend? _Why not exterminate him as well? Because of your ties in the Trancy House?" Ciel asked.

The angel released a small patronizing chuckle. "_Yes."_ he said, "When I heard about him being _alive,_ I was _ecstatic._ But when I heard you had made him a demon, I knew I had to change him." Maxwell's smile became soft once more. "_I'm truly jealous of you, Ciel Phantomhive."_

"And that would be why?"

"You have a friend who _understands_ what it's like to go through hell itself. I don't. But I do understand what must be happening in Jim's head all the time." said the angel, "Every time he sees an older man, every time he feels that _fear,_ I know that feeling. Do you know what it's like to fear a major part of the population, Ciel? Do you know what it's like to be _afraid when the lights go out?"_

"_Shut up."_ Ciel said angrily. "You know _nothing_ about me. You know _nothing_ about _us."_

"But I know _Jim._ Do _you?"_

The bluenette paused. He knew _Alois, _but not _Jim._ He _didn't _know what it was like to be in that basement. He _didn't _know what it was like to be in that man's room. Maybe he _didn't _understand a major part of his friend. He knew the _story, _but he wasn't _actually there._

Maxwell continued to speak. "That's what I _thought._ Aren't you _selfish? _You want to keep him away from me, who _truly _understands his _heart._ How _unsightly. _Don't you _care _for your _friend's happiness?"_

Ciel clenched and unclenched his fist. "_Shut up."_ he commanded. What did this boy know about Alois' happiness? Alois _is _happy here, right? The slate-haired demon refused to accept that _this _boy could make his friend happy. He turned to the door. "I'm leaving." he said. He didn't want to retreat, but that's all he could do at this point.

"Fine, be stubborn. But consider your friend. Would Jim be happier here, in the would of mortals and chaos, or in paradise?"

There was a pause before the bluenette walked out the door, leaving the angel alone with a smirk on his face.

"_Think about it, Phantomhive, and know I'm right."_

* * *

_**A/N:**_**I had to keep the Kuroshitsuji Wiki page open for the last few chapters. Angels, amiright? I usually have an internet tab for that, a thesaurus, and Wikipedia (you never know), in addition to the Word window when I write. Gotta be accurate. It's annoying when it isn't._  
_**

**Maxwell, you're such a bastard. You're even worse than Kristopherson!  
**

**Until next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	48. Ensnared

Everything was going according to Maxwell's plan. He had instilled as much doubt in the boys as he everything turned out the way he wanted them to, they would give up without a fight.

The angel did his best to contain his glee as he walked up to the blonde boy at the edge of the schoolyard. It was unusual for him to be without his bluenette friend, but this was because the of Maxwell's plan. The angel was trying to place a wedge between the two demons.

"Hello, _Jim_. You friend abandon you?" he smiled as though he was trying to be friendly.

"_Piss off, Vicar of Dibley."_ Alois replied, obviously peeved.

"That's not very nice. I was only trying to see what was the matter."

"_You _are what's wrong. Ever since Ciel came back from your place, he barely even talks to me!"

"That's unfortunate..."

"_Fuck off!_ Whatever you said to him, you've ruined _everything!_" The blonde stood up and shouted. His fists where clenched, and he wanted nothing more than to turn this angel into a _stain._

Maxwell paused for a moment. He looked at the ground, and made an apologetic face. "I'm _sorry."_ he said. It was a very convincing facade. "I only told him about my_ past_ at Trancy Manor."

The blonde was caught off-gaurd by this. The Trancy Mansion? He swallowed. "_Trancy Manor?"_

He took the bait. "Yes, I was a slave there as well. _Just like you, Jim._ In fact, _I remember you there._ None of us hardly spoke, but..."

"Maxwell..." Alois was sinking deeper and deeper into this trap. These _were_ truths, but it was the _intent _behind them that made them bad. If _angels_ can commit acts of trickery, then surely _lies _can also be good.

"...But I remember it well." he said, looking back up at the blonde.

"_I'm sorry."_

_ "Don't be._ This is why I was hoping you'd at least think about my offer. I don't have any _friends _who understand, you see."

"I _can't. _I can't just leave Ciel. He's my friend too."

"But he _abandoned you!_ You should've seen the look on his face when I told him what happened at the Trancy's. It was a look of utter _disgust."_ The angel sprinkled half-truths in with flat-out lies. Lies can be _good_, but they can also be _bad_. It is the intent that matters here, and there was no goodwill coming from this angel.

"_That can't be true._" Alois thought. Ciel _understood,_ didn't he? He would never abandon Alois because of his past. But the doubt that had ensnared the boy was clouding his knowledge of this.

"He _wouldn't..."_

Maxwell looked at the blonde with sympathetic, nearly tearful eyes. These were crocodile tears, of course, but Alois didn't know this. The angel said nothing as the blonde shook his head in disbelief.

"_No..."_

"I'm sorry." Maxwell said. "I'm sorry..." He just needed to play a few more cards and tug a few threads and he will have won. "If there's anything I can do..."

"_Heaven,_ huh?" Alois said suddenly. "That doesn't sound so bad." His voice cracked and shook as he spoke. He tried his best to hold back tears.

"Meet me at Trancy Manor tonight, then." Maxwell said in a soft voice. The blonde just nodded his head. _Got him._ "We can finally make all this pain go away."

Maxwell left the boy to his own devices. He left the crushed blonde to sit in silence with his head in his hands. Just a few more moves, and it was _checkmate._

* * *

**A/N: I got home much later than usual tonight, so I didn't get to type the end of this arc. I'm so sorry! Tomorrow, I promise!  
**

** Damn dirty angel. Let's give him what for in the next chapter!**_  
_

**Patience, my duckies, patience...  
**


	49. What Would Jesus Do?

The sun went down over the London area. Night seemed to come ever so quickly. Alois was careful when sneaking out of the house that night, not making a single sound nor was he seen. He made his way to the abandoned Trancy manor where the deceptive angel was waiting.

He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to go through with this. Maybe he could patch things up with Ciel again? Unfortunately, when it came to the bluenette, the blonde boy lacked any and all confidence in himself. He didn't think he _could _fix this. He hardly thought he was _worth _Ciel's time, contrary to fact.

Alois walked up to the old rusted gate in front of the manor and, with a painful groan, it opened with a push. Walking further into the courtyard, he spotted his appointment, sitting on the steps of the estate.

"Oh, you're here! I honestly didn't thing you'd come." the snowy-haired boy said, standing up. "Were you seen?"

"I don't think so. Everyone was busy doing their own thing." the blonde replied.

"Shall we get started then?"

The blonde said nothing, but nodded hesitantly. Again, he didn't really _want _to leave, but if he couldn't be with Ciel any longer, he didn't know what else to do. He was alone again. All alone...

Maxwell smiled. "Very well, then." Light encased the boy's image in radiant illumination as he transformed. He gained angelic wings with silver feathers as pale and white as his hair. Similarly, his attire was white, his jacket trimmed with gold, and his shorts, and gloves, with the exception of the priest uniform underneath his jacket. His face was gentle as the light waned. His form was, well, _angelic._

The snow-haired being spoke. "Do you give up your demonic form and embrace God, _Jim Macken?"_ Before the blonde could speak, he was interrupted by a third voice.

_**"Hell no, he doesn't!"**_

Alois whipped his head sound to find the origin of the oh-so familiar voice. It was none other than _Ciel Phantomhive_ who walked through the gates next. The boy was out of breath, as though he had been running, and he _had. _He saw Alois leave the house an d followed him. Good thing he did, too. Ciel looked completely _furious, _yet the blonde was still happy to see him. It gave him butterflies to know that Ciel had took the time to come here to object to his decision. He _wanted _ it to be wrong. He didn't want to leave, and he needed that recognition from his friend in order to act on his own feelings.

However, Maxwell was certainly _not _ happy to see the bluenette. "Come here to see your friend off, Phantomhive?" He unconsciously flexed his wings to make himself appear bigger.

"Actually, no. I came here to _kill you, _and kick Alois' _ass."_ Ciel replied.

In response to that, the blonde asked: "_What for?!" _in a way that was somewhere in between a whine and a yell.

"For being an _idiot!"_ Ciel shouted, walking up to his friend. He lifted his hand, the palm of it making aggressive contact with the other's face. "You _promised!_" he shouted. "You _promised_ you wouldn't leave!"

Alois just stood there, wide-eyed staring at the bluenette, clutching his now stinging cheek. The Phantomhive boy was truly upset with him. He had never seen the boy make such a pained face before, flushed and twitching while trying to maintain the appearance of indifference in vain. His eyes looked as though they were fighting of tears. _Ciel Phantomhive, crying?_ Now _that _was a severely frightening thing. The boy hadn't cried since his parents died all those many years ago, yet here he was.

But the blonde _had _promised the boy, didn't he? Thinking back, he remembered the conversation they had in the office right after the angel spoke to him the first time. He remembered how _distressed _his friend seemed over the matter. It was now that he recalled that the bluenette would _never _judge him for what had happened at the very manor they now stood in front of. He was relieved, happy, and upset all at the same time. Upset by the fact that he had caused his companion to worry, and _angry _that he allowed this _bastard_ to fool him to stop believing and trusting in Ciel. He felt stupid. So, so _stupid._ Maybe he _did _need his ass kicked for being an idiot.

"A _promise?_" Maxwell interrupted the blonde's thoughts. "It's foolish to rely solely on a _promise_, don't you think?"

Now it was the blonde who spoke. "It _isn't_." he said, "I promised my friend that I wouldn't leave him, and I intend to _keep _that promise!"

"_**IDIOT!**_" the angel was enraged. "You would give up _paradise _for a stupid _promise!?"_

"It's not stupid. It's perfectly logical." Ciel said with a small smile. He too felt lighter at his friend's words. He wasn't going to be alone again after all. "Unlike _you,_ Alois _does _have a sense of honour, whether he knows it or not. He may cross-dress in public, and say rude and completely idiotic things, but when he makes a sincere promise, he keeps it."

"That does not apply to _insincere _promises, of course." the blonde added.

"Yes, you also did promise you wouldn't _embarrass me in public_, but that must have been an _insincere_ promise, hm?"

"Dammit! You caught on!" Alois joked, smiling wide.

Suddenly, the bluenette felt a sharp pain in his arm. His eye went wide as he inspected the damage to find a _feather _protruding from the site of his ailment, causing it. Then his attention shifted from the arm to the angel, pulling out the offending object.

Maxwell's face was grim, all evidence of gentleness or kindness now gone. This was his true face. His wing was extended towards the boy, before launching more projectiles.

In a flash, Ciel grabbed his friend and dodged. He wasn't going to allow himself to get hit again so easily, nor was he going to allow the blonde to get hit on accident. When he stopped, he had his friend slung over his shoulder like a bag of flour. The boy screamed and whined in protest, while kicking and flailing his arms about, causing his inevitable fall to the ground.

"_Ow!_ Alright! Snowy has _got _to go!" Alois said, rubbing his now pained scalp. "I'm gonna kill him."

"_No, you _aregoing to stay put, and out of _my _way." The bluenette corrected. He was serious. That angel _did _have to go. He made a fool out of the Phantomhive boy, and said boy was not going to allow him to get away with that. Yes, the noble boy was going to resort to the only truly effective of dealing with these sort of things; violence.

"Oh, come on! Let me help!"

"No! I won't _let _you!"

Their ongoing argument was cut short as they heard the sound of someone clapping slowly.

"Oh, that's _cute._" Maxwell said. His smile had returned at last, but was now warped into a vile sort of expression. "You're going to protect your _little buddy?_ Why bother? You're just going to get bored of him and throw him awa-"

"_Shut. Up._" Ciel ordered through clenched teeth.

His eye was glowing crimson. He removed his eyepatch and tossed it to the blond behind him, revealing that his contracted eye was glowing red as well but with a purple-ish hue. Just like they had with Alois, black flames slowly encased the boy's body, the only difference being that he didn't appear to feel any burning sensation as it did.

The bluenette was transforming. Soon, the flames died down leaving the boy himself. He had black horns that bent backwards as opposed to the blonde's forward ones, similarly, he had a monkey-like tail that was the same blue-ish black as the hair on his head. Ciel was clad in black, with a double-breasted military-style tailcoat, charcoal pants, and black boots.

All very practical, but not without trimmings and elegance that made up for the fact that it wasn't as, ahem, "_eye-catching_" as his friend's. There where pentacles on each button, and trimming on the collar and cuffs. There was writing on the patches on his sleeves, chest, and shoulders, of what appeared to be latin or hebrew, along with the images on them. There was one patch that seemed out of place, just below his left pectoral. It appeared to have some symbol that looked like it had nothing to do with Christianity, or Judaism, it looked like something else. It looked like a serpent of some sort wrapped around a staff. It looked like the Rod of Asclepius, in fact, the symbol had been used in many Asclepian _cults..._

The word "cult" and the boy _do not _mix. The symbol on his attire was also permanently burned into his skin. It was unknown why he would carry it over into his demon form, in fact, no one is really sure if _he himself_ knows. But seeing it sparked his fury even further, and right now it was an angel in his line of fire.

"_Impressive._" the angel taunted._ "_However, it's going to take more than a _costume change _to kill _me."_ Although he smiled and taunted the angelic boy was quite distressed by all of this. He was afraid that he may in fact _not _be able to take the boy on, especially if the blonde decides to disobey his orders. Speaking of which, it also occurred to Maxwell that the Phantomhive's appearance had ruined his plan. The boy really _did _want to be the blonde's friend. He hoped the boy would be one to be able to share his painful memories and help him rid himself of the scars. He may have gone to heaven, he may have become an angel, but his scars where still there. Someday, he would forget from spending too much time in paradiso, as what happens with most of his kind. He had already forgotten what life was like _before _his time spent at the manor which stands with them on this very soil. But alas, he had _forgotten._

Maxwell mused on this further, only to be snapped back into reality as the bluenette demon's fist made acquaintance with his face. He flew backward, crashing into one of the manor's exterior walls. However, this was rather unsurprising with the force with which the demon had hit him. Had Ciel punched a _human _with such force, it would have made a great, grisly mess, with bits of skull fragments protruding from a once-head, now unrecognizable mess of flesh, and blood draining onto the ground. It was unfortunate that the angel's head was not brittle enough for this to happen.

That said, Maxwell hit the brick structure hard enough to _crack _it. He fell to the ground, landing on his stomach with a thud. The white feathers on his wings where now _ruffled._

He got back up and rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. "That wasn't fair. Whatever happened to '_no foul play'_?"

"I _never _play fair. I never have, and never will." Ciel said.

_"It's true!"_ chimed in Alois, feeling left-out. He recalled the time they had dueled all those years ago, and Ciel had turned around on "five" instead of "ten". The bluenette did not know the meaning of "no foul play."

Maxwell ignored this as he prepared for another attack. The angel once more launched his projectile feathers at the demon, narrowly missing him. The boy was too quick. He jumped about, did flips, and spins avoiding those razor-sharp angelic daggers. From an outsider's perspective, they moved like lightening, being in one place one second and shifting to another one while you blinked. But to them, they moved in slow motion, even to the blonde's eyes they did so. It was almost as if they were dancing. Now _this _was a dance Ciel could thoroughly enjoy.

At the first given opening, Ciel struck the snow-haired boy again, and once more before he could recover. It almost _hurt_ his fists when he hit Maxwell, almost. The demon continued this, and the angel was starting to get angry.

The angel's hair, usually slicked back ever-so neatly, was now hanging in his face, and had clumps of dirt and _blood_ in it, as did his clothes. His face itself was was covered in blood; his nose was bleeding and broken and his lips where cut on his own teeth. Obviously, he wasn't used to fighting. He was sweating and filthy, and he had only merely scratched his slightly out of breath opponent, aside from the wound he had inflicted on his arm at the beginning of the duel. Maxwell had to finish this, and finish it quickly.

Instead of launching his usual projectile attack, he hurled his entire being at Ciel, using his wings to make him faster. The angel extended his hands like talons and grabbed the boy's neck, carrying him high into the sky.

Ciel struggled to remove Maxwell's hands that were clenching increasingly tighter on his throat. He clawed them to ribbons but that only made him squeeze tighter. It wasn't the oxygen that Ciel needed, no. Demons don't need air. But if he continued, he would brake his neck, which would be difficult to recover from at his age. Sebastian could without much difficulty, but the butler is so much _older, _and thus more _powerful_ than the boy. Ciel also didn't have the increased power a contract could give, so he couldn't simply summon flames out of nowhere. What the boy decided to do, was pull his foe _closer_ so he could reach his _wings._

When he did, the angel's flight was disturbed, causing them to start falling towards earth. As they did so, the demon remained attached to Maxwell by mainlining hold on his wing.

Maxwell screamed as the sound of the wing breaking was heard.

Now they didn't have what remained of their lift to gently lower them to the ground. Now they where descending at record speeds. Ciel saw as the manor was getting closer and closer and then, _they stopped._

All that was heard from Maxwell was a irksome cough and a gag. Ciel still was holding onto the wing, yet he was not touching the ground. He looked up to see Maxwell _impaled of a cross-shaped roof ornament. _Granted, the angel was still _alive. _It would take more than that to kill a divine being. The boy had a surprised expression on his face as blood dripped from his lips. He didn't appear to be in pain, he looked as though his body was in shock.

Ciel gently lowered himself onto the roof before letting go of the wing. When he did, the angel seemed to notice his presence. "What... happened?" he asked in wheezing voice.

"Look at your chest." the demon replied, pointing at Maxwell's injury.

The snow-haired boy did as he was instructed. He saw the large metal object protruding from his body. He saw the blood, oh, the blood as it dyed his suit crimson and dripped down the cross. He saw bits of his _own flesh_ torn.

"_God... dammit.._."

"Now, now..." Ciel mocked, "...you shouldn't take t_he lord's name in vain._"

Maxwell looked over to his foe. "Help... me..."

"I'm sorry, I can't. I have to make sure Alois is alright."

"Help me!" his eyes widened. He seemed desperate. He _was_ desperate. If he could only get free, he could heal and live to see another day. But no, Ciel wasn't having that. "Help me! Please!" He pleaded with the demon. Tears where now streaming down his face.

"_HELP ME! __**PLEASE!"**_

"I'm sorry, I can't help you. _Killing angels isn't my specialty. But don't worry, I'll have my butler 'take care of' you later." _Ciel smiled sadistically at this. Maxwell was in tears, _begging _him for help, but no, he wouldn't. That would be far too kind for Ciel's tastes.

Alois had mad his way to the roof to see what was happening. He saw the angel, and he saw_ Ciel's grin_. He knew it was over. Maxwell would never receive the "help" he wanted. The blonde smiled as well at his terror. "_That's what you get." _he thought.

Moreover, he took the opportunity to gaze upon his friend. How _handsome_ he looked. "_Did I just think 'handsome'? My __**God,**__ I'm such a __**girl.**__" _Fortunately for him, the bluenette couldn't hear his thoughts.

_Unfortunately_ for him, however, Ciel had also promised to kick his ass, and immediately remembered this upon seeing the look on the boy's face. He braced himself as the demon walked towards him. He closed his eyes and prepared for his punishment.

However, it never came. Instead, he felt two arms wrap around him, much to his where warm, but slender. He opened his eyes to see the other boy. He was being _hugged _by _Ciel Phantomhive?_ He'd only ever thought it would ever happen _in his dreams, _and yet here they were, embracing.

"_Never_ brake your promise." the bluenette said, hiding his face in the blonde's shoulder.

Alois didn't know how to react. How could he? The boy had never been held like this before. He only actual "hugs" he had received were from his little brother, Luka, before he died. Any interactions with the previous Earl Trancy were unpleasant and were _not_ "hugs" at all. But _this_, now this was different. _Welcomed_, however. He returned the gesture by putting his arms around the other boy as well. His face felt hot, and the heat of Ciel's cheek against his wasn't helping this, but still, it was _welcomed._

"I _won't._" he replied, finally. "I'll stay with you for as long as you want me to, and even when you _don't."_

A small laugh escaped the slightly shorter boy. "That's comforting. You're such a _girl_, you know that?"

"You _wish."_

"_Not really."_

Afterward, they went home as the sun peeked over the horizon. They didn't need to sleep, but they stayed home from school that day anyway to make up for the time they spent apart due to Maxwell's trickery. As they walked through the gates and left the estate, the sound of said angel screaming, pleading, and begging for help could be heard of in the distance. It continued for hours, long after the demons had left. _It was only silenced after Sebastian left Phantomhive Manor on an errand._

_ "JESUS!"_ was the last sound the angel uttered.


	50. What's An Enrichment Class?

Weeks had passed, and rumors were spreading about Maxwell's sudden disappearance. His "parents" hadn't the slightest clue as to where their "son" had gone, and the teachers knew nothing either. He had just disappeared without a trace. The police had been investigating the matter and found nothing. Rumor has it that the boy was kidnapped by some psychopath, but there was no evidence to support nor disprove this.

Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy knew the truth, however, as they were directly involved in his death, as you know. Regardless, they resumed life as though nothing had happened at all. It wasn't particularly difficult, due to the fact that the boys had seen more than their fair share of death in their time. They went about their activities as they normally would. Nothing had changed.

_Almost, _anyway. Afterwards, the blonde was much more _touchy_ with his friend, the bluenette. Poking him at any given chance, putting his arms around the boy's neck when reading ofter his shoulder, and as he was currently doing, _playing with his hair._

The two sat in the Warwick commons area, bored. Alois sat by his friend, braiding his hair with a bored expression, to grant him something to do while the other boy read a book. Ciel didn't seem to mind. It was weird at first, but now he really can't be bothered to ask for an explanation. He would occasionally ask why the blonde would do these things, only giving a small "whatever" when the other boy claimed that it was "because he was bored", then he'd return his attention to whatever it was he was doing. In this case, it was reading.

He absorbed the words on the pages while absentmindedly enjoying the blonde's touches, before the other boy spoke.

"There! So Pretty!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

The bluenette reached up to the spot on his head that his friend was previously so focused on, to investigate what the boy was on about. "What did you do to my head?"

"Braided your hair."

"Just undo it before we have to go back to class."

"_Why?" _the blonde half-asked, half-whined.

"_Because,_ I don't want to look like a complete idiot when I get there." Ciel said, mocking Alois' tone.

Before the blonde could pout, who was it to walk up to the boys? Why, it was none other than the faux-blonde with the silly pink tie, Kritopherson. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Making Ciel's hair all pretty and stuff." Alois answered, busily undoing the braids so he didn't have to look at the boy.

Kristopherson snorted. "You're such a _poof, _Trancy..." he muttered, this hit a chord with the true-blonde.

He took a deep breath, pointed at Kristopherson, and opened his mouth to speak; _loudly. _"_Oh my god! Are you __**hitting**__ on me?!"_

Ciel nearly choked on his own spit at that. He looked over at the quickly reddening faux-blonde in the pink tie. "_You aren't too far off on that" _he thought to himself.

"_I am __**not!"**_ Kristopherson shreiked, his voice cracked when he did. "I come over here to _help _you, and you repay me by _making shit up?!"_

"'Help', _how, _pinky?" Alois inquired.

"'_Pinky?!'"_

"Because of your tie (and face), now answer the question, knave!"

The boy coughed a bit before answering. "I was going to ask if you signed up for your enrichment classes yet."

"The bloody hell is an '_enrichment class'?"_

"An enrichment class is like an elective you take during study hall." the bluenette butted in, much to Kristopherson's, a.k.a "Pinky's" annoyance.

"Why's it called an 'enrichment class'?"

"If I knew, I would defiantly tell you, Alois. I haven't signed up yet. I have no idea what to take."

Kristopherson felt the need to force himself back into the conversation. "And judging by the fact that you had no idea what it even _was, _I take it you haven't signed up either, have you? Sign up sheet's over there." He pointed at a table on the edge of the commons that had a clipboard and a pen on it. "You'd better hurry before all the good classes get filled."

"Alois, _what do we say?"_

Rolling his eyes, the blonde said without a strand of sincerity: "_Thanks, Kristopherson."_

The faux-blonde put his nose up in the air. "Oh, it was no problem for me, hahaha. I know you're a complete failure who can't do anything himself, so of course I felt obliged to help!"

Alois reached into his bag and pulled out what appeared to be a sock full of spare change with a knot tied in the end. He swung it around over his head while "roaring", and charged towards the faux-blonde in the pink tie before shortly being stopped by Ciel.

Kristopherson ran away from the crazed blonde. He stopped for a moment to look back. "_You need to have that thing locked up, Phantomhive!"_ Then he disappeared into the hallway.

With his attack over, the blonde was now giggling insidiously holding his stomach at this. His laughter stopped when his sock full of coins was taken away by his friend.

"_Hey! _Give that back!" he said reaching for the sock, but the bluenette kept it just out of reach.

"What _is this?"_ his friend asked confusedly.

"It's a _billy club."_ Alois said plainly, ceasing his groping for the weapon for a brief moment.

The slate-haired teen rolled his eye at the blonde's antics. He had made an improvised nightstick, or as they were called in his day, a "_billy club" _by filling a sock without a match with his loose change.

"Weapons aren't allowed at school, Alois."

"A _weapon? Moi? _No, sir! _That_ is simply were I keep my_ lunch money!"_

"You just said it was a _billy club."_

_ "Details."_

_ "Confiscated."_ Ciel shoved the blonde off of himself and put the improvised baton in his bag, and pushed it away from the blonde with his foot.

"Oh, _come ooooon!_ It was a _joke!" _the blonde whined.

"Do you _want _to be expelled?"

"No..."

"Then _behave._ Come on, let's sign up for _enrichment _before we forget."

"Then can I have my sock back?"

"_Haha, _you're _funny." _the bluenette jested, walking over to the table that Kristopherson had pointed out before.

The table was next to the _"Big Chair" _in the commons, were the school's _eyes and ears_, Audrey, usually sat. It was called such, due to the fact that it was, obviously, a big chair, and as for Audrey, he knew everything about the place. Give him a pixie stick and he'll tell you anything you wanted to know about anything or anyone within these walls. However, he was seldom spoken to do to his absurd obsession with _the paranormal._ (He, to this day, beleives that the old abandonned mansion everyone talks about is an "evil place".)

Audrey was very small, perhaps even more so than the bluenette, and had dark black hair that covered his eyes, (you'd wonder how he was able to see,) a turned up nose and freckles, and was often seen wearing his purple beenie with a skull on it. Teachers had given up on asking him to remove the thing, even if it was against dress code. They were equally as exasperated with the boy playing his PSP in class.

Today, the boy sat and watched the two demons with deep interest, and peeked through a gap in his bangs as they argued about what electives they were taking.

"_I'm not taking dance, Alois."_ the bluenette declared.

"Why not? You _know_ you secretly like dancing." Alois argued.

"You speak of that again, and I will _end_ you."

The quiet boy had often been asked for information on the boys but hadn't come up with anything _shocking._ He knew the were very... _"close",_ is how he would put it. He could neither confirm nor deny any relationship between the two. They were supposedly adoptive brothers, so maybe not. There was however, something _peculiar _about them. A sort of unnatural air.

He secretly hoped that they were somehow linked to something, _anything, _unnatural. How interesting would that be? He was tired of the usual gossip about this school, "who's cheating on who", and "who's secretly gay", and all that. No, he wanted something _different._ He was obsessed with the paranormal ever since he was a boy, and saw a man get hit by a car.

What he saw that day changed him. He saw a man in a suit wearing glasses cut the body with what looked like hedge trimmers, and then strands of film floated up into the air, waving in the breeze, glowing. The strangest thing was that no one else seemed to notice. Like it wasn't even there. His father thinks that the trauma of seeing a man die effected his mind.

No, he was determined to find proof out there that he wasn't completely mad, and these boys could help him. But before he could study them any longer, they walked away. The blonde one dragging the bluenette away. He glanced over at the sign up sheet.

"_Dance class?"_ he thought.

Okay, maybe their sexuality _was _questionable...

* * *

**A/N: CHAPTER 50?! WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING?! HOW DID THIS COME TO BE?!**

**Yeah, don't expect me to act on Audrey immediately. I have _"ideas",_ but that doesn't mean anything.  
**

**Who remembers Audrey? He was mentioned in previous chapters, but I never gave him a major part until now.  
**

**I still don't know if I will. Side character, maybe? I need to give it more thought.  
**

**I dunno know what happens, yet. (I never do.)  
**

**Oh man, these OCs... Do they annoy anyone? It wouldn't make sense to bring back any _human_ characters, though... My feelings are mixed. _Quite._  
**

**__There is so much dancing in this fic. I don't know why. Did the random title I pulled out of nowhere influence this? Seriously, I didn't do that on purpose.  
**

**I feel like my ability to write this is slowly fading away... nooooo... please come baaaaack...  
**

**Until next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	51. Flamenco

Ciel Phantomhive looked around the room he was currently forced into. Everywhere he looked, he was filled with a renewed sense of terror. He looked to his left, he looked to his right, and he looked straight ahead, his eye widening a bit each time. Even the _smell_ of this room was nauseating. Where could he be? What kind of unimaginable place of infinite horror was he in?

Why, he was in the Warwick Dance Hall, of course. The place was spatious and clean, and smelled like various perfumes intertwining to make an almost sickeningly sweet aroma. All the girls in the large room were fairly pretty, and kind, which was fine. They took up most of the roster for this class, which made sense. Other than the Phantomhive, there were other boys here as well. There was Alois, of course, and Kristopherson, and Travis, and Preston, and Daniel was also there for whatever reason. Yet the bluenette was filled with distress over this place, regardless.

He did not dance. He was forced to come here by Alois, who looked far more excited than entirely necessary. The blonde _could_ dance, and enjoyed doing so, which was why he was there. Kristopherson was there because A: he enjoyed the activity as well, and B: Alois was there. Travis liked to dance, too. Preston was there for the same reason as the bluenette. He was forced to sign up, and didn't want to be there as well. The distressed Indian boy was "persuaded" to join the class by none other than Daniel, who was there, _why, exactly_?

"To talk to girls." the brown haired boy said, answering the question.

"I thought you were dating Anastasia?" Ciel half-stated, half-asked.

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "We broke up." he said as if it were nothing new, "But whatever, finding a girlfriend isn't hard."

He was apparently the type who dated for appearances. Don't be getting the wrong ideas, now. The boy _does _like girls. He just didn't fully grasp the concept of a "relationship". Ciel rolled his eye and shook his head.

"So why are _you_ here, Phantomhive?" Daniel elbowed the petite boy jokingly. "Your _wife_ dragged you along, huh?" he said, grinning.

The slate-haired teen gently shoved the boy back, and did his best to conceal his blush. "He's _not_ my _wife!"_ he declared, looking over to the blonde. Alois looked away quickly and covered his mouth in an attempt to hide a giggle. He was never bothered by being called the boy's "wife". What he never could understand, however, was why _he_ was the "_wife"._

Chatter filled the enormous room with the six boys and the swarm of girls combined. The boys teased each other for being there in the first place while the girls just talked about the boys. All of this was silenced by the instructor clapping her hands in demand of their attention.

"Excuse me! Quiet down, children!" she said.

It was none other than the choir teacher, Mrs. Bristow, who spoke. She was the one who taught the students to dance the waltz before the school dance. Ciel glared at the blonde boy who, judging by the grin and the laughter in his eyes, was _never_ going to let the bluenette forget.

"Now, welcome to Dance Class." she continued, "I assume you are all here because you all appreciate the _art-form_ of dancing."

"I also appreciate pretty girls!" Oddly, it was Daniel who interrupted, gaining a rumble of giggles from the girls. Ordinarily this kind of outburst was to be expected of the our blonde demon, not the son of a politician. _Copycat._

"That is _enough_!" Mrs. Bristow said, clapping her hands once more. "Daniel, one more outburst like that, and you will perform _Swan Lake_ on your own, in front of the _entire_ class." There was not a single hint of falsehood in her voice.

"But I don't _know_ _Swan Lake!_"

"Exactly. It's funnier that way." the teacher joked. This time the giggles were for her. "Now, I want all of you to answer for me this question: '_why do we dance'?"_

There was a long silence. Many students looked down and avoided eye contact with the woman. A girl spoke without even raising her hand.

"Because it's _fun?"_

"True, dancing _is _fun, but I was hoping for something a bit more..." She scanned the room, finding no one who could answer her question. With a sigh, she answered it herself. "_Dancing_, is a form of _expression._ It is an _art."_

The rumbling sound of many youths whispering to the one another filled the room once more, saying God knows what. "Now," she said, "as a quick exercise, I'm going to turn on the music, and you all are going to move in the way that it makes you _feel."_

She activated the CD player. The peppy sounds of the music wafted through the air with such great energy, but no one was dancing. Even the people who _enjoyed_ dancing were too embarrassed to do so. What to do? What _can _you do? Teenagers are so bothersome in their need to be "cool", so they tend to intentionally handicap themselves in order not to stand out. All of them had on their tap-shoes, but none of them danced. All was still. All was silent, with just the sound of the happy music in the air.

_Clack, clack, tappity-tap, clack, clack, tap!_

Heads turned in the direction of the tapping noise. The wearer of the lively tap-shoes was none other than our happy-dancing blonde, Alois Trancy. His legs moved quickly to the music, the clicks his feet made on the floor added his own percussion flair to it.

Granted, it was a bit clumsy for tap-dancing. He had never learned how. Alois was simply copying what he witnessed from his former butler, _Claude Faustus._ He had watched him _Flamenco _dance on multiple occasions, and had secretly always wanted to try it himself.

He did this now, simply enjoying himself. He didn't care what he looked like in the eyes of his peers, so he did as he pleased, and so did his feet. The blonde kept his arms out to balance himself, but mostly focused on his feet. He looked over to his friends, grinning as he noticed the feet of Travis and Kristopherson start to move as well.

They started gradually, simply tapping to the beat, but then added more flair as time went on. Soon their were three dancing. Three turned to six, as some of the girls decided to join, and six turned to twelve, and so on.

Soon nearly the entire room was filled with the clicks and clacks of tap-shoes. As a result, the volume of the CD player was nearly maxed out in order for the music to be heard. Daniel and Preston joined in eventually, leaving only _one_ who wasn't dancing. One boy. Ciel Phantomhive.

Ciel was not one to _go with the flow_ for the sake of "fun". He was _not _going to dance, and he _meant it, this time._ The boy refused to be persueded by the blonde this time. He was going to stand there, and be the only _reasonable_ person in the room. His brow furrowed as he caught his own foot start to tap to the beat, forcing himself to quit.

His frustration grew as Alois began to dance around him. The blonde was equally determined to get this boy to dance. He's done it twice before, and wanted to do it thrice. Dancing made him feel so much more lighter. It gave him a happy, bubbly feeling in his chest, as did the bluenette. Therefore combining the two made him feel so happy, he could just pass out. Alois also knew that it secretly made his friend happy, too.

He grabbed Ciel's hands playfully, and danced with them while the boy remained firmly planted in his starting spot. He could see the blush on his friend's face.

"_I'm not doing it."_ declared the bluenette. He was telling himself almost as much as he was telling the blonde.

"Why not? It's fun isn't it?"

"That's not the point..."

"What _is _the point?"

"Someone will see us..." Ciel said, suddenly finding the floor extremely interesting.

"So?"

"There's already _enough_ rumors about us as it is." he looked up at the blonde, giving him a serious look.

"They're _just _rumors, right? Why does it matter? I think you're too concerned about appearances."

The bluenette sighed in exasperation. This boy he was talking to simply had _no_ concept of shame. "So what if I do?"

"Then you make no sense." Alois began, stopping his dance. "You often say that you don't care about these people at all, and that they are ignorant, and beneath you. If that is the case, why is it that you value their opinion so much?" He maintained his hold of the other boy's hands. Ciel could feel his pulse. Why was his _heart_ beating so fast? _Surely_ it was because of all the _dancing._

_Dammit._ Alois was _right._ The slate-haired teen hated it when he was right. He had the petite boy backed into a corner. "Alois... I... I just-"

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIING!_

The bell rang, indicating that class was over. Ciel quickly escaped the blonde boy's trap while he was distracted and grabbed his things. "C'mon! We'll be late!"

"_Liar. I know you don't care if we're late..."_


	52. Answer Me Honestly

The bluenette was hassled everyday by Alois in a similar manner. He was relentless in his pestering, but Ciel didn't budge. He refused to dance in public with the blonde. Unfortunately for him, he had that class for enrichment at _least _until the next semester. So until then, he would resist the advances of the blonde menace, which is easier _said_ than _done._

As much as he hated to admit it, (and he _did_ by _a lot,_) he did in fact, enjoy dancing with the other boy. He found it to be a personal challenge to deny him repeatedly. Caving in would be easier and much more enjoyable for everyone, but Ciel had his competitive, stubborn nature to worry about.

Alois' pseudo-logic always _did _make _sense_. The bluenette often had difficulty in either out-witting the other boy or coming up with a good counter-argument. Alois was right in that it made no sense to put on airs for people you don't even care about impressing. Still, Ciel was going to cling to his pride. He wasn't quite ready to make such a _daring_ move yet. He knew this, and hated it. He felt like such a coward, running and hiding like this. But what else could he do? Say "_Hey, Alois, I think I might fancy you. Nice arse, by the way"?_ No. There is not a single person on the planet, living, dead, or _otherwise_, who would do that. Not even _Alois Trancy himself_ was that insane.

Obviously, by the blonde's lack of initiative. He had a pretty good idea on how the bluenette felt, but he too, was not willing to take that step until he was _one-hundred percent sure._ He too felt like a _complete coward_. The boy was bold, but not bold enough to potentially spoil one of his first _real _friendships. _Chase a potential serial killer throughout the streets of London? _Simple. _Cross-dress in public? _No problem. _Jump out of a window during math class? _Easy. _Tell an angel to "fuck off"? _Done without a second thought. But _telling your best friend you love him?_ No, no, no, and _no._ It cannot be done.

Still, he was willing to dance around the edge of the water for as long as he could, gently nudging his friend ever so close to falling in. And he was close, _so close._ Every time he would brush against the other boy slightly, play with his hair, use a double entendre or even something blatantly suggestive, the bluenette would nearly go mad.

The suspense just _waiting _for the boys to go out was killing the class as well. By now the feelings of the two were conspicuous to the other students, unbeknownst to the boys in question. They would often nudge them in that direction as well. This was often done by teasing them. Regardless, Ciel and Alois were still oblivious.

And so the sound of the _clack, clack, clacking _of tap-shoes could be heard throughout Phantomhive Manor following the incident. The blonde teen wore them often, and woud dance up an down the hallways just to hear his own percussion solo. As a result, Ciel could often hear him from his office chair, thus his thoughts was prone to wander to subject of the other boy, much to his annoyance.

"_Could you stop that for at least five minutes?!" _he yelled, flinging the offiice door open.

The tapping stopped for a moment, before returning in a steady beat, supposedly footsteps, growing ever closer to the peeved boy. "Probably not." Alois informed the boy. "When I get the _need, _I must _heed_ that _need, _Ciel."

"Who on earth do you think you are? _Billy Elliot?"_

"If that was supposed to be a joke, it isn't funny. I haven't the faintest on who that even _is."_

The palm of the bluenette's hand once again became introduced to his forehead. "_You don't know who Billy Elliot is?"_ He had thought for sure the blonde had _at least heard_ of the film. It seemed like the sort of thing the boy would _adore._ "Go into the entrainment room and watch it on _Netflix._"

"No, at least tell me what it's _about."_

_ "_Just do it."

"I don't want to watch it by myself! What if their are some _major plot points I don't understand?!" _Alois put his hands in the air to emphasize his supposed "patheticness".

"Fine. Give me a minute and I'll meet you there. _I wasn't going to get any work done, anyway, it seems..."_ the bluenette mutterd that last bit.

Alois sat on the couch and pulled up the movie before Ciel arrived. When he did, he forced the blonde to remove his tap-shoes so he wouldn't "_spoil the film with his insidious racket",_ before seating himself next to the boy.

The blonde liked the movie the moment the opening credits came on, and he saw the protagonist wearing shorts similar in length to his. Shorts like that were popular in the 70's. (Why? _God knows.)_ He made comments throughout the film, like when Billy's older brother was introduced, he said: "Is that just a taller, less angsty version of you, from the North, Ciel?" before promptly being punched in the shoulder by his friend.

His playful mood was brought down, however, under halfway through the movie. During more emotional scenes, Ciel would look over to see the blonde on the brink of tears.

"Alois, are you _crying?"_ he asked the boy.

"_No."_ the blonde tilted his head a bit in an attempt to hide his eyes. He sniffed. "I'm not.

"Let me guess, '_allergies'?"_

_ "Shut up..."_ his voice shook a little, and he bit down on his lower lip to force himself not to let a single tear fall. The boy was sensitive during movies. He cried during _kids films, _much to Ciel's amusement.

He constantly teased his friend about it. He didn't exactly know why he did, but he loved it. Something about the blonde's red face and furrowed brow in this situation tickled him. "_You can use my shoulder if you want."_ he said in a condescending tone. He was joking, of course, but he knew that there was a _chance_ the blonde would actually do it. Maybe he was a little _hopeful_ that he would.

"_Piss off."_ The blonde said, wiping his face on his arm. "Don't _patronize _me."

"Suit yourself, then." Ciel shrugged. Maybe his was a _little _disappointed. Still, what could he do?

As soon as the thought left him, Alois hid his face in the boy's shoulder. He pet the boy's head, since he wasn't sure what else to do. They just sat there in silence for awhile in close proximity to each other.

"Hey Ciel..."

"What?"

"Are you nervous?"

"No, why?"

"Your heartbeat's erratic, mate."

Alois' previously serious expression faded into a grin and he started to giggle as the other boy shoved him. He honestly couldn't help himself to that quip. He tried, he really did, but it escaped him when he noticed the petite gentleman's heart-rate.

"You _wish!"_ Ciel quickly stated.

"_I know." _Alois said, angling his head in a flirtatious manner. His tone and grin were joking, but the words themselves, were not. Ciel didn't know that, but he knew that this would be the sort of thing the other boy would pull.

He was a bit startled by the remark. He blinked, and just looked at the boy. "_What?"_ He couldn't force himself to say any more than that.

"_What?"_ the blonde asked in response. "I didn't say _nothin_'." He quickly tried to cover his tracks, but the damage was done.

"Alois," Ciel began, "Do you... _fancy me or something?"_

Immediately, the flaxen boy's face heated up. "No I _don't!"_ he said a bit _too_ quickly. His speech slurred a bit, as it often did when he was excited or startled. He was caught completely off-guard.

His friend carefully gauged his response, examining every detail of his face and interpreting what it meant. He came to the conclusion that the boy was _lying._

"What's with that blush, then?" he said, testing the boundaries.

"Well... Well _anyone_ would if their friend asked them _that!"_

"Why'd you hesitate, just then?"

"I did _not!"_ Alois declared. He then proceeded to throw a pillow at the bluenette, hitting him in the face.

In response, the other boy picked up the weapon and hit his attacker over the head. War ensued in the entertainment room. Cushions flew through the air before hitting their target, but more often _not._ The movie was ignored while the boys dueled once again, and probably not for the last time. Seems were broken, and stuffing fell to the floor, but the boys did not stop until there was a "winner".

Finally, the bluenette had the other boy pinned to the wall, pressing a cushion to his chest, trapping his arms. They stayed like that for a moment while they caught their breath. "_Hypothetically speaking,"_ Ciel began, "if by some strange chance you _did_, there would be nothing wrong with that, you know..." He braced himself for the Trancy boy's response.

"Good to hear. I'll keep that in mind..." he replied. "...But could you please stop crushing me for a moment?"

The other boy complied, releasing his friend. Silence flooded the room, and lingered for a bit longer than welcomed. Finally, the blonde spoke once more.

"What makes you think that _I_ would fancy _you?"_

"Well, I... uh..." It was Ciel's turn to be caught off-guard. What precisely is he supposed to say? "Just a _guess..._" he said, kicking himself for sounding so foolish.

His friend walked closer to the now frozen boy. He couldn't move. Not an inch. The will to do so left him as the blonde closed in, and kissed him _on the cheek._

The cheek? Of course. Alois was _bold_, but not _that _bold. While what his friend said before was comforting, he was far from feeling perfectly okay with this. He danced around the waters once more, _nearly allowing his foot to fall in._ He felt the boy's face heat up before pulling away. It was only a few seconds, but it felt much longer than that.

Putting his hand to the spot that the blonde had just touched, the bluenette watched, red-faced as his friend proceeded to pass him and walk back over to the couch. He stood, mouth agape, as the boy nonchalantly re-winded the movie to the spot they had left off when their duel began.

As though _sensing _the boy's astonishment, the blonde looked at him and smirked. HE only said one word. "_Cute."_

Ciel sat down beside his friend in a huff. "I will _never _understand you." he said, averting his eye from the blonde's.

"But that's what makes me so much _fun."_

It wasn't clear to either of them at this moment how their actions would influence them later, but for now they knew they were _both _dancing closer, and closer past the point of no return. But for now, they will finish their movie, and try hard to focus on it as they do so. However, their thoughts will drift to that silly_ kiss on the cheek._

* * *

__**A/N: Oh my~!  
**

**I'm posting a bit later today... It isn't that I didn't have time. No, I was home all day. It's that I would sit down and stare at the screen and have no idea what to write. I threw down a few words, and it became this. I'm not sure how to feel about it, honestly. Is it moving too fast? Does it feel _natural?_ I don't know! They seem a little... Out of character...  
**

**I am deeply conflicted.  
**

**I hope I can still do this "at least a chapter a day" thing. I'm afraid I might not make it everyday. We'll see, we'll see...  
**

**As a random note: _Billy Elliot_ is an awesome movie, and it totally is on _Netflix_. _BBC_ for the win, yo.  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	53. Zombie Frogs From Outer Space

'Twas a lovely day at Warwick Academy. The sun was shining happily over the campus, the birds sang sweetly, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. It was a perfect day for outdoor recces, and as such our boys were enjoying it with their friends. They were all sitting in a circle on the grass, playing cards in the grass.

"So, how do we know who's the 'old maid', again?" the blonde asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Look, _you stupid bastard_, we've explained this to you _ten bloody times_, already! We aren't explaining it again!" said a very peeved boy in a silly-looking pink tie.

Alois looked like he was about to get up, reaching for his pocket, before a third boy caught his eye. It was Ciel Phantomhive, and he was holding his hand out to the boy expectantly.

"_Give it."_ he said.

In a huff, the boy sat down and reached into his pocket, surrendering it's contents. What he retrieved from his pocket was a sock, filled with coins, judging by the small jingling noise it made, with a knot tied in the end. It was the boy's improvised nightstick, or, a new one he had made recently. He put it in the bluenette's hand obediently.

"You were gonna use _that_ on me?!" Kristopherson exclaimed.

"_No, _he was _not."_ said Ciel, shooting his blonde friend a dirty look. This caused the boy to shrink a bit, defensively.

Upon further inspection, the sock in the palm of the bluenette's hand didn't _feel _like it contained _coins. _He shook it a bit before untying the knot in the end and emptying it's contents into his free hand. The blonde got another cross look, immediately.

"Where did you _get_ these?" Ciel showed the source of the jingling noise and the weapon's weight to be _nuts and bolts_ of all things. He couldn't even begin to imagine where the blonde retreived them from.

"Well, I _may or may not have _gotten them from _Kristopherson's bicycle..."_

_ "WHAT?!"_ The boy stood up upon hearing this. "You better not have!"

"_Wow, _Trancy..." Daniel, one of the other boys in the circle, was struggling to contain his laughter. "_Pfft-! _Kris, I'm sorry about your bike."

Kristopherson was furious. He _did _have a slight crush on the blonde boy, but the boy was _insane._ Often was he at a loss for how to handle this. He knew very well that Alois could be joking, however, there was still a chance he was _not._ At that moment, he had to make a choice, and he chose to check on his bike. He scampered away, shouting every swear word he knew.

The circle was quiet for a while, that is, until Daniel spoke up. "Are those _really _from his bike, Trancy?"

"_Pssh! No._ I _found_ them."

"And where exactly did you 'find' them?" the bluenette asked his friend. He knew that there was no way in _hell_ that the blonde menace had simply "found" them.

"You can find them on practically anything old and made of metal. From the bleachers in the gym, to various sports equipment..."

"Are you saying that _you're _the reason that the basketball hoop fell off during the team's practice, yesterday?"

"I never _said _that." stated the blonde, plainly.

He was odd. He did these things and felt no guilt for his actions. Now, the basketball hoop wasn't entirely _intentional_, but he still found it amusing. Alois Trancy, "The Blonde Menace", loved to toy with people. He pulled pranks, big or small, as long as he found them funny.

That is why Ciel didn't know what to think of the blonde's actions the previous night. He had been kissed on the cheek by the boy, and couldn't tell if he was serious, or _just playing with him._ This is perhaps why he wasn't being lenient with Alois' antics lately. Normally, he probably would have let him threaten Kristopherson with the "killer sock", due to the fact that it would only be a _threat_. However, the game has changed, and the bluenette didn't find it as funny as he used to.

Now he was annoyed. Annoyed at the fact that the blonde _could _have just been playing with him, and annoyed that he couldn't figure it out. He was also quite embarrassed that his inquiry that night could have tipped off Alois to his true feelings. _God, _how he wish he didn't have _feelings._

The bell rang, ending their game of cards. The demons said "goodbye" to Daniel for the day, and headed to their next class.

"Hey, Ciel, what are we doing in Biology today? Do you know?"

"Yeah, I think Mr. Carver said something about _dissection_." The bluenette felt his lips twitch into a small smile. The thought of Alois having to dissect a frog was hilarious to him. Nevertheless, he forced himself to maintain his usual face of indifference until they reached the classroom.

"Alright, today we're going to cut things up. Now, doesn't that sound _fun?"_ the man behind the teacher's desk said, smiling.

Mr. Carver was a rather scary-looking man. Not in the same way as Mr. Irons, who was scary because he looked powerful, but Mr. Carver was scary as in _creepy._ He had beady eyes, and long, skinny, wrinkled fingers that seemed accustomed to holding scalpels, and he wore a lab-coat with mysterious dark-red stains on it. One of the many rumors circling about within the school-walls is the it was _he _that is responsible for the disappearance of the student, _Maxwell Goddard,_ but the two boys, the butler, Sebastian, you, and I all know that this is not the case.

The students donned their lab-coats and latex gloves and went to their stations. They were allowed to choose their own partners, so our dynamic duo were able to work together, of course. This worked out perfectly for the bluenette, who would get to see Alois' response first hand.

He picked up the scalpel and made an vertical incision on the frogs stomach, looking at the blonde's face in the corner of his eye. Nothing yet. He made the next cut just below the frog's arms, and above it's legs. It was only when he separated the skin from the muscle that he got any sort of a reaction. Alois furrowed his brow, and made a disgusted face.

"Do you want to do the next part?" Ciel asked in feigned innocence.

"What do I need to do?"

"You need to pin the stomach flaps to the tray so we can see it's organs."

"O-okay..?"

Hesitantly, the blonde boy took the forceps and began this process. He was doing well until the frogs organs actually became _visible. _He gagged at the sight.

"Ugh, it _smells!"_

"Like guts and formaldehyde. Keep going, you're doing _fine._ See those green things? _Remove them."_

_ "_What are they?"

"_Eggs."_

Now the blonde nearly trew up. He cut them out, picked at them, did what was necessary up to a point. Eventually though, he nearly _threw_ down the tools.

"_Nope."_ he said.

"Oh _come on_, you almost had all of them." Ciel was in no way, even _trying _to hide his smile at this point.

Alois put his hands in the air. "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, _NOPE."_

He was not having this. For some reason, he just _couldn't_. It was bizarre, he had seen blood before, in fact, he himself had been _stabbed in the stomach. _The boy had no problems with impaled angels and such, but _cutting open dead preserved frogs_ was too much. He drew the line in a strange place, but it was drawn, and it will not budge.

"_Fine._ At least take this tag, and label_ something_." the bluenette said, handing his friend a small paper tag with a string on it. "Just tie it around the organ."

Taking a deep breath, the blonde took the tag and wrote on it. He made an attempt to tie it to the amphibian's heart. His fingers worked trying to tie a knot around the slippery organ, before he made a small squeal and retreated.

"_Oh my god, it __**moved!**_"

Ciel laughed, actually _laughed_ at the boy. Head's turned to investigate the source of the squeal, to see this. No one at Warwick had _ever _seen Ciel Phantomhive _laugh_ before.

"Ah-haha-ha! That noise! _Oh my God, Alois, you're such a __**girl!**_" He was clutching his stomach, he was laughing so hard.

The face of the blonde being laughed at turned a shade of pink. "I am _not!"_

"_'Oh no! __**It moved!**_'" The bluenette teased, using his best Alois impression.

"It _did!"_

_ "_It's _dead!"_

_ "_I know it moved! It did, I swear!"

"_The frog is not a zombie, Alois."_

_** "That's just what it **__**wants**__** you to think!"**_

* * *

**A/N: MOTHER OF GOD.  
**

**Alois just blew my mind.**

**Personally, I've had to dissect frogs and _cats_, (True story. I named it "Schrodinger".) and I was hardly affected at all. Then, when I had to handle _ground beef_ to make hamburgers in cooking, I nearly puked. Again, the line has been drawn. I will not move it. I _cannot _move it.**

**Enjoy your filler, children...**

**"Alois is such a girl" seems to be a reoccurring phrase. _I like_ it. Originally, I wanted to use "Did someone say 'Alois Trancy'?" as a running gag, (a play on "Did someone say 'Draco Malfoy'?") but it never worked out. There's another joke that I wanted to use this chapter, but just couldn't fit in. "Oh my god! We killed Prince *insert name of random British prince here*!" "Frog Prince", get it? It also just wasn't very funny. Alois would have said it, naturally...**

**But still,**

**Alois is such a girl, you guys. Just sayin'...**

**(Then what does that make Kristopherson?)**

**(A fish?)**

**Until next chapter, my duckies!**


	54. Auctions And Alois Logic

Warwick Academy. It is the finest private school in the United Kingdom, teaching the children of the upper class while preparing them for the real world. (Or as "real world" as being rich gets you, if you know what I mean.) At Warwick, children learn all the basics of high society from culture to proper business skills, and as such, they often discuss what their family's are doing, and relaying that information back and forth. As you know, having your children make friends with the children of powerful people can give any business owner a good edge.

Today, the students in Mr. Irons' first period History class a buzzing about an upcoming auction. Word has it, that the old abandoned mansion that if often visited by curious and brave (and stupid), thrill-seeking teenagers had many antique pieces just waiting to be restored. Some pieces are now worth _millions._

Alois Trancy, secretly the former owner of the manor, was _not_ happy about this. "That should be _my_ money!" he said.

"They weren't even your belongings to begin with, though." his friend, Ciel, reminded him.

"I stole them _fair and square!"_

_"_Yes, but how exactly do you plan to go about reclaiming them?"

The bluenette was met with silence. Alois had no idea how he could. Probably because it was impossible. Still, you would be quite peeved if someone was selling your stuff, keeping the money, and there was absolutely nothing you could do about it, wouldn't you? All he could so was sit there, crossing his arms and pout.

"Are you guys going to the auction?" A plain looking boy with brown hair, parted to the right, appeared before the boys. It was none other than their friend(?), Daniel Westly. " I no idea the things in that freaky house where worth so much! I would've taken a few things while I was there.

Ciel shot his blonde friend a look, preventing him from punching the unknowing boy in the face. "Are you sure that would be wise? What is you _made the ghosts angry,_ Daniel?"

"Ugh... Don't remind me!" The politician's son shuddered, remembering the horrible scene he saw at the mansion during his previous visit. "That kid might've taken _my _eyes! I _still _have nightmares about it..."

"Don't be stupid. _Ghosts aren't real."_

"I know what I saw, and you can't tell me I didn't see what I saw! I am _not _a nutter! That house is _haunted."_ He pointed at the boy to make himself seem like he knew what he was saying. "Anyway, are you going or not? My dad will be there, and so will Kris' mom, and Travis' parents will also."

"Who knows? Depends on my mood."

"Ciel is just a _little ball of sunshine_, you see." Alois added.

"Oh, _I know! _Just look at that innocent, child-like smile, and rosy cheeks brimming with joy!" Daniel teased. Ciel simply folded his arms defensively in response.

"I don't really know. Is it really good for the image of a toy company to buy things from a 'haunted house'?" he asked.

"Probably not." said Daniel. "I wonder if they'll be selling that painting of that kid who looks like Alois."

"I will go to the auction dressed as that boy, and loudly ask why people are selling my shit." the blonde joked. Granted, he _would_, he actually _is _the boy, and those items really are _his._ However, in normal society, that is deemed "impossible", unfortunately.

Regardless, the brown-headed teen took it as a joke. "I would so _pay_ to see that." he said.

"Fifty-quid, please." The blonde held out his had.

"You nutter."

The conversation was cut off quite abruptly, as the boy's phone rang. It was one of those obnoxious ringtones where it is a song, and for this reason, he was slow to pick up because he'd "miss the good part".

"I have to take this, it's my dad."

"_Piss off, _then!" Alois said jokingly. He smiled and waved at the boy as he exited the room to take his phone call. Then his smile faded and he turned to his bluenette friend.

"_What a fucking libertine."_

"What the-?! You were friend's with him not even a minute ago!" his friend said.

"He wants to buy all of my _shit!_"

It was at this point that Ciel didn't know what to say. There simply was _no pleasing _the blonde. All he could do was roll his eye and pull his hands in the air in exasperation.

"I wish I _could _haunt him." the blonde declared.

"Alois, quit being ridiculous."

"How am _I_ being ridiculous?!"

The bluenette started counting off the things on his fingers as he named them. "One: If he buys them there is absolutely not a single thing you can do about it because you are "dead". Two: You are right here, therefore you cannot be a ghost. Three: Ghosts do not even _exist."_

"Now _that, _sir is a ridiculous notion! Are you telling me, that things like _demons, angels, and grim reapers_ _**can **_exist, but there is no feasible way that _ghosts can as well?!"_

"Well have _you _seen one?"

"Ciel, it was only just recently that I saw an _angel_ for the first time, so I imagine that there are things that exist in this world that I _haven't _seen before either. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if _el chupacabra_ showed up at the bus stop and asked me if I had change fo a fiver."

Once again, the blonde's un-logic seemed perfectly reasonable. Ciel hated that. It felt like he was losing to the boy, and if there was _one thing_ Ciel Phantomhive hated more than _being wrong,_ it was _losing._ He sat back in his chair in a huff. "_Whatever."_ he said. The blonde's mind was a _complete anomaly. _

The bluenette often found himself vexed by this. From the short -shorts, to his conversations with rubber ducks, Ciel could not decode the boy's thought processes. Perhaps there was a sort of _Rosetta Stone_ at that auction that could help him _speak Alois._

"Hey, Ciel?" The blonde in question interrupted the bluenette's musings for a moment.

"What?"

"What is the plural form of '_Platypus'?_ Is it '_Platypusses' _or '_Platypi'?_" he asked, before adding: "Personally, I like _'Platypi',_ 'cause '_Platypusses_' sounds _dirty."_

_"What on earth is wrong with you, Alois?"_

* * *

**A/N: Haaaaaaaaaaaay~!**

**I reread all of the chapters, and was bugged by a few things. Firstly, ****_spelling and _****_grammar_****. I didn't proofread when I posted the first few chapters. Even now, I only really skim through them, so I still miss some. I'M SUCH A DISGRACE.**

**Secondly, plot-holes and inconsistencies. In chapter 44, Maxwell has the book from the grim reaper's library that has Alois' entire life documented in it. ****_What happened to it?_**** It's never mentioned again. (I assume he returned it, maybe?) Couldn't Maxwell just have erased Ciel from the book (since angels CAN do that in-universe) thus making Alois more likely to pick him? Ah, but then Alois wouldn't be allowed into heaven because his documents woul've been tampered with, and that's against the RRUUUURRRRUUUUS. Still, that's a stupid plot-hole I missed.**

**In chapter 15, there's a student named "Sonya" that I mentioned, but haven't since. I had ideas for her, but it never worked out. She's shy, Asian, her mom's the English teacher, and is BFF's with Audrey.**

**Speaking of the little twerp, in chapter 29, Daniel says that ****Audrey**** was also going to go to the haunted house. ****_What happened to him?_**** There wasn't even a "Hey, wasn't Audrey going to come too?" "No, man, he's grounded." or some shite. I basically just forgot about him. Oops...**

**I don't think I'll actually use him in an arc because I simply cannot think of anything for him. (If you have suggestions, though... *hint, hint*) I'll leave his backstroy and continue to reference him though.****_ It'll be our little inside joke..._**

**Also, people being out of character. Like the elephant in them room: the fact that I have yet to explain ****_why _****Ciel even revived Alois in the first place, but I was saving that for a special occasion, mm-hm. **

**_I thought I'd point this out and own up to it before someone else did and I looked like an even bigger failure than I am. _****I'M SUCH A DISGRAAAAAACE!**

**That's how fanfic writing is, though... Spelling, plot-holes, and people being out of character are to be expected, but still, I don't think that excuses it.**

**Until next chapter, my duckies!**

**Dafuq?! Why is this not uploooooaaaaaadiiiiinnnnnnng gggg?**

**CURSE YOU TECHNOLOGYYYYYYYYYYY**


	55. Bernard The Duck Is My Wingman

It had often been wondered amongst those living in the Phantomhive household _why _the master of the house would ever summon a most troublesome blonde back from the dead. Why on earth would the bluenette do that? Was it that he felt lonely and wanted a companion? Was it out of whimsy? If so, why _Alois Trancy,_ of all people?

These thoughts often loomed over the boy's thoughts. While Ciel had difficulty deceiving Alois' thought processes, Alois had difficulty understanding _the bluenettes._ It wasn't often that he would ponder about this, but nights like this brought his mind back to that ominous night in autumn almost a year ago. One moment, he was in Ciel's mind, the next, he was with Hannah and Luka, and after that, he was in the boy's basement, stark naked, and was informed that over a hundred years had passed. It was all like a dream that he couldn't wake up from, not that he _wanted_ to.

Alois sat at his desk, staring at his bedroom ceiling as he thought. It was still difficult to wrap his head around all of this. For some reason or another, it was _he_ who the mysterious slate-haired teen decided to resurrect. He still wasn't entirely sure _how_ he did. According to Ciel, it was quite simple to create a human body using alchemy if you had all of the ingredients. Getting it to take the shape he wanted was as simple too, as he used his own memories of the boy to mold the shape to his will.

Yes, very skin he was wearing wasn't even _his own._ He would often look in the mirror and gawk at how accurate it was. Why did Ciel remember his face so well? The boy hadn't seen the blonde in over a hundred years, yet it was as though it hadn't been five minutes. Why was that? Did he have photographic memory or something? The blonde's questions didn't even cease there.

His original body was supposedly still buried in an old cemetery nearby. Now _that_ was a heavy thought to dwell on. Knowing that somewhere, your own corpse is rotting and being devoured by worms and bugs buried under six feet of dirt. Yet he is still comfortable the way he is now. He felt as though the stained body that irked him so was somehow cleansed. He rather liked that thought.

That explains the body, but what about the soul? Alois had asked the bluenette this as well. After all, his soul had been eaten by Hannah, and the maid was _dead_. How on _earth_ did the boy accomplish that? According to Ciel, all that was needed was a sinlge item. The ring that contained his soull all those years ago.

The ring was found in the clock tower behind the Trancy Manor were the blonde had left it. All Ciel had to do, was go get it. This way, there would be a way to tie an almost unattainable soul to the mortal world. It was at that point in the blonde's thought process that some thing hit him. A possible explanation to why _him._

_ Because it would be easy. _Let's say, for the sake of argument that the eyepatch-wearing Earl _had_ developed a sense of _whimsy._ Now how many of the boy's _other_ acquaintances had an item that contained their _soul?_ The answer is _none._

Alois really didn't know how to feel about that. He didn't know whether to feel sad, or angry, or happy, or lucky, or _thankful._ Because of this, this... _stroke of luck_, he was able to get a complete second-chance at life. But still, he wasn't at all _special_ to the boy. That's all it was. He was bored and wanted to flaunt his power, and the blonde just _happened_ to fit the bill.

But what did the boy want with him after he was resurrected? He could have simply gotten rid of him, if he pleased. But Ciel, for whatever reason, decided to keep him as a _pet,_ and train him to live in modern society. Before long, he was promoted from "pet" to "friend", and here he was now, contemplating all of this. All he knew, is that at some point, be it minutes, months, or years, before he was summoned, or even directly _after_, something _changed_ the the bluenette's mind.

The blonde had wondered what, and when, and even asked the boy directly, but all Ciel would say was, "I don't know", "That's none of your business", or "That's for me to know". Not knowing somehow ate at the blonde. It frustrated him to no end that he couldn't understand his friend's intentions. _Not knowing_ is always much worse than _knowing._ The bluenette's emotions were like a box filled with endless possibilities. A _Schrodinger's Earl_, perhaps? The blonde had no way of knowing what the boy was thinking due to the simple fact that there was no way he could look inside. That's just the way people are, I suppose, whether human, or _demon._

Ciel had his reasons. He simply longed for the Victorian era he was born in. He held a certain sense of nostalgia for it. However, he could find nothing that could replicate the feeling of being there. TV dramas were inaccurate, and many things from that time have been "modernized", or simply vanished all together. Perhaps he simply wanted someone to confide in, unable to do so with the flexible older demon, Sebastian, who was very capable of adjusting to change. That is to be expected, I suppose. He is an immortal being, after all, and time is ever-changing, ever-evolving.

Maybe his softening over the years had made him more longing for these things. Maybe this new-found childishness made him susceptible to being lonely, as well. The boy couldn't get too close to other children "his age", due to the fact that he was a demon. Any friendships he made would have to be short-lived in order to maintain the illusion of his humanity. It would be rather odd for his friends to get older and die while he remained forever young. That was another thing. The death of his human friends was imminent. Wouldn't it be better to have a friend that wouldn't do this?

On a certain level, Ciel probably knows all of this. However his pride and sense of self would never allow him to acknowledge any of this. It was so out of character for the boy, yet _isn't_. After all, he _is only a child_.

It _was _easiest to bring back Alois, but there was also the fact that he felt as though he really _knew_ the boy already. They _did_ share a body and memories, you know. In a way, he could really identify with the estranged blonde boy, and maybe this was a contributing factor as well.

Either way, he had no regrets on the matter. He had obtained his first true _friend_. Not a family member, not an acquaintance, not an associate, not some random nutter who followed him around, but a _friend._ He legitimately felt _happy_ when interacting with the blonde, even though they were such mirror opposites.

Alois had light-hair, he had dark, Alois was hyper, he was reserved, Alois liked _greasy fish 'n chips, _he liked _cake._ These differences sometimes made it difficult to get along, with the blonde being "an idiot" and all. But still, they got along swimmingly.

A knock was heard at the bluenette's door. "Come in." he said.

"_Pppphhhhhbblghblghblghblghbl ghblgh..."_

_ "Alois, stop using the door to make disgusting noises, and come in."_

The door opened, revealing the blonde boy. He walked right into the room like he owned the place. "What? Farts are funny!"

"_To an idiot like you, maybe."_

_ "_Oh Ciel! You _wound _me so!" the blonde cried melodramatically before falling face-first on the bluenette's bed. "I'm _bored."_ he spoke into the mattress.

"Then go _do _something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, _read a book." _

_ "Fuck you."_

Ciel immediately had to curse himself for allowing his mind to wander directly into the gutter. He adjusted himself and turned around in his chair to look at the blonde. "Then what is it exactly that _you_ propose?"

"Plaaaaaaay wiiiiith meeeee!" the blonde whined as he rolled around across the bed.

"Nerf battle to the death?"

"Hahahaha, _hell no."_

"Go bother your _rubber duck,_ then."

Alois sat up and glared at the boy. "He _has_ a perfectly good _name,_ you know." He walked over and looked Ciel in the eye. "His name is _Bernard."_

_ "I will be sure to notify you when I start to give a shit."_

And with that, the boy was bopped on the head. Not very hard, but enough to startle him. "How _dare_ you insult him, you swine!"

_"He's a__** fake **__duck!"_ The bluenette shouted, blocking most of the remainder of the blonde's attacks.

"_He_ doesn't know that!"

"Of course he doesn't! He isn't _alive_, you _ pillock!"_

Just as quickly as he had started, the blonde stopped. _"Yeah, I know."_ he said, smiling.

"You're a complete _lunatic,_ do you know _that?"_

_ "_Yes, but you love me anyways."

"I _do __**not!**__"_ The bluenette's face had turned completely red at that. How could someone be so _casual _about this?

"Aw, now, now, that hurts my widdle _feelings!"_

"_Whatever."_ That's all the boy could say. He didn't know what else he _could _say. The blonde was so erratic, that anything he could say could go any which way. The blonde could turn it to anything his heart desired, and _did._

_ "_Well then, could I just ask you something, then?" the blonde asked.

"What?"

"Riddle me this: _Why _exactly did you resurrect me?"

"What brings this up?"

"It's been weighing on my mind, lately." Alois' voice went soft, and was strangely sincere.

Ciel took a deep breath before looking directly at the blonde. "I've told you before. I really _don't _know, Alois."

"That's a _lie!"_ the blonde shouted.

_ "It is __**not!" **_the bluenette shouted back, standing up. His chair fell over backwards.

Alois stood there, surprised. He couldn't tell if his friend was _angry, _or just _defensive._ Either way, it legitimately startled him. Picking up on this, the slate-haired teen forced himself to relax his now tensed shoulders and adjust his tone.

"_Sorry."_ he said. "I just don't _know_, though. I guess I... I just wanted something to be... familiar?" He didn't quite know what he was saying. He just said the first thing that came to mind, for once. Ciel felt foolish and just continued to look at the ground.

He wasn't the only one confused by his actions. The blonde was, too. But he still could somehow understand what he was saying.

"You mean... Like, someone who understood what it's like to be in a new time?"

"I think so... And... You were the only one who I even had a slim chance of resurrecting, and..." he wasn't sure were exactly he was going with this. "I can kind of... relate to you...?" He felt like a complete blabbering idiot. He didn't like being confronted with these thoughts and feelings. He liked _expressing_ them even _less._

All Alois could do was stare, which probably wasn't helping the other boy's discomfort, but he was _happy._ He didn't know how exactly to express this. He didn't want to ruin the moment by doing or saying something stupid. Regardless, he still wanted to get while the getting was good.

"So then, what exactly _am I to you_?"

Ciel could've had a heart-attack right there. "W-what do you mean?"

"Am I a rival, a friend, a brother, or maybe even a pet, such as a dog?" The blonde was nearly shaking, but still, he wanted to press ever onward, concealing his nerves with a mask, giving him the appearance that he knew what he was doing when he in fact, had no idea. "How do you think of me? I'm _dying_ to know... _muffin."_

_ "Muffin?"_ The word echoed in Ciel's mind. Why would he say that? The word was so out of place, _until he remembered it's usual context._

The blonde would often say, "_I love you too, muffin"_ tauntingly when he was insulted of brushed off by the bluenette. It was upon remembering this, that the bluenette realized what he meant by that. _The blonde was indirectly __**confessing**__ to him._

* * *

**A/N: Oh...  
**

**Aaaaaand I cut it off to be a douche...**

**I need more time to think about what happens next, ya dig?**

**Sh*t just got _real._**

**To be continued, my duckies...**


	56. Alois, You're Such A Girl

The bluenette's heart felt like it was going to leap out of his throat at any moment. His face was crimson at what the blonde was saying. Alois had basically _confessed that he had feelings_ for him. Now one could argue that the boy hadn't _exactly_ said this, but judging by the boy's peculiar behaviour, it was apparent that that was the direction he was leaning in.

The blonde's face was flushed, and his shoulders were defensively stiff, bracing himself for Ciel's answer. He fidgeted with the end of his T-shirt nervously, and his eyes darted around the room, not daring to remain on his friend's face for too long. He was terrified.

His heart was now exposed, and was at the mercy of the bluenette. He could crush it, cut it out, ignore it, or even _embrace _it. All of these possibilities were very real, and each and every one had their disadvantages.

Even if Ciel _were _to return his feelings, there would be a whole _new _mess of obstacles to face. How would Sebastian react? What would the kids at school think? Their own limitations were also a factor, with both boys being so heavily emotionally scarred, it would even be difficult for they _themselves _to accept this. In addition to this, they were both from the _Victorian era_, were homosexuality wasn't really an _acceptable_ _thing. _Sure, it existed, it always has, but not to the_ public eye_. Times have changed, but their own social values have hardly. The more they looked at it, the more unlikely it seemed.

But in spite of all of this, Ciel spoke. "W-well, I..." He had difficulty finding the words. Clearing his throat, he straightened himself and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. "I might... maybe... _f-fancy_ you... a bit?" He couldn't look the other boy in the eye. The floor suddenly became very interesting to him and he looked down. Ciel was _not_ the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. He _did not_ like this. Not one bit. But it was now, or never, and like the "man" he was, he chose _now._ It took every once of courage he had, but he did it.

His companion was at a loss for words. Only in his _wildest dreams_ would this _ever_ happen, yet here they were, sharing their most _intimate_ of feelings. The blonde, for once, simply couldn't think of anything to say. The usually talkative boy couldn't bring himself to speak. He didn't trust his mouth to not completely mess this up. However, he could tell by looking at the bluenette that his silence was not helping his growing anxiety.

Since he couldn't use his voice, he forced his legs to move himself forward, and surprised the bluenette by putting his arms around the boy's neck and hiding his face in his shoulder. In response, Ciel put his own arms around the boy's waist. They stayed that way for what felt like much longer than it really was, listening to and feeling each other's unstable heart-beat.

_ "Alois, you're such a __**girl**__..." _

* * *

**A/N: DAMN, that's the shortest chapter I've ever posted!  
**

**I hope that's not too disappointing. The only real reason I split these into two chapters, is that last night, I was literally about to pass out face-first on my keyboard. I might edit them and combine them later. Who knows...**

**Still, I hope I was able to portray them correctly in such a vital moment. As a theater geek, I tried my best to put myself in their situation to better understand them, and be able to write. I'm not sure if it worked.**

**Please don't come to my house with torches and pitchforks...**

**Don't you _dare_ think that this is over! Oh no, they still have a lot of challenges left to face!**

**Also, just a heads-up: if you want smut after this, you're going to have to write it yourself. I'm not doing it. K thx. (A fanfic about a fanfic? FANFICEPTION.)**

**(There should totally be a .)**

**(Maybe something about what Sebastian has been doing the entire time. That wold be _hilarious_.)**

**Until number 57, my duckies!**


	57. A Talk With The Butler

The young master believes I know nothing of his feelings for the Trancy boy. Now, now, if I were so insensitive to my lord, what kind of butler would I be? I've known for quite some time about this. I noticed every blush he made when it came to the other boy, every time he couldn't look him in the eye, or fidgeted at every slight touch. It's my duty after all. In fact, I believe I noticed it before even he himself did. He can be silly sometimes, can't he?

All that said, I am fully supportive of my master's decisions and preferences, although I myself am not to keen on the blonde boy. You do realize he is responsible for my eternal servitude, yes? That aside, I will not complain. I am actually quite happy for the young master. He has never quite been so found of anyone, before. It's a nice change.

What? Did you think I would be disproving of the fact that my lord fancies another male? Not in the slightest. It is not my place, after all. In fact, gender hardly matters to demons. The fact that we are able to transform eliminates this problem in finding a mate, obviously. Times have changed as well, making it more acceptable among humans. However, it is not _entirely_ accepted, but I am confident in my lord's ability to cope with those who are disapproving. He won't be alone, after all. Mister Trancy will be going through the same thing, no doubt.

It has also come to my attention that they now appear to be aware these feelings are mutual. I often catch them off-guard, holding hands, or even cuddling. When I am noticed, the scramble to untangle themselves. How silly. Do they really think I'm fooled? That's rather naive, if I may say so. That said, that same naivety is quite _amusing_ coming from my master. Although I have known him for many years, but have seldom seen such childishness coming from the boy.

Perhaps resurrecting the Trancy boy wasn't such a bad thing after all. At first I was confused as to why on earth my master would want to do such a thing, but now I come to realize that perhaps my lord simply desired someone he could relate to, and the former Earl was an easy bet. I understand that it is difficult to find friends who are able to comprehend his "condition." Similarly, he may have wanted someone around, _ahem,_ "_his age_" to talk to. I am aware of this need in children, and am probably not best suited for this task.

Yes, things have certainly gotten much more lively around the manor in the past half a year. It's almost hard to imagine it's been this long. It feels like it was just yesterday I was having to explain _Hitler_ to that blonde. I also believe it would be safe to assume things are only going to so as time goes on!

I must say, it was nice having this chat with you, but I do believe I heard something shattering in the next room. (No doubt "the Blonde Menace" is responsible.) I must attend to my duties as butler. Until next time, friends.

* * *

**A/N: Another painfully short one. I wanted to do something with Sebastian. He hardly shows up at all, you see.**

**So what better way to do that than to have him give his opinions?**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	58. It's Funny 'Cause It Sounds Wrong

It was another day, and here, at Warwick Academy, things are normal. A Normal day, with normal weather, normal classes, normal staff, and normal students, who carried out their activities as usual. They did their schoolwork, socialized, and did all of the general things that students do. Everyone was none the wiser to the slight change in a certain pair of students.

The exact pair that Mr. Irons' first period history class was so itching to see together in a romantic sense, now were. And they, of course, will be the last ones to know. For you see, the petite bluenette boy was not quite comfortable with the idea of them knowing, yet. It was nothing against the blonde, oh no, not at all. In fact it was his own pride and Victorian-era social values that made him hesitant to make his current relationship status public.

His new _boyfriend_ understood this, and took no offense whatsoever. Even he would find it annoying to just be known as "that homo kid", so he agreed to not be so flirtatious in public, as difficult as it would be for him. And oh, would it be _difficult._ He had a hard time doing so_ before _he knew his feelings were mutual, so can you imagine how it would be after?

They limited themselves to simply holding hands, or other slight intimacies when no one was looking. Slowly they were progressing, taking time to carefully take each step. Both were unused to this sort of thing, so it's quite understandable, no?

But still, they did enjoy each other's company, even with discretion. Small smiles and returning glances during class time were enough for now. It was surprising that the class hadn't caught on yet. Usually they would have been all over these small details. However, I guess they were busy, caught up in their own d_ramatic_ teenage lives, missing everything.

"Hey Ciel, did you know that Platypi are _poisonous?"_ the blonde asked all of a sudden.

Ciel looked away from his book to reply. "Really, are they? Wait, '_Platypi'?"_

"Yes. Male _platypi_ have spiky things one their hind legs that inject poison that is potent enough to kill small animals. Not humans, though. It _does,_ however cause excruciating pain that lasts several days and there is no anti-venom."

"Are you _sure_ that 'platypi' is the correct form of 'platypus'?"

"Well, _you_ try and say the word, '_platypusses_' without feeling _dirty."_

"Point taken." the bluenette had no idea were Alois' new-found fascination with the egg-laying mammal came from, but it was there. The blonde boy was odd, but then again, so were "_platypi"._

"Go on, _say it!"_

"What? No!"

"Say it!"

"No, Alois."

_ "Say it!"_

All the boy could do was role his eye and comply. The blonde showed no signs of giving up on this. "_'Platypusses.'"_

To the bluenette, it seemed like the blonde laughed a bit _too_ hard at that. Alois was clutching his stomach, his face was red, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. He sat in his seat letting loose the most evil, girlish giggle you ever heard. Something about the bluenette saying the word absolutely tickled him.

"Ahhahahahaha! Haha! Hah... It's funny... heheh... 'cause it sounds so _wrong!_ Hahaha! HaHAHA!" he managed to finally convey. The boy was absolutely throwing a fit.

"What? You mean '_platypusses'? _What's so wrong about that?" Ciel teased.

"Stop it! Ha! I'm gonna pee! Hahahaha!"

"Woah, T.M.I, Trancy!" a familiar voice said. "I _did not _need to know that." A boy with bleached blonde hair in a silly pink tie appeared next to the boys. "What's got Trancy in a fit?"

"_Platypusses."_ the bluenette replied plainly, with a slight smile.

"_Pffffftt-!"_ Alois covered his mouth in a desperate attempt to get himself to stop laughing.

Kristopherson was confused. "What's so funny about _platypusses?"_

_ "Pfffffha-hahaha-ha!"_ Alois completely lost it. Tears were streaming down his face after the faux-blonde repeated the word.

Even Ciel was amused. Although maybe more so at the blonde than at the word. Only Alois could find such a silly thing so funny. "He says, '_It's funny 'cause it sounds __**wrong**_.'"

"...The _hell are you two talking about in the middle of class?!"_ Kristopherson shouted. His face was quickly heating up. Soon, it was a pink as his tie.

"We're talking about _platypusses, _duh, Kristopherson."

"You're disgusting! And _you!"_ the faux-blonde turned his attention to Alois. "Why is that even funny to a _poof_ like you!?"

The Trancy boy quelled his laughter for a moment, and took a deep breath. When he felt like he could speak without erupting again, he said: "Because I'm not a poof. I'm _bisexual,_ thank you very much, _Pinky."_

"You _liar!_ Like hell, I'll believe that, you _manky uphill gardener!"_ the boy's face changed in hue, as it went from pink to red, while the bluenette could only roll his eye at the conversation.

The red-faced teen in front of him was in the closet, and the other boy recovering from a laughing fit was his boyfriend. This entire conversation struck the boy as silly.

"How _very _dare you! Never before have I been so _insulted!_" The blonde stood up. "I will not stand here, and take such abuse from some _airy-fairy _like _you!"_

_ "Alois, sit down. Kristopherson, piss off."_ The bulenette had seen enough. He needed to stop this before things got out of hand.

"But he-!"

"_Sit down, Alois._" He said, repeating himself. And the blonde obeyed, seating himself in a huff. He folded his arms and glared at his _nemesis._

"_Hah!_" the boy in the silly pink tie taunted.

"_Kristopherson, piss off."_

"What!? You can't tell me what to do!"

"I can since I still have Alois' coin-sock." Ciel threatened, reaching into his bag. He did in fact, still have the sock full of coins, however, he was not like Alois, in that he wouldn't take it out and swing it around like a madman.

Oh, how Kristopherson was afraid of that sock. He took a few steps back. "You're... you're just messing with me!"

"You're right. I guess I'll just return it to Alois, then..."

And with that, the boy fled. He turned on his heel and marched to his own seat without even looking back. It would be wise of him to stop pursuing these two. They aren't "right" in the head, you see.

The bluenette watched him sit down before returning his attention to the blonde. "There is no way in _hell_ that you are _bisexual_." he said, giving the boy a skeptical look.

"Oh, but I am. You ever seen a woman naked? It's _mesmerizing."_ Alois said as he watched the other boy shake his head disapprovingly. "_However, _I'm sure _you _would look _better._" he said with a grin, causing the bluenette's face to turn as bright and red as a tomato.

_**"We are at school, you twit!"**_

* * *

**A/N: Alois, you perv...  
**

**I'm having trouble writing at the moment. I had to struggle a bit to get this. My clinical depression and anxiety is acting up a bit, and it's making _everything _difficult, even the most simplest of tasks.**

**Under these conditions, I don't know if I can update everyday. But still, I'll try my absolute best!**

**On another note, the British have the best slang and insults, in my opinion. _Respect,_ yo. RESPECT.**

**Until next chapter, my duckies.**


	59. The Mark of Asclepius

The sound of battle draws ever closer as two teams perpare to face off in Warwick's most exciting event. _Psychical Education class._ Now that may not sound exciting to most, (including but not limited to the participants themselves,) but at Warwick, they have _demons_ on their teams.

A whistles assaults the eardrums of the students in the gymnasium. "Alright! Everyone get in the changing rooms and get on the court before I get angry!" the literal whistle-blower was Mr. Alvey, the P.E. teacher. Although he threatened to get angry, he always looked that way. You could see veins popping out of his forehead at almost any given moment. It is wise to do what he says swiftly, or be met by harsh retribution.

The male students knew this, and quickly went into the changing room in order to exchange their uniforms for clothes better suited for physical activity. This was Ciel Phantomhives' _least_ favourite part of the class. He liked it even less than he did playing the actual sports.

And this wasn't due to his sexual preferences, not by a long shot. It was the simple fact that changing clothes in public _unnerved_ him. The Victorian-era was known for being a bit _prude_, so it should be natural that he would feel out of place or _vulnerable._ The only people who had seen that much of his skin before where Sebastian, his tailor, his doctor, and perhaps _his mother_, when he was young. This was_ embarrassing_.

Moreover, he still had to somehow conceal his _enslavement brand _on his left side from the others. It was still there, even after all these years, and if the other students saw it, there would be an endless flurry of questions. It was a nerve-wrecking task he must perform every P.E. class, and it was sometimes tricky. He would often wear an undershirt beneath his uniform, but this wouldn't work as the weather got warmer. Most of the time, he would be the last to exit in order to change in privacy. This was his favourite method, as he didn't have to show his undergarments to the other boys, or see _theirs_. Some hadn't seemed to wear the same pair for _weeks, _and that was information Ciel was _better off not knowing._

However, he _didn't _mind getting the chance to see Alois shirtless. He _may or may not have_ snuck a few very subtle glances in that direction, cursing himself the entire while.

His blonde friend, however, gave not the slightest care. He didn't care if Ciel stared at him, in fact, he welcomed it, not did he care if if the other boy's saw him. In fact, he usually was one of the first one's done changing, but he would always stay behind and wait for the bluenette. Alois didn't mind others seeing his skin and underwear. He was used to it from his days of slavery in the Trancy manor. In his eyes, the situation was far more pleasant. Even the filthy boys locker-room was cleaner than the Trancy basement. He quickly put on his athletic shorts, (which where obviously made for_ women_, judging by the length,) and his purple T-shirt, and waited for Ciel to finish being so _Ciel._

"Are you _done_ yet?" he whined. Any ounce of patience was slowly leaving him.

"_No." _replied the bluenette, that one single word sounded as though it were coated in _poison._

Alois peeked around the corner at the boy, assessing the status of his completion. "You still don't even have your shirt off!" he shouted in disbelief. It had been about five minutes, and the boy still only had his blazer and tie off. _Unbelievable._

"I can't when you're _watching me!"_

_ "Take it off!"_

_ "Stop shouting! People will get the wrong idea!" _Ciel shouted in response to the blonde's command. That could've been taken in _so many different ways._

_ "I love you, muffin."_

_ "Shut it!"_

Rolling his eyes, the blonde stepped closer to the boy. "C'mon! We don't have all day!"

"Then get out, and I'll follow you when I'm done!"

With great reluctance, Alois complied, once more stepping around the corner and out of sight, much to the relief of the bluenette boy. When he felt sure he was gone, he began unfastening the shirt's buttons, and slipped it off his shoulders. He immediately reached for his plain blue t-shirt, quickly, to cover himself in case of...

"_Ooh, la la~!"_

...That.

He whipped his head around to see the blonde standing behind him with a smile. Now, it wasn't his intention to humiliate or frighten his friend, the blonde just wanted to tease him a bit. All the same, the bluenette's eye widened, and he attempted to use the shirt in his hand as a barrier between him and the blonde's vision.

_**"Alois!"**_ he shouted threateningly between gritted teeth. Even the _thought_ of having Alois see him like this was more embarrassing than the entire class put together. Relationship status changed nothing when it came to this. His face heated up as he tried to stare the fair-haired boy down.

The boy on the receiving end of his death-glare raised his hands in defense. "_Relax, _mate. I'm just messing with you. Also, it's a bit _unfair_ if _you_ are allowed to check me out, and not vice versa." He giggled at the boy's reaction.

That was, until he saw the mark below his friend's left pectoral. "What is _that?"_ he asked, pointing at the brand. The sly grin that was plastered on his visage faded.

Quickly Ciel covered it with his free hand, as though that would change the fact that it had been seen. His eye shifted it's focus elsewhere, anywhere_other_ than at the blonde. It's not as though he meant to keep the mark a _secret_. It's just that it was never important. The two seldom discussed their past, so it would be odd to just bring it up out of the blue.

"_It's nothing._" he said.

"That doesn't _look_ like '_nothing'_. Let me see it." The blonde's voice was firm, but very oddly, _gentle_ at the same time. He took a step forward, and the bluenette took a step back, defensively. "_Please?"_

Alois Trancy _never_ said "please". For him to use such a word meant that he was desperate. He didn't _want _to know. He _had_ to know what the mark that he only got a slight glimpse of was. It would weigh on his mind for a long while if he didn't. The weight would only grow heavier as time passed.

The word rang in the other boy's ears for a few moments before he took a deep breath, and slowly, _hesitantly_, uncovered the mark. He inhaled sharply in surprise when the blonde touched it. It was at this point he allowed himself to look at the blonde, so focused on the mark.

The bluentte noticed that his eyes were serious, empathetic, yet somehow detached from what was happening. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and even _anger_ at the nameless person who did this to his precious Ciel. He carefully brushed his fingers over the raised symbol made out of the soft, damaged skin of the boy, examining ever detail.

Somehow he sensed the bluenette's curious stare, and looked up, realizing what exactly it was he was doing. "S-sorry!" he said while his face flushed crimson. He swiftly removed his hand, his voice shook from embarrassment, and his eyes suddenly found the ground to be quite interesting.

"It's okay." Ciel said reassuringly. He too was embarrassed, and making a big deal out of circumstance would only make things worse. Pulling on his T-shirt, he continued. "I meant to tell you, but the subject never came up..."

"It's fine, it's fine! I understand completely! I'll wait outside while you finish up, alright?" He turned to leave before immediately turning back to face the other boy. "You _are_ pretty _fit_ though." he added with a smile.

Ciel sighed in exasperation, and didn't have the energy to attempt concealing his flushed face. "_Just get out..."_

It was going to be a long class-period...

* * *

**A/N: Helloh! (A _My Drunk Kitchen_ reference? You bet.)  
**

**Oh my, looky here~!**

**Ciel's brand looks like the Rod of Asclepius. I think I mentioned that somewhere in here... Anyway, that's the reason for the title.**

**On another note: Your words of understanding really made me want to write something for you! I really can't thank you enough! **

**Yoo guise, like seriously, I love you... All these feelings... What do I even do with them all?**

**Next chapter will be them_ actually in P.E._ (Seriously, who _doesn't _want to see Kristopherson nailed in the face with a dodgeball?)**

**So until then, my duckies, stay in school and don't eat food past the expiration date!**


	60. Dodging Balls

"_Phantomhive! What've you been doing?!"_

Ciel jumped a bit when he heard the instructors booming voice. He had taken more time than entirely necessary to change into a T-shirt and shorts, and the P.E. teacher was _not _happy.

"_Sorry, sir."_

"Don't apologize! Just do what I say! I _said_ to get changed _quickly!_ I ought to make you do push-ups for this! Why, I even sent _Trancy_ back in to get you!"

The other students snicked at the thought of the two alone in the changing room, much to the annoyance of both boys and Mr. Alvey. "What's so funny 'bout that, eh?!" No one _dared_ to answer that question for a plethora of reasons that you could probably imagine.

"'Right, then! Today, we're gonna play _dodge-ball." _Everyone let out a simultaneous "ugh". That was not anyone's idea of fun, here. "Shut up! You! Miles! Westly! You were out first, so you're team captains! Miles! Pick your first teammate!" The man always seemed to be yelling, for whatever reason. Regardless, Kristopherson repressed his fear of the man and chose first.

"_Trancy_." he said, pointing at the blonde. Everyone let out a "_ooh_" at the same time. He knew that Alois would be ruthless on the court. Everyone did. That's why he was chosen first. Reluctantly, Alois moved to the side of the boy who usually wears a silly pink tie.

"No fair! _I_ wanted Trancy!" shouted Daniel, peeved that he didn't get his first choice. Turning back to the gathering of students, he chose his first recuit. "Alright, _Phantomhive_, then!"

The simultaneous "_ooh"_ filled the room once more, if not more excitably than the last time. Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy would being playing _against_ each other. That was an idea that wasn't feasible in the mind's of those who knew nothing of the boy's history together.

Kristopherson scoffed. "_Phantomhive?_ Why would you pick him? He skips out whenever he gets the chance! Have you ever _seen_ him play a sport?"

"No, but since you have _Trancy,_ _Phantomhive_ is the next logical solution! If I'm right, Blondie will go easier on us if we have him!"

Daniel was wrong. Alois _never _goes easy on the bluenette. Going easy on the boy would mean a crushing, humiliating defeat. Ciel was not the kind who should be underestimated. He would do anything and everything in his power to _win,_ making him a most fearsome foe. The blonde knew _from experience_ that underestimating the lad would be your _downfall._

The captains, however, knew nothing of this, and continued choosing the remainder of their teams. When each side had equal members, they each took half of the court. The half-point marker separating them had their weapons lined up across it. Obtaining the first few chances to strike would be a _battle-royale._

The whistle sounded, and players rushed to get the balls, many were deemed "out" within the first few seconds. In a hail, balls came down from the sky hitting both teams. Focusing on the ones falling to earth was not wise, as they flew horizontally. The boys threw them across the room, nailing nearly every person they aimed for, missing some of them because it would be odd to make hits _all the time._ But the entire time, they were inherently focused on each other.

Each boy focused most of their fire on the other, while dodging enemy attacks. They dodged as though they were in _the Matrix_, barely missing projectiles that seemed as though they could break the sound barrier. Children quickly learned not to stare at their the battle. Those who did were hit almost instantly.

Time passed, and each team only had two left, one of each pair was a demon. They knew if they took out the other's teammate, the battle would never end, so they _had_ to get their rival "out" fast. They pondered every dirty trick they could possibly think of, and then, _Alois_ thought of an _idea._ He made sure his teammate got the ball, then he moved his plan into action.

"Hey, _Ciel!"_ He shouted.

"_What?!"_

He quickly turned around and shook his rear end at the other boy. "_Like what you see?"_

_ "What?! NO!"_

_**BAM!**_

The lightweight ball struck the bluenette clean upside the head. He was "out". He had _lost._

He stood there for a moment, wide-eyed at the now giggling blonde. He couldn't believe what just happened. He had just _lost!_ _Alois Trancy would pay for this dearly._ No one defeats Ciel Phantomhive and gets away with it. _Especially_ not in such a humiliating manner.

Laughter filled the room as the instructor blew his whistle to snap the bluenette back to reality. "Phantomhive! You're 'out'! Move!"

Ciel walked to the bleachers were all the other fallen competitors sat, and watched as Alois removed his final opponent. He crossed his arms and frowned at the blonde headed boy flashing him a not-so-subtle smirk. Yes, someday, _Alois Trancy would pay for this._

* * *

**A/N: The score is now Phantomhive: 1 Trancy: 1, for those who are keeping track.  
**

**Do I even _have_ to describe the P.E. teacher? He's that guy who was popular in high school because he was on the *_insert most popularly played sport in high school in your country_* team, but now has a beer gut and is angry all the time, and now relives his "glory days" of being a jock in school by bossing around _children_. You know the guy? (Don't answer that. You _know_ the guy, and if you don't, you _will.) That's every P.E. teacher I've had, yo..._**

**Phantomhive mad.**

**Again.**

**Oh yeah. "Balls", teehee!**

**Until next time, my duckies!**


	61. Slender

The day ended with the bluenette meticulously plotting his revenge. He had to decide many things, such as the punishment, and when, and where it would be delivered. Some may think he was being a bit _obsessive_ about his loss, but you must understand the boy's competitive nature. No one defeats Ciel Phantomhive, _especially Alois Trancy._

Now the blonde was none the wiser to his plans. Alois knew he probably wanted some form of retribution, but in his arrogance, he figured the boy would soon forget about it and move on. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten his own "_Number One Rule Of Playing With Ciel Phantomhive",_ and that rule is: "Ciel Phantomhive will stop at _nothing _to _win_." Well, there were _some _things he would never resort to, but that is beside the point. The point is: the bluenette took his games very seriously. Moreover, his concept of "winning" varied from most in a peculiar aspect. In his eye, he believed that "winning" didn't take place _only_ on a court. No, the "winner" was instead, _whoever had the last laugh_.

And that, he was going to get. Rather fortunately for him, in an odd sense, the time of his crushing defeat at the hands of the blonde menace occured on a _Friday,_ leaving the entire weekend for him to execute his attack. As such, it was announced upon returning home that the "family" of demons were going on a camping trip.

"That's rather unlike you, my lord." Sebastian said, "What brings on the sudden appreciation for the outdoors, if you don't mind my asking?"

Ciel furrowed his brow at the question. _Camping_ didn't sound like fun to the boy at all. In fact, it sounded like a major _hassle_. Yet his desire to torture Alois was stronger than his disrespect for mother nature. "I need to get back at Alois for something."

"Sexual harassment?"

"No, _not this time._" said the bluenette. The fact that the raven-haired man would ask that was a bit unsettling. Sure, Alois _would_ and _has,_ but that was a very quick assumption. However comforting the thought of Sebastian knowing about their, ahem, _relationship,_ weighed on the boy's mind often, however he quickly dismissed the thought.

"He beat me in P.E." was all he said. The butler didn't need to know the details.

"Oh? And you plan on getting _'revenge_' on him during this little outing?" the butler said, finally turning away from his cleaning to smile at the boy. "What did you have in mind?"

"Have you ever heard of _Slenderman?"_

Yes, _Slenderman._ The creature that supposedly roam the forests and "takes away" any children that happened to be running around. For those of you who don't know, _Slenderman_ is a very tall, very thin, man in a black suit, with chalk white skin, and his most distinguishing feature, the fact that he has _no face. _It is also said that tentacles or extra long arms extend from his back according to his will. Yes, _that Slenderman._

Ciel knows that the blonde has been frightened by the very _idea_ of the creature ever since he first heard of it. To Alois, _Slenderman_ was so many things he feared all rolled into one. He did not like the forest, nor did he like the dark. He disliked _grown men_, as well, and _Slenderman_ was a very scary-looking man. At least, that's what he's heard, of course. He had never actually _seen_ the faceless creature, but for some odd reason, the bluenette had the feeling that they would see him very _soon._

When Saturday morning came, and the car was filled with all of the essentials before taking off in search of their campsite. Alois became restless having to sit still for two hours, and began to bother the boy seated next to him in the backseat, poking him, trying to tickle him, saying rude, and crude things, and such. _God_, was it going to be worth it to see him cower in terror. The bluenette almost smiled, just thinking about it.

At last, they reached their destination, much to the utter relief of the two older demons in the vehicle. If they hadn't made it soon, the blonde boy may not have made it _at all._ Speaking of the blonde, he was surprised by the fact that Ciel was so keen on setting up. Ordinarily, it would be thought that the slat-haired teen would simply sit back and _watch_ Sebastian do it himself. They pitched tents, they set up the grill and and gained the use of all their camping gear. Except, of course, _firewood._

This was intentional, of course. They needed a reason to go into the woods, after all. This was also the reason for Ciel helping out, earlier. So it wouldn't be odd for him to suddenly volunteer to go fetch the burnable materials. Dusk fell, and the demons "just now noticed".

"I'll go get some." the bluenette announced. "Alois, come help me."

"No way! Who knows what's out there! Have fun on your own."

"Don't be such a _scared little girl._ It's just a bunch of trees."

"Fine... But if we get attacked by a werewolf, I'm ditching you."

Sebastian was instructed previously to not make an appearance as the dreaded "_Slenderman"_ until the boys had been out for precisely one hour. No more, no less. And with that, they left the site. The plan was going _perfectly._

The deeper they seemed to go into the forest, the foggier, and the darker it got. Soon, they could no longer see the campsite behind them. The trees cast ominous shadows, and looked horrid in the newfound lack of light. They looked as though they would come to life, and tear you to bits at any moment. _Alois was not having fun._

_ SNAP!_

_ "What was that!?"_ Every sound the forest made caused the blonde to jump. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he held onto his companion's shoulder, keeping close.

_ "_It was a _twig,_ Alois." The bluenette stated. This was going to be too easy.

"But what _broke_ the twig?!"

"Probably _you_, when you _stepped on it._ Now pick it up so we can _burn _it."

The atmosphere was really getting to the blonde behind him. With every twig that snapped, every owl that hooted, and whenever the wind whistled through the branches of the many surrounding trees, Alois would yelp, and tightened his grip on the slightly smaller boy's shirt. Ciel had to admit, it was _cute._ For some reason, he found the frightened blonde absolutely adorable. His revenge had come with many perks.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" the blonde shouted suddenly, pointing off into the distance while cowering behind the bluenette.

Ciel turned his head and followed the blonde's finger. "I don't see anything."

"I swear to _God_ that I saw something!" he said in a hushed tone. Speaking above a whisper seemed taboo, even though what ever had seen them had already seen them.

"Quit messing around and gather some firewood. You've hardly collected anything!"

Silence fell over the area as Alois complied. He stopped to pick up any loose branches on the ground, letting go of his friend for a moment. However, it was not long at all until he was once again latched onto the boy's arm.

"AGH! IT'S GETTING CLOSER!"

Once more, Ciel looked off into the distance. This time, he saw a shadowy figure standing several metres away. It looked humanoid in appearance, and seemed to be really tall. "_Sebastian."_ Ciel thought, smiling internally. But once more, he chose to ignore it.

"I still don't see anything. You're such a _baby._" he taunted. His face twitched, holding back a smirk.

Alois stared at the boy in disbelief. "How the fuck can you _not_ see it! It's right...there?" The blonde looked back where the figure stood. Nothing. Nothing was there.

"See? Nothing. Now get back to work."

A few minutes passed before Alois saw the figure again. He squeeked and held on tightly to the other boy, cowering in fear. The figure was closer than it was before. Only a few yards away, now. It's features, or lack thereof, were now visible. The figure had pasty white skin and no hair. It's head was sunk in where the eye sockets where supposed to be, as revealed by the shadows on the surface. It was tall, about seven or eight feet, and wore a black suit that nearly bleded in with the dark surroundings. It was very _slender._ It was _Slenderman._

Alois hid his face in Ciel's shoulder, not wanting to look at the creature any longer. He dung his fingers into the fabric of the boy's T-shirt and was shaking. The blonde was _terrified._

"It's alright, Alois. I'm sure it's nothing." the bluenette said in a comforting voice. He was enjoying this. " It's probably just a _tree _that's catching the light in a weird way." he lied. He _knew_ it was the butler in a mask, but he wasn't going to reveal that yet. He stroked the blonde's hair reassuringly, and looked over to were Sebastian was standing.

_Nothing. It was gone._

"I wanna go home." the blonde blubbered. "This isn't fun."

"We can't go home yet. The trip isn't over." the bluenette said. "_Everything is fine_."

The blonde looked up, and his legs immediately buckled. He couldn't even stand. The fear had robbed him of all feeling in his legs. _Slenderman_ stood only five feet away from them. Alois' eyes widened at the figure. Examining his featureless visage. He stood behind the bluenette, looking down at the boys, curiously and silently observing them, his head partially tilted to the side. At the blonde could do was whimper.

Eventually, he regained _some_ sense and covered his ears, while shutting his eyes tightly, tears pooled at the corners of them. He just wanted the creature to leave. He couldn't even _remember_ the last time he was this scared. (Maybe he could, but his past has nothing to do with this.) He rocked himself back and forth, quietly whimpering.

Ciel turned and saw the figure. He thought Sebastian's costume looked incredibly realistic. Even the "veins" of the creature where visible through it's pale "skin". Sebastian had really undone himself this time. He allowed himself to smile a bit towards his butler, before turning his attention to the cowering blonde, and crouched down on the ground beside him.

"Alois."

No response.

"_Alois."_ he said, shaking the boy's shoulder a bit.

Still nothing.

"_**Alois!"**_

The blonde let go of his ears and put his arms around the boy's neck, startling him. Alois was shaking like a leaf, and tears rolled down his cheeks. _He was a mess._

Perhaps things have gone too far. As he now looked at the _absolutely terrified_ boy, trembling in his arms, he was now regretting his little prank.

He spoke in a soft voice. "I'm sorry." he said, every ounce of sincerity apparent. "I didn't mean for it to go this far. I'm _sorry._ The prank's over."

The blonde cracked open an eye to look at the boy, but couldn't see him through his own tears. "W-what?"

"I wanted to get you back fo P.E. yesterday, so I arranged this camping trip, and had Sebastian dress up like _Slenderman. I'm sorry."_

Alois hit the boy over the head. "_You git!"_ he screamed. "_I nearly pissed myself! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"_

There was hesitation before the bluenette answered. _"Similar things to you." _he said. He held the boy tighter. "I _said_ I was _sorry..."_

"That still doesn't excuse you from being a total _prick."_ the blonde sniffed, trying not to get snot on his companion's shirt. He looked over to where _Slenderman_ stood. He was gone. Sebastian probably went back to camp.

They stayed like that for a long while, quietly, holding each other in the middle of a dark forest. It was getting late.

"We should probably get back." suggested Ciel, helping the other boy up.

"_Please_ tell me that was it for your joke?" the blonde whined. His face was red and his eyes were puffy from all the crying. Ciel was _never_ going to let him live this down.

"_Promise."_ the bluenette said, lightly pecking the slightly taller boy on the cheek. "Let's go."

They walked back to camp, hand in hand, carrying with them firewood with their free arms. Eventually, they wandered out of the brush, and into their campsite, where Sebastian was waiting for them, making sure to untangle their fingers upon entry.

"I must say, your performance was excellent, Sebastian." Ciel said to his servant with an ever so slight smile.

But the butler only met him with a confused look, putting down whatever it was he was working on. The boy's smiles faded upon seeing this.

"What is it?" asked the blonde.

"My lord," the raven-haired man began to address his master, "You instructed me to begin searching for you exactly _one hour,_ however, it has only been _fifty minutes._" The faces of the two boys went pale at what he said next:

"_I never left the campsite, my lord."_

* * *

**A/N: Mother of God...  
**

**I love the Slenderman mythos. It's strangely fascinating. I recommend looking up "Slender the musical", and "sympathy for slenderman" on youtube. Both are very exellent, very funny songs about Slenderman. Surely he's just a nice guy, trying to help children who get lost in the woods at night, right? Poor Slenderman. Nobody wants to be his friend...**

**I'm honestly not too happy with this chapter. Somehow it seems... _lacking._ My prose seems too simplistic, and I have _even less_ description than usual. I envy writers who are good at description... Give me your honest opinions, now. _Sugar-coating is for Ciel's..._**

**Until next time, my duckies!**


	62. Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Whimey Machines

**A/N: Hello, hello. I'd like to point out that I've changed my username from "wimpyninja" to "HateWeasel".**

**There is, in fact, a reson for this. You see, "wimpyninja" is my username on both youtube and deviantart, and it just so happens that _My Teachers_happen to look at my deviantart. Truefax. And it's just so they won't google my deviantart page and find this. That would be super awkward...**

**A "Hate Weasel" is a fictitious pest created by a coworker of my Dad's, that supposedly causes every minor inconvenience you experience. The printer jammed? The hate weasels did it. Internet down? The hate weasels did it. Accidentally step in gum? HATE WEASELS.**

**So yeah. Just in case you were confused, that's why. Sorry 'bout that. **

**IF THE UPDATE EVEN SHOWS UP THAT IS.**

**Anyways, on with chapter 62 of _Devils Like To Dance._  
**

* * *

Kristopherson sat at his desk as usual, resting his chin in th palm of his hand with his nose more than slightly in the air. The boy in the silly pink tie was a tad more irritable than usual, and it showed. His face appeared to be stuck in a scowl, and his eyes shot daggers at anyone who would have the gawl to speak to him in his grouchy state. What was it that had his jimmies so rustled?

Well, as we all know, the wannabe-bully and adamant "homophobe" was in the closet, and harbored a secret crush on the blonde menace. Something about the boy's over-the-top personality was attractive to him. In fact, the boy was just attractive to him. Kristopherson had a thing for blondes, you see, (much like a certain bluenette,) and this went so far, that he even bleached his own beautiful light brown hair so it would rid it of all pigment. He hated this feeling. He had never really planned on being a homosexual. Yet, does anyone? It's not exactly within his control, now is it? He often tried to hide his own sexual preferances by openly shunning them. Making it obvious that he _wasn't_ gay, in his mind. He had no other ideas of how to deal with it. It wasn't exactly an easy thing for him to aceept. There is so much hate for the homosexual community, you know? While the majority of people really don't care, the few people who are really passionate in their fear make it hard to live with.

But this was nothing knew. Not at all. Kristopherson dealt with this as he usually did, poking at the blonde boy and the bluenette. In a way, it was his own way of _flirting_ with the blonde, if you can believe that. The boy was just immature, in that aspect. But if everything was normal on the surface, what changed?

He wrinkled his nose, glancing over at the two boys. They seemed to be having a rather heated argument over God knows what. Alois was probably just talking nonsense again. But this wasn't new either. It fact, it was quite normal of the two. But what had him so peeved was, that they seemed a little _closer_ than usual.

He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but they did. They seemed more _comfortable_ around each other than usual, subtly touching each other's arms familiarly as the talked, amoung other things. Why, each Mr. Grouchypants himself, Ciel Phatomhive, seemed more relaxed than usual. It simply pissed the boy in the pink tie off.

While he had respect for the boy in blue, he didn't especially like him so close to Alois. So he decided to get up and interrupt their _fascinating_ discussion. "What the _hell_ are you blabbering about so loudly?" he asked.

"None of your damn business, Pinky." the blonde replied plainly.

""I can hardly hear myself _think_ over you two, so that _makes_ it my business!"

"Well, if you _must_ know, we are discussing the deep complexities of _Doctor Who_."

"I never thought _you'd_ be a W_hovian_, Trancy. I figured you'd be more into _Spongebob_ or something."

"He is." the bluenette spoke up, not wanting to be left out. "I'm actually trying to _explain Doctor Who_ to Alois, which is _much harder than it seems_..."

"_If you know what I mean."_ Alois said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

The other two boys smacked their foreheads. _Of course_ the blonde would turn that into a joke. "Trancy, can you stop being a total _woofter _for even _five minutes?"_ Kristopherson asked.

"What ever are you talking about? _I'm as straight as a ruler,_ my sexually confused friend."

"Yeah, one of those _bendy rulers _made from cheap plastic you can sometimes find at office stores." the bluenette added nonchalantly.

"_Naturally."_ the blonde said, taking no offense whatsoever to the boy's joke, since he couldn't exactly _deny _it at this point. "So, anyway, why does the TARDIS look like a telephone box? Of all the things it could be, why a _telephone box?"_ he continued.

"So the TARDIS has a cloaking device that allows it to blend into any time period of any place, right?" Ciel said, looking at the blonde to see if he was following him on this.

"Right.

"Okay. But it broke while he was in the 1960s, and it got stuck in the shape of a police telephone box." Ciel explained.

"Couldn't he fix it?"

"Yes, and he did, but he liked how it looked, so he just left it that way."

"I like this guy."

The faux-blonde rolled his eyes. It was odd seeing them have such an ordinary conversation. Occasionally, however, Alois would throw in a dirty joke, such as "_the Doctor never let's anyone play with his screwdriver... If you know what I mean..."_ But they where few, as he listened attentively to the bluenette passionately speak of the television series. The boy seldom spoke with such enthusiasm, so the blonde was going to listen to every word he said.

Kristopherson was annoyed by the blonde's new-found normality. Why did he act so behaved for _Phantomhive?_ Why _him?_ The boy in the pink tie was a third wheel in this conversation, and he didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Psh! _Who cares?_ Only _nerds_ watch _Doctor Who._" This wasn't true, and he knew it. The show was popular, and even _he_ watched it. However, if insulting it would get the two to stop talking, he'd do it. The faux-blonde lifted his nose in the air, in his usual snobbish fashion, and waited for the other's response.

"Pinky, I know you're grouchy, but you need to get over it. Go home and play with _Senorita Mano_ to ease your frustration like you always do." the blonde said plainly, as the other two boys just looked at him in confusion. neither of them were familiar with that term.

"_Who?"_ Kristopherson asked.

"_Senorita Mano?"_

_ "_I got that bit, but who is that?"

Alois simply leaned over and grabbed the faux-blonde's wrist. In one swift movement, he smacked the boy's face with his own hand.

"_This is her."_

_**"TRANCY!"**_

* * *

**A/N: We know what you did, Kris...**

**I like giving him the nickname "Pinky", for some reason. It suits him, doesn't it? I wanted to write about him really badly. I hope you don't mind. He has a really nice character, don't you think? Also, he, unlike Alois, is completely homosexual. Just sayin'.**

**Alois and his dirty jokes...**

**...And that's what I learned in Spanish class.**

**I also wanted to reference _Doctor Who_ really badly. Yesterday, my entire class was buzzing about it, even the supposed "cool" kids." One of the most "girly-girl" of the bunch, claimed that she wanted to marry David Tennant. (Have I mentioned that I live in the _Ozarks of Arkansas?_ Yeah, it's totally weird. Whovians. Whovians everywhere.) I also imagine Ciel watches the show. It looks like it would interest him, no? **

**I wanna do a _Top Gear_ reference next. That show is da bomb. The U.K. one, of course. The American version is absolute crap. In fact, calling is "crap" would be insulting to actual crap. I miss you,_ Captain Slow_...**

**Oh! One more thing! One more thing, yo! My friend, Chestnutghost, wrote a fanfiction of this fanfiction. (Fanfiception is REAL.) It's somewhat of a parody, yet it's also somehow serious. It follows Claude, as he somehow survived (Don't worry, it'll make sense, I promise.) and is now a male stripper named _Micheal Faustus._ (Seriously, It'll make sense, I promise.) JUSTIN BEIBER is in it. (okay, so maybe it won't...)**

**Anyway, It's gonna be awesome. It's called "_Devils Like To Strip Dance_". Here's the link:**

** s/9009147/1/Devils-Like-to-strip-dance  
**

**Copy and paste dat shet into the address bar!**

**...I mean, _only if you want to... _**

**Actually, it won't display the full link... but it you copy and paste it into Google, it'll work. _Trust me, I'm the Hate Weasel..._  
**

**Until next time, my duckies!  
**


	63. Steven

The day was Thursday. The date was February fourteenth. You know what this means? That means it's _Valentine's day._ It was a day the Phantomhive boy only held disdain for. The closer it got, the more stupid people seemed to get. Everyone was rushing to get things for their sweethearts out of fear of upsetting or disappointing them.

That's the reason why? It was always his impression that you were supposed to do something out of _love_ or something, not because your girlfriend will get pissed if you don't. The day before, he had overheard several girls in class hassle their boyfriends over what they were getting. What a stupid holiday. On the plus side though, it will help to inform you if the person you're dating is a total asshole. He smiled at the thought._ Now that was a good reason for the holiday._

However that smile faded when it dawned on him that he hadn't anything planned for _his boyfriend,_ the blonde menace. The two had been dating in secret for about two months, now. Alois hadn't said anything, but they were at school, so he _couldn't_. The bluenette was at a loss for a way to avoid hearing the blonde cry.

He rubbed his forehead, trying to think of a solution, then it occurred to him that he had a butler who could go pick up whatever he wanted him to. Ah, but their relationship was a _secret,_ so that wouldn't do. What if he made up an excuse? No, no, Sebastian isn't stupid. He's bound to find that odd. The bluenette should have better paid attention to the date, and picked it up himself. He looked over at the blonde boy, sitting in his desk, busily doodling a picture of a platypus on his "notes" that he wasn't really going to write down. Why was he so obsessed with the strange Australian mammals?

Alois honestly didn't care either way. In fact, he didn't really care for the holiday at all for reasons similar to those of his companion. He was slightly frightened by the change in the female students. They seemed to turn into beasts when the date approached.

Neither he, nor Ciel were very _"romantic"_ by any means. This was unsurprising for the bluenette, but for the blonde, you never would've guessed. He never expected or felt obliged to receiving gifts at all, really. I suppose this was due to his rough childhood. All he really wanted was for the classroom to be rid of the tacky, cheap, heart-shaped decorations that seemed decades old, and for the girls to turn back into _human beings._

Regardless, the eye-patched gentleman did not know this. He sat there and thought fo a long while. His mind wandered back to asking Sebastian to help. Would the butler question it? Probably not. It wasn't his place, after all. However, he would be _suspicious._ But on another hand, Ciel would have to inform him of his relationship with the blonde _eventually_, now wouldn't he? Sebastian would understand, wouldn't he? If he had a problem with it, he would probably just deal with it passive-aggressively until he gave up on it. Swallowing every ounce of pride and insecurity he had, the boy pulled out his cell phone and began to text with the phone hidden underneath his desk.

_"I need you to get something for me._

_-CP"_

He waited awhile after he pressed "send", half-listening to the teacher, while the rest of his mind wandered. He felt the phone vibrate in his blazer's inner pocket, and he pulled it out to read the message.

"_Of course. What is it that you require, my lord?_

_-SM"_

_ "I need a stuffed platypus._

_-CP"_

There was a long pause between messages, as though Sebastian needed to process that.

"_A platypus?_

_-SM"_

Ciel hesitated a bit before writing. He knew he need to phrase this _carefully._

_"Yes. It would appear that the other students _

_are exchanging Valentine's gifts, and Alois..."_

He thought before writing the next part.

_"...has gotten avid. A platypus will keep him quiet. _

_He's obsessed with them for whatever reason."_

_-CP"_

And that was his lie. He felt confident as he put the device back in his pocket, and waited for the butler's reply.

"_Yes, my lord._

_-SM"_

That was it. That was all it took. Relief washed over the boy in that moment. No longer did he have to worry about a whining Alois, of a judgmental Sebastian. He stared at the board, smiling slightly at the after-thought of how difficult it will be to find a _stuffed platypus._

The day went on, and more classes passed, each one filled with the horrid, dated adornments, and frightening beast-women. Soon, the day was over. Students packed up their belongings and exited their classrooms before piling into their vehicles, and going home. Our boys did the same, and upon arrival, they went about their usual routine. Ciel acted as though he wasn't up to anything. In fact, he almost _forgot._ Regardless, he went to his room upstairs, setting down his bookbag and removing his blazer, before switching on his computer to check his e-mail.

_"SWEET MERCIFUL MOTHER MARY OF JESUS CHRIST ON A STICK!"_ he jumped when he heard the blonde yelling. He turned to his door, hearing the fast-paced thumping of footsteps grow closer. The door flew open and he was assaulted by the enthusiastic boy, nearly falling over.

"_I love yooooooooouuuuuu!"_ the blonde exclaimed, his arms around the neck of the slightly shorter boy, with a plush platypus in between them.

"I'm glad you like it..." said the shocked bluenette, recovering from the initial attack of the blonde menace. His arms found their way around the boy's waist, and his facial hue changed to a slight pinker shade. "What are you going to name it?" he asked, jokingly. Alois named his rubber duck "_Bernard",_ so he expected something along the lines of "Raul", or "Cornelius".

The blonde pulled back a bit, removing his face from the bluenette's shoulder. He cutely furrowed his brow in concentration. Finally, he looked as thought he had an idea.

"Steven."

"_Steven?"_ Ciel echoed.

"Yeah, he totally looks like a '_Steven'_, doesn't he?" Alois said, holding up the toy, making it "kiss" the other boy's nose.

Ciel sighed in exasperation, yet, in the end, smiled. "You're an odd one, you know that?"

"Well, so are _you,_ Mr. Grouchypants."

"Well, I'm sorry I cannot control the grouchiness of my _pants._ Oh, and my pants don't have a name, for your information."

Alois let out his usual girly giggle. "I still feel bad I didn't get anything for _you_, though." he said.

"It's fine. I don't really want anything."

"Not even a little _kiss?"_

The bluenette's face immediately heated up when he heard the word "kiss". Surely Alois was just messing with him. The blonde was the type who would do such a thing. Still, the question did make the eyepatch-wearing boy a bit hopeful...

..._Wait, when did his face get so close?_

Alois could see the inner battle the slightly smaller boy was having with himself. It was written all over his face. He smiled when he saw this and moved his face closer, stopping just an inch or so away from the bluenette's.

From the other boy's perspective, he was actually _nervous._ His face was red, his palms felt sweaty, and his heartbeat was out of control. Although due to the close proximity, he could tell that the blonde was experiencing the same thing.

"We, Ciel?" the blonde's voice rang in the boy's ears. "Yes? No?"

He was giving the bluenette a choice, it occurred to him. He could either take it, or leave it. Tossing caution to the wind, he _took it,_ allowing his eyelids to flutter closed, and leaning closer. He ventured closer, closer, and closer still. The small gap between them seemed much larger than it truly was. It felt like an eternity before the boy's lips made contact with something soft.

The kiss was very chaste, but lacked no emotion. Their lips hesitantly moved in synch while their owners continuously tried to get used to the feeling. It was very brief, but felt like it lasted forever and a day. In those few seconds it lasted, the two were able to convey every emotion they had for the other with one gesture.

"Well, _look at you!"_ the blonde said in his usual sing-song voice after they parted. "Taking charge, huh?" he giggled.

"Of course," replied the bluenette, "I had to, because _you're such a girl."_ he said smiling.

"You _wish_."

"No, I _don't."_

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ciel."

_"Happy Valentine's Day."_

* * *

**A/N: Oh, my...  
**

**Steven, you guys. Steven the Platypus.**

**I really didn't like the idea of doing a holiday special, but it was too good to pass up.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies! _Beware the Hate Weasels._**


	64. A Blonde's Silly Game, And A Favour

The next few weeks continued as usual. Ciel and Alois would go to school, sit through classes, converse with other students, go home, do homework, and then wait for the next day. All was ordinary, except for the fact that the blonde had come up with a new "game" and would play it should the opportunity arise.

After that first kiss with Ciel, he thought it would be fun to steal another whenever and wherever, given the opportunity. Anytime the bluenette wasn't especially paying attention, or whenever no one was looked, he'd go for the boy's lips, and the more daring he had to be, the more fun it was, much to the bluentte's annoyance.

No one is looking? _A kiss._ Friend's attention occupied elsewhere? _Kiss._ It didn't matter when or where to the blonde. But the bluenette was growing more uneasy with the increasing chances of _being seen._

The thought that such an intimate action, and _emotion_ could possibly laid bare for all to see was unnerving. Remember, this is the boy that does not like his _emotions._ In his mind, they make him weak, vulnerable, susceptible to others, and he did _not_ want anyone to know he had them.

_Except of course, Alois._ Oddly, he didn't feel as afraid of his own thoughts and feelings with the blonde. For once, he felt _comfortable_ being himself. He saw in Alois, himself, in many ways, which could possibly contribute to this fact.

Although they were very different in personality, they seemed to suffer with similar, if not the same disorders and mental scarring, and that was comforting. Now, their own fears and problems were different, for example, Alois' fear of grown men, and the fact that Ciel still didn't know _how to swim,_ but these made them interesting to the other. Their similarities drew them in, and their differences drew them in further.

Now, on this day, Ciel was simply walking the empty halls, minding his own business, on his way back to class from making copies for the teacher, when a familiar voice called him out.

"Mister Phantomhive! Is that you?" it called.

The bluentte turned in the direction that the voice originated from, with a pretty good idea of who it was. When he did, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw a man with slicked-back, dark hair, wearing a very loud suit and sunglasses, even though he was inside the building. It was the drama director, Mr. Bronze.

"I was hoping to run into you!" Bronze said, walking up to the boy. His voice echoed in the empty hallway. "Listen, I need your help."

"What do you need?"

"Well, you see, I'm supposed to be organizing the talent show again theis year." he began, "But they always end up _a disaster_ because all of these _non-drama club kids_ stumbling around backstage, not paying attention to when they're going on! And the _school play_ ran _perfectly_ thanks to you being the stage manager, and I was hoping...?" he trailed off.

"...That I would do the same for the talent show, and keep the kids in line, right?" Ciel continued for the man.

"If you would _please?"_ Poor Mr. Bronze seemed desperate.

It apparently was pretty bad. The students who did the play, _generally _wanted to be there because they legitimately _enjoyed_ performing. But the students who did the talent show, in general, were only there for the limelight, however fleeting, and had no regard for organization or even the artform that is stage performance. While in a play, you have scenes, queues, lines, and songs, if it is a musical that must be acted on within a certain order, as well as stage directions, but in a talent show, you have a small list of people that go in a certain order, and everything goes to hell if those people _aren't even paying attention._

This was the reason the man in the loud suit looked as though he was ready to hang himself. And if everything _did_ fall apart, his reputation amongst the staff, and even _his job_, would be called into question. This is why he needed the Phantomhive boy, and since he asked so nicely, the boy obliged him.

"Alright, I'll do it." the bluentte said, feeling a bit sorry for the strangely dressed teacher, also he would get out of class for a bit during practice. "When do I need to be there?"

Mr. Bronze immediately perked up. "Right! So Auditions start in two days, so I'll probably need you in the auditorium during study hall that day. Can you make it?"

"Of course."

"You, Mister Phantomhive, are a _life saver!_ I'll see you then!" and with that, the man disappeared as quickly as he arrived.

Ciel simply ventured back to class, and gave an excuse as to why he took so long. After surrendering the copies that the teacher was ever so craving, he sat down in his seat and told his blonde companion what Mr. Bronze had said.

"That sounds fun!" _Of course_ the blonde would say that. He loved performing, and he loved attention. "Maybe I should audition too!"

"Go for it. Just don't expect me to be leniant on you. I'll make sure you're judged just like everyone else."

"You're no fun!"

And with that, the class ended. Students filed out into the hallways, filling it with the scent of _teenager_, a combination of body Oder, strong perfume, and body spray, as any place would with so many adolescents gathered in one spot. The two boys went about their usual routine of dodging people, trying to weasel their way through the crowd while scrunching their noses at the smell. "_It's amazing, how much stench can stick to humans..."_ the bluenette thought, catching himself starting to sound like _Sebastian_.

Finally, they arrived to their destination, finding themselves to be the only ones in the room. They had become very good at arriving to class early, since they don't waste time in order to stop and chat.

Ciel found his thoughts interrupted, once again, by the feeling of the blonde's lips on his. "_Alois!"_ he warned.

"_Oppurtunity is not a lengthy visitor, Ciel."_

_ What a stupid game the blonde had come up with._

* * *

**A/N: Oh, hey! I missed you yesterday.  
**

**I was having a night with the family. _You know how it is._**

**I may not be able to post as many tonight, either, since we're going to see _Potted Potter._ It should be _like_ _A Very Potter Musical,_ in that it's _harry Potter_ based, and that it is on a stage. It's gonna be awesome. **

**ANYWAY, (back on topic) I'll still probably be able to manage at the very _least_ two for the day. **

******Who remembers Mr. Bronze? Is he now a reoccurring teacher? I don't know. I think it's funny that two of the reoccurring teachers are named after metals. Mr. Bronze, and Mr. Irons. That was unintentional, but I will try to fit in a Steele, or a Copper, or something, now.**

**Look forward to it, my duckies!**


	65. Parental Advice?

The Phantomhive boy sat alone in his room, contemplating the order in which students will perform at the talent show. He and Mr. Bronze had already narrowed down who will actually be _in_ the show, earlier that day. He sat debating the order, trying to group similar sounding songs together to give it some "flow", so to speak. However, the boy was not exactly musically minded.

He looked over the list again, and saw Alois' name. the blonde had chosen "_A Better Man Than He" _by _Sivu_, which seemed completely unlike the boy. Ciel figured he would pick one of _Lady Gaga's _songs, or something, but no, Alois always had to do the unexpected. The bluenette wouldn't be at all surprised if he showed up on stage in drag again, and sang a completely different song. That's just how the blonde boy was. He smiled internally at this before his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knocking at the door.

"Come in." he said.

In walked a tall man clad in black. "Pardon my intrusion, my lord, but dinner is served." he said.

"Alright, I'll be down in a moment." the bluenette turned back to his work for a moment before hearing a small chuckle. "What's so _funny?"_ he turned around to face the man, giving him a mean look.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about Alois and that platypus." Sebastian said. "He carries it around everywhere. It's funny how much he loves that thing."

"Told you he was obsessed with them..."

"He's very proud of it."

The bluenette couldn't help but be suspicious. Sebastian seemed to be going somewhere with this. It was unlike the butler to start small talk so willy-nilly.

"_Whatever."_ he said. "It kept him from whining all day."

"I thought it was _sweet_ of you, my lord." said the man clad in black, causing the bluenette to jump and turn around.

"_W-what?!"_ He _knew _Sebastian was up to something. He just didn't know what, _until now._ The boy tried his best to hide his flush, but it was all for naught. The butler knew _everything._

"I said it was _sweet_ of you. I would never had thought you had such a _romantic_ side, my lord." the man's smile never wavered, making the situation al the more unsettling.

"N-not _really._ I wasn't exactly _trying _to be..."

"My lord, pardon me for prying, but I don't think there's anything wrong with getting _your boyfriend_ something for Valentine's Day."

Ciel's eye went wide at that. _He knew? For how long?_ "H-how did you-?!"

"If I couldn't pick up on these things about my lord, then what kind of butler would I be?"

In a huff, the boy crossed his arms and let out an exasperated sigh. He couldn't _believe _that they were having this conversation right now. Nor could he, that Sebastian was being so casual about this. The demon butler's mind was an enigma. The boy remained quiet for a while, contemplating his next move.

"Do you... think it's weird?" he asked.

"Well, It is hardly my place to voice my opinion, but I have known you for over a hundred years, and you have shown no signs of having any sort of sexual preference, so I find it a bit odd in that sense." the raven-haired man said. "However, demons don't really _have _a 'preference' when it comes to gender, in most cases. Demons can transform, completely eliminating the need. So it would appear that you're just being a demon, my lord."

Ciel sat in silence once more, however, relieved by the butler's words. _So there was nothing strange about it._ Although he would never admit it, that was comforting information to know. It felt as though a weight has been lifted from the boy's shoulders. However, he did wonder about how his feelings would be if he were still _human._

_ "Dinner is getting cold, you should probably come down soon."_ Sebastian said, forcibly pulling the boy from his thoughts, as if he knew what he is thinking about. It was probably best to not let the boy dwell on it.

"_Alright."_

"Alois should be there already. Remember, it's best not to keep your man waiting."

** "**_**Sebastian!"**_

"My apologies, my lord. I had forgotten that Alois is the _'girl'..."_

_**"OUT."**_

* * *

**A/N: Current scores: Ciel-2; Alois-1; Sebastian-INFINITY  
**

**I promised two chapters yesterday, didn't I? It's not that I forgot, it's that I got home last night and took a nap, and didn't wake up until noon today. I was tired. So tired... People wear me out, man...**

**Again, this chapter seems to be lacking _something._ I can't exactly put my finger on _what_, though. My mind was elsewhere, is all I can say. There's stuff I wanna do for this "talent show arc", that I think my focus is on. There will be Kristopherson...**

**Speaking of pinky, I've taken a liking to wearing pink ties! Weird, huh? I think it's funny taking clothes that are considered "masculine", and girlifying the sh*t out of them. The popular girls at school are even copying me and wearing blazers... I took a long time developing my "Geek chic" style, and they wanna steal it?! _Bitches and whores..._**


	66. Aliens

Warwick Academy's auditorium was huge, regal, almost, and was filled to the brim on this day, the day of the annual talent show. It isn't as though the students actually _cared_ about what was onstage. They were only there to get out of class, and if it cost them only a few pounds, they would surrender them in a heartbeat. That said, there were also those who were there to cheer on their friends. It's either/or, in this case, there is no third option. Realistically, do _you_ know of anyone who legitimately wants to see exactly what kind of "talent" your school has to offer?

No. No you don't. The supposed "talented" people backstage were getting ready to go on, and it was none other than Ciel Phantomhive who was organizing them. He ran through the list a countless number of times, and made sure everyone knew when they were supposed to go on, and that they were paying attention. But there was something on this list that struck the boy as "odd".

Alois Trancy, "The Blonde Menace", had changed his song at the last possible minute. There was no doubt in the bluenette's mind that the boy was up to something. Nothing good, anyway. The original song, "_Better Man Than He"_ by _Sivu_ was crossed out, and replaced by "_Cameron" _by a _Jillette Johnson._ He had no idea what the song was about. He didn't even think he has _heard _that song before. He had absolutely _no way _of telling if it was even _school appropriate._ What's worse, _the blonde was no where to be seen._

He searched high and low for the boy, but Alois Trancy was nowhere to be found. Now _that_ was unsettling. Alois wouldn't miss this _for the world_, therefore he had to be plotting something. But _what?_

His thoughts where interrupted by Mr. Bronze, who was addressing the audience from the stage. "Ladies and gentleman, _and Mr. Irons..."_ The crowd burst out into laughter at the joke. Mr. Irons just shot a death glare at the stage. "Welcome to the Warwick annual talent show! We have a wonderful assortment of talent for you this afternoon, and will begin right after this sentence. First up, let's give a round of applause for _Anastasia Miles,_ who will be singing '_We Are Never Getting Back Together"_ by _Taylor Swift!"_

Although it wasn't audible, Ciel could _see_ the simultaneous groan on the audience's faces from the sidelines. He just put on his headset to filter out some of the noise, and went back to work, trying to find his companion. The show went on like this, basically. Teenage girls would sing what is popular at the time, occasionally you would see a boy play an electric guitar, or something similar, you may even see a group of them form a "band", and they would play. Mr. Bronze looked like he was in tears over how smoothly this was going. But the thing that bothered Ciel the _most,_ was that he _simply couldn't find Alois._

The blonde boy was supposed to go on soon, and the closer the time came, the more restless the bluenette became. He had several stage hands perform a search, but they came up with nothing as well. He stomach almost did a flip when the blonde boy was called onto the stage. Quickly, he rushed to the stage entrance to see if Alois would turn up expectantly. He did, and the bluenette was starting to notice a trend in the boy's stage performances.

Laughter erupted from the audience as the boy took the stage. He was wearing a _girl's_ _uniform and a long, blonde wig put up in pigtails._ Where did he even get those? Alois strode out with an almost admirable amount of confidence. Mr. Bronze looked like he was about to cry again, but this time, not out of _joy._

The dolled-up blonde queued the sound booth technician to play the song, and he grabbed the microphone.

"_Cameron's in drag,_

_Makes his father mad._

_Since he was a little boy,_

_He always felt more comfortable in lipstick."_

The song he was singing was about a _male cross-dresser_, obviously, and the blonde's attire was just part of his performance. His voice was soft, and hardly sounded like it belonged to a boy. In fact, it was almost scary how well the blonde could impersonate a female. He also apparently just found it_ fun_. Ciel forced himself not to oogle the blonde, and continued watching and listening from the sides, expecting some outrageous performance.

"_People call him 'fag'._

_Teachers turn their backs._

_Off the bus, he runs and runs,_

_to get home before anyone can catch him!"_

To his surprise, the outrageous, and comedic song about a cross-dresser never came. Instead, he was greeted by the blonde passionately singing something quite _serious._

_"These days the world is full of aliens!_

_The world is full of aliens,_

_but you are a_

_Real. Life. Human._

_Aren't you,_

_Cameron?"_

The audience, who before was so amused by the boy's antics where now rendered silent, in awe at the scene before them. Alois Trancy, "The Blonde Menace", a class clown, through and through, was being _serious_ in his mischief. The cross-dressing was in a sense, a tool to drive the point home.

"_Powder and a brush,_

_Can cover any cuts,_

_And quickly running cotton_

_Under cold water,_

_Rinses out the blood marks!"_

But what struck the Phantomhive boy as odd, was not the boy in drag on the stage, or his sudden seriousness, but it was the boy in the front row, wearing a _pink tie._

Kristopherson was there to see his sister perform, of course, but couldn't leave after she did, so he was forced to sit through the entire show, much to his annoyance. But when the blonde boy showed up on stage, he flushed at the sight. He couldn't believe how effeminate Alois looked, but that's no why he was so worked up right now. No, it was _the song itself_ that got him, being about a male cross-dresser. You see, Kristopherson is the son of a _fashion designer,_ and as such, he had a love of _clothes._

Particularly, _clothes that he would never be able to wear._ He _always_ felt _envy_ for the girls who where able to wear such cute clothes. In fact, it was _he_ who decided what his sister would wear when out on the town. He loved clothes, that was all their was to it, clothes he hadn't the courage to wear himself.

And here was the blonde menace, onstage, wearing a skirt and a wig. Oh, how the boy in the pink tie wished he had that kind of audacity, and that is perhaps one of the reasons why he liked the blonde so much. The only thing he had the courage to wear was the pink tie he always wore around his neck.

Granted, being a homosexual does _in no way_ make men want to wear dresses. I mean, look at _Ciel_. He wouldn't wear a dress unless it was _one-hundred percent, completely and absolutely necessary, and if lives were at stake._ He wasn't like the blonde, or the faux-blonde who did it for _enjoyment._

Regardless, the boy in the pink tie was genuinely _touched_ by the performance. It felt silly, being moved by a song heard at a_ talent show_, but he was. He was almost on the verge of tears. Kristopherson was not the kind who was accepting of even his _own _preferences, but the song made him feel,_ for the first time_, at peace with himself. The faux-blonde was so relieved, and so happy, that for even a moment, this weight was lifted from his shoulders, that tears began to gather in his eyes.

It seemed that his friends, sitting next to him noticed this, and smiled to themselves. Ordinarily, they would've teased the boy, but this was far to serious for that. They just continued to pretend not to notice, and kept their eyes on the girl-ish boy on stage.

_"This is a world that's full of aliens!_

_The world is full of aliens,_

_but you are a human!_

_You're not an alien!_

_You are a_

_Real. Life. Human._

_Aren't you,_

_Cameron?"_

* * *

**A/N: Kristopherson bomb!  
**

**You learn something new everyday...**

**WELL, I heard the song that Alois was singing above, called "_Cameron_" by _Jillette Johnson_, purely by chance, and immediately thought about Kristopherson. I had the idea of his love of women's clothes for awhile. I hope I didn't like, drop a major bomb out of nowhere, or anything. (Pink ties...)**

**Anyways, this will continue when I get around to writing it. I'm not done with this arc yet. Nope!**

**Has Kristopherson gotten more likable? Weird...**

**Anyways, until next time, my duckies!**


	67. Gay Bar

Moments passed, and the show was over. Everyone left, including the participants, who quickly gathered their things and went to class, including the outrageaous blonde boy, who exchanged his skirt for his usual short-shorts. He and his bluenette friend walked to class, and upon entering the room, they were greeted with applause.

Everyone was apparently impressed by the blonde's daring performance. Alois dressed in drag, was truly the highlight of the event. It was far better than the usual teenage girls, singing songs by Taylor Swift, or One Direction, or some other nonsense. It was a welcome change.

"Yo, Trancy!" shouted a boy from across the room, "That was _brilliant!"_

The voice belonged to a familiar face to both boys. It was a mister _Daniel Westly_ who called for the blonde's attention. Seated next to him, was Travis, Preston, and of course, _Kristopherson._

_ "_In'nt, though? I'm surprized they didn't give me the hook!"

"I'm afraid that Alois cross-dressing on stage may be becoming a t_rend."_ added the blonde's bluenette friend.

"That's a good idea, Ciel!"

_"Don't even think about it!"_

Kristopherson watched the two exchange insults, and banter, before he was swifty nudged in the ribs by a certain politician's son. The brown-haired boy silently motioned for him to say something,

"You were _alright, _Trancy..."

"_Ahem!"_ he was jabbed again.

"_Brilliant, I mean..."_

"See, _Ciel_? Even _Kristopherson_ thought _I_ was _fit!"_

_ What the hell?_ The faux-blonde went out of his way to complement the boy, and was ignored for the Phantomhive boy?! Obviously, this rather peeved him, wouldn't it you? Seriously, what did the bluenette have, that Kristopherson _didn't?_

Many things, that will remain a secret to the human-students, of course. But the main reason, was simply because the bluenette had weaseled his way into the blonde's heart. That isn't an easy task, you know. That goes _especially _for Kristopherson.

He sat there, fuming over this. He wanted nothing more, than to tell everyone, right there and then how he felt. He wanted to tell them everything, from the love of women's clothes, the the fact of his sexuality, to even his crush on the blonde, however, he simply lacked the courage. He felt like a complete, and utter _failure._

The boy in the pink tie wanted to just _be alone_ at that moment. He got up, and excused himself to use the restroom. He was noticeably melancholic, as he did.

"Alright, what's eating him?" the blonde said. Everyone in the circle just stared at him.

It would appear that Alois himself is the only one completely oblivious to Kristopherson's feelings. While it was inherently obvious to everyone else, the blonde was apparently just too thick-headed. Ciel was the first to speak.

"So, who wants to explain it to him? Not it!"

"Not it!"

"Not it!"

"Not-! Dammit!"

It was Preston who was "it" to explain the situation. The boy paused for a moment, before elaborating. "W-well, you see, Alois..." he began, "You _do_ know that Kris is _gay,_ right?"

"For real!?" At that point, almost everyone at the table felt a headache creeping into their skulls. How can _Alois Trancy_, of _all people_, have such a terrible _Gaydar_? Ciel especially felt this. Alois was his _boyfriend,_ after all.

"Well, he _is._" Preston continued. "And he also seems to have a thing for _blondes,_ you see..."

"_Huh?"_

"What he's trying to say, Alois, is that Kristopherson has a bit of a crush on you." Daniel finally said after getting annoyed with the lack of progress in the conversation.

"Oh..." That was all he could say. What _could_ he have said? The guy who was constantly harassing him for his sexual preferences turned out to be a homosexual. "The tie should've tipped me off, huh?"

"That's not that point." Daniel said, "The point is, he's jealous of you and Phantomhive."

"Well, what do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"I don't know! Go _talk_ to him, or something!"

"And say what?! 'Sorry, Kris, I have a thing for Ciel, so go be gay somewhere else'?!"

"What the hell does that even _mean?!"_

"I don't _know!"_

The bluenette just crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. He couldn't wait for all of this to be over. Soon, he stood up. "I'll go talk to him." he said.

"Whoa, you sure that's a good idea? I mean, you _are_ his rival and all..." said Preston

"Yeah, but do you honestly trust _Alois_ not to mess it up?"

"Point taken."

** "**_**You! I wanna take you to a gay bar!"**_

_ "__**SHUT UP, ALOIS!"**_

* * *

**A/N: Alois, you moron...  
**

**Looks like Ciel and Kristopherson are going to have a little heart-to-heart chat... Or beat the snot out of each other... Who can tell?**

**It would appear Kristopherson has some fans! Good for him. He was so hated, earlier... And might still be, I don't really know...**

**I like characters who you hate at first, and then your like "aaaaaaw, poor guy!" A lot like Alois, actually. Or Professor Snape...**

**To be continued, my duckies!**


	68. Pink

Down the hallway, just a little ways off from the classroom, was a men's restroom. In that restroom was a boy in a pink tie, with bleached hair, staring angrily at himself in the mirror.

"_You're such a coward."_ he thought to himself. "_Trancy can throw things out there easily, why can't you? Why are you so afraid? Coward!"_

He was always beating himself up like this. But now, the reason was different. Now, instead of thinking their was something deeply wrong with him, he was angry for not being able to express himself. Now, more than ever, he wanted that unyielding confidence in himself that Alois had.

That's probably what he admired most about the boy. He was able to do anything. He was comfortable in the skin he was in. He wasn't ashamed for who he is. Kristopherson _wanted that._

But he is Kristopherson Miles, not Alois Trancy. The boy in the pink tie didn't know what to do. Why is it that he can't seem to stand on his own two feet and just be himself? That's what he really wanted more than anything. He wanted the inner strength to exchange his dress-pants for booty-shorts, or even a _skirt._

But he was alone. He had no one to help him in his struggle. No guidance, no assistance. He has to take the first dreadful step towards his goal on his own.

The boy in the pink tie glared at his face in the mirror, getting increasingly annoyed at the person staring back. He snapped from his trance when he heard the bathroom door open behind him. The boy turned to find his rival standing there. Ciel Phantomhive.

"Hey." he said.

"Hey..."

"The guys are worried about you. Are you alright?"

Kristopherson turned back to the mirror, as if his reflection somehow held the answer. "Not really..."

They remained awkwardly silent for a long while. The bluenette joined the boy and stared into the mirror next to him. "Look... I know it isn't exactly 'easy', but you can talk to us, you know?"

"I know."

"Then why don't you?"

The faux-blonde looked at the boy like that was the dumbest thing he had ever heard. "Why?" he echoed. "You said it yourself, 'it isn't easy'." he said.

"It takes courage, I know." replied the bluenette. "But there are sometimes... when letting go of your insecurities for even a _moment_ can set you on the path you want to walk."

This was immensely uncomfortable for both boys. Neither ot them liked wearing their hearts on their sleeve, and they were "rivals in love", if that weren't enough. But, right now, they were trying their hardest to see eye-to-eye.

"How do you do that?"

"I don't know. It just _happens."_

At this, the faux-blonde perked up, and looked towards the shorter boy. "You know?"

"Sort of." Ciel was hesitant to tell the boy. Hesitant to tell him about his relationship with Alois, and how dropping that semi-impervious mask for a small moment got him there. However, he could see a bit of himself in this boy. They both liked their privacy, and they both had similar "problems" when it came to their adolescence.

"You _don't _know, do you?"

"I do, and I don't. It was a 'heat of the moment' sort of thing."

"What are you even talking about?"

"I'm talking about _Alois._" he said, putting his cards on the table. "Letting go of my mask to him was one of the most difficult things I had to do, but in the end, I _did _get a _boyfriend_ out of it." The bluenette didn't even look at the boy. He just continued staring in the mirror in front of him. He was afraid that if he didn't, his embarrassment over the situation would return.

The boy in the pink tie blinked, taking in what the boy had just said. He felt his heart drop when they finally registered. "Oh, so I didn't have a chance to begin with... With _Alois_, I mean..."

Following that, however, a second thought popped into his head. "Wait, you're...?"

"Yes." the bluenette said plainly.

"You don't _act _it." Kristopherson paused. "So you and Trancy are...?"

"Yeah, but we haven't exactly made it public, yet."

"Why not?"

"Because we're cowards. _Just like you."_ Ciel said, finally allowing himself to glance over at the other boy, who now stood in shock.

Although Kristopherson was disheartened that his crush was taken, he did feel a lot better knowing that there were people who were going through a similar thing. He wasn't _alone_, after all. "So... what should I do?" he asked. "I want to... you know... _Come out,_ but I have no idea how..."

"I don't know, either. After all, I'm in the same boat. But, I think if you just let go and do what pleases yourself, you'll be fine." the bluenette said, backing away from the mirror, followed by the faux-blonde.

Kristopherson fidgeted, thinking about what exactly that would entail. He still wasn't too keen on the idea. But still, at least he now knew that he could talk to his friends about it. That was a relief, not being so isolated.

"You're alright, Phantomhive." he said. "Ordinarily, I would think that you're some pompous know-it-all, but right now, you're pretty cool." He paused. _"...no homo_, of course."

_"Of course."_

It would appear that the boys had both made a new friend. As for mister Trancy, he was busy cracking dirty jokes about _sonic screwdrivers._

"_When the Doctor whips out the sonic screwdriver, all the girls can't wait to play with it."_

Oh, Alois, what ever will we do with you?

* * *

**A/N: GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAY!**

**Sorry, I just HAD to. **

**Some Kristopherson feels? YES. However, I feel like I've been focusing too much on Pinky, lately. I could probably write a whole series on that kid! But this is about a certain pair of shotas, mm-hm.**

**SOMEBODY WRITE A FANFICEPTION OF THIS KID, STAT!**

**I would SO read that.**

**Fanfiception = A fanfic, about a fanfic**

**Like I said before in chapter I-have-no-idea, my good friend, Chestnutghost, has written a fanficteption about this fic. Same universe (sorta). He updates slower than I do and MIGHT have chapter two by Tuesday, at the latest. (but no promises~!) It's about CLAUDE... AND STRIPPING...**

**He told me his ideas for how Claude survives, and it sounds pretty cool. A lot like something I'd do, actually...**

**I told him I'd advertise it. It's called "Devils Like To Strip Dance", and it's by chestnutghost.**

**SPOILER ALERT: Justin Beiber DIES.**

**_Laters, duckies!_**


	69. Life As Usual

He couldn't believe it. Ciel had told _Kristopherson_, of all people, about his relationship with Alois. He didn't particularly think that the boy would tell everyone, but still, it was _awkward_ being around the boy now. They were, in a sense, rivals, you know. Now there were _three_ who knew of the secret. Ciel, Alois, and _Kristopherson._

He didn't particularly like that. He liked it being a secret only the two of them had, but now, there was a third wheel. There was another person in on it, intruding in the boy's space. Moreover, that boy in the silly pink tie wanted Alois. _His_ Alois. He couldn't have that.

At the same time, he was now obliged to help the faux-blonde. That, he didn't particularly mind. In fact, he was more than happy to help the poor boy. Maybe it could help him, too. Therefore, he was willing to help, just as long as he stayed away from Alois.

The bluenette frowned at the thought. Alois, and _Kristopherson?_ No way. That could never work. Not in a million years. Any evidence that leaned in the opposite direction was immediately shunned by the eye-patch-wearing teen. He would not be having that.

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts, that he hardly noticed the arms snaking their way around his neck. "What'cha doin'?" a voice called from behind him.

"Nothing, really." he said, looking in the general direction that the voice hailed from, seeing a grinning blonde boy.

"Well, you're no fun." said the boy. "I'm _bored!"_

_ "_What do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"I dunno. Think of an activity, good sir."

"Well you could always re-"

"If you say '_read a book,_' I will make an attempt to strangle you with my shorts." Alois said, plopping down on the bed. "So, how'd it go with Kris?"

"I think it went well. The only thing he seemed especially upset about was the fact that we're an _item."_

_ "You told him?"_

"Yes, but he promised to keep it a secret, as long as we keep his homosexuality a secret."

"So does that mean I have to stop calling him gay?"

"Well, he _is_ gay, so I'm not sure if that's much of an insult in the first place."

"I guess you're right." the blonde said before pausing. "Even if I was human, and didn't have you, I don't think It really would work out between us, anyway."

The bluenette's ears perked up. "Why is that?"

"Because..." Alois said with a smirk, "...we're both _catchers_." He expected some over-the-top reaction from the other boy, but all he was met with was:

"_What?"_

Ciel was obviously not up on his terminology. The blonde simply rolled his eyes. "_Really, Ciel?"_

"What?" the bluenette said again, like a broken record. "What does that even _mean?"_

_ "It means..."_ the blonde began, standing up and walking over to the bluenette and putting his hand on the boy's cheek. "...that we are both the '_submissive_' type." His grin only grew at the sight of the bluenette's face.

The boy's face changed to a more reddish hue, as he tried to maintain his composure. The corners of his lips twitched as he tried to keep frowning with "disinterest", and his brow furrowed. The blonde could not only_ feel _the boy's cheeks heating up in his hand, he could also _see_ it. The Phantomhive boy wasn't fooling anyone.

Just was quickly as he got up, Alois sat back down as though nothing had happened. He stared at the uncomfortable-looking boy across from him with a Cheshire-like grin plastered across his face.

"And now you know!" he said in a sing-song voice, almost as though he was _gloating._

_ "Shut up."_

_ "I love you, too."_

_ "You're such a girl..."_

_ "_I'm _your_ girl, _Ciel_."

There was an unexpected knock at the door, startling both boys. "Come in." said the bluenette.

And who else was it to come in, but Sebastian? The man clad in black peeked his head in. "Pardon my intrusion, my lord, but you have a phone-call."

"Who is it?" asked Ciel.

"_It's detective Bailey."_

* * *

**A/N: Bum, bum, BUM!  
**

**Remember that guy? Good times, good times... Hooray for murder!**

**I love all of your reviews, and I like seeing your theories about the story. Like, how Sebastian was probably just messing with them in the Slenderman chapter, or smaller things, like how Pinky was probably disappointed that Alois grabbed his wrist, and not his hand in the Doctor Who chapter. I always read them and then be all: "Dammit! Why didn't_ I_ think of that?!"**

**Anyways...**

**I used the term "_catcher"_ and not "_uke"_, simply because they are not otaku, and would not know that term. Bein' all realistic and sh*t!**

**If this were many other fanfics, that could've turned into smut, _real_ fast...**

**But that ain't how I roll...**

**It's chapter 69, you guys. (If you know what I mean...)**

**I'm really surprised how long this thing is. (If you know what I mean...)**

**I wonder how long I can keep going. (It you know what I mean...)**

**Parenthesis, will you stop that!? (No...)**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	70. A New Case

The London police department building looked exactly as it did the last time the boys had visited during the _Sudoku Killer_ case, with it's one-way windows, and massive stature and the multi-sided _Scotland Yard_ sign out front. It was Southwest of the London eye, the blonde remembered as he excitedly gazed out the car window while Sebastian tried to find a place to park amongst the many yellow and blue police cars. As for the bluenette boy, he was busily looking to see if the detective constable he had talked to on the phone was there, waiting.

Sure enough, the man was pacing back and forth near the building entrance, occasionally stopping to glance at his watch. He to, looked exactly as they remembered him, with his stern face, greying hair, and untidy appearance. Detective Bailey seemed to perk up upon noticing the group.

"Phantomhive, Michaelis, Trancy." he said nodding to each in greeting.

"Detective Bailey, It's good to see you again." said the bluenette.

"Evenin', 'guv!" he tried his best not to roll his eye at the blonde's silly greeting.

"What is the situation?"

Bailey gestured for the group to come inside, before answering. "It isn't good, I'm afraid." he said grimly. "Five kids are dead, and no one knows who did it, or _why_."

They walked the long hallway to the evidence room as they continued talking. "Do we have a body?"

"_No_. No bodies were left at _any_ of the crime scenes." the man in his forties said to the bluenette, unlocking the evidence room and gesturing for the demons to enter.

"Then how do we know it's_ murder _and not_ kidnapping_?"

Silently, the detective walked over to a filing cabinet, and rummaged through it. Eventually, he pulled out a folder. "Because of _these."_ he finally said, handing the item to the eye-patch-wearing teen.

In the folder were photos of a _disturbing_ nature. They were of the victims, taken by _the killer_ before he fled. The children in the photos where _dead_, killed in varying manners. Some appeared to be strangled, while most where stabbed. They had bruises and cuts on their faces, and large gashes on their necks and abdomens, along with the stab wounds. Those were just the injuries _that could be seen in the picture._

The other photos in the folder where taken at the scene of the crime by _the police_, for evidence. In those photos, was a wall in each child's room, each had a message written on it in blood. A poem, actually. It read:

_"Every child of age knows the Boogeyman._

_He hides in closets and under the bed_

_'Till you fall asleep. Then he takes your head._

_In the most terrifying way he can._

_He plucks your eyes to eat like you eat bran,_

_But he really prefers your tongue instead,_

_Or perhaps some bloody brain soup and bread_

_With toes and fingers in a frying pan..."_

...And on, and so forth. The bluenette put the photo down, as he was unable to make out the rest of the words. He furrowed his brow and said to the detective. "Anything else? Did the victims have anything else in common?"

"No. They had nothing in common, other than the fact that they were children. They didn't go to the same school, they didn't live in one particular area, they _didn't even seem to know each other. _This guy doesn't seem to care what age they are, as long as they 're children." the man said in a disgusted tone, wrinkling his nose.

"I guess this will be it, then. We'll catch this _freak._" the boy said, smiling a bit smugly. He looked at the man's worried face as he did. The detective had kids of his own, so naturally he'd be worried. It didn't seem like _anyone's_ kid's were safe at all, really. Still, that look the boy gave him seemed to calm the man's nerves a bit.

_ "Thanks." _Bailey said, smiling. "You better catch this Boogeyman, Phantomhive."

"Now, if I couldn't do that much, _what kind of guard-dog would I be?"_ and with that, he left, taking his associates with him. He left the man in the room, with nothing but silence.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, hey...**

**Child-killers are such a drag... **

**Still, it's nice to have another mystery arc. I was starting to think that it didn't quite feel like Kuroshitsuji, anymore. Fluff and such is nice, but I wanted to drag it back to that really dark place that the original series always seems to be lurking in. **

**The poem featured is an actual poem, called _"The Boogeyman"_ by Don Morrison. I don't want people thinking I wrote that, because that would be douchey of me. (Also, I just didn't think it was very good... There's no... rythm, or beat to it, if you will. Personally, I'm not a fan of Free, or Blank verse, you see...)**

**Anyways, I hope this turns out well. I dunno. We'll see. **

**What, _Kristopherson?_ We'll get back to him eventually. _Promise._**

**_(But HateWeasel, you "promised" double posts a few times before and failed to deliver!)_**

**Shut up, parenthesis.  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	71. I Told You Books Were Evil

The two continued their life as usual, but after school, Ciel would lock himself in his office and stare at the images sprawled out across his desk. All we knew so far, is that the killer broke into the children's rooms while they where sleeping, killed them, took pictures of the bodies, and left them at the crime-scene along with a poem written on the wall in the victim's blood about "the Boogeyman". This didn't make any sense at all. How was he supposed to figure out who did this based on this information?

A knock arrived at the door... Well, a ridiculous drumming sound, anyway. It was obviously the blonde menace on the other side.

"Little kid, little kid, let me come in!" he shouted.

"Not if you're going to call me _'little'!"_ Ciel shouted back. Oh, how the blonde knew how to annoy him.

"Fine! '_Vertically challenged youth, open thine door so that I may enter thy domain! I wish to converse with thee!_"

Reluctantly, the bluenette walked over to unlock the door. Alois could be so _odd_ at times. He appeared from beyond the wooden barrier with his beloved stuffed platypus in his arms. "_Alright?"_ he said.

_ "Alright_. Have a seat, or something." the bluenette said, gesturing to a nearby couch, before once again vanishing behind his desk.

"Much obliged, guv'." the blonde replied. He plopped down on the seat, and played with the platypus, who is often referred to as "Steven". He adjusted himself on the couch, until he was now sitting upside-down. He forgot how _uncomfortable_ these couches were. "So how's the case goin'?" he asked.

"Not very well. I can't figure out the point of this poem, or establish any connection between the children."

"Lemme see the poem." the blonde said, holding out his arm.

"Get up and come get it _yourself._" said the Phantomhive boy. He had just sat down, and the idea of making Alois get up after _finally _getting comfortable seemed funny to him.

In a huff, Alois did, plucking one of the photographs from the massive pile. He looked at it for awhile, trying to make out the smudged words on the wall. "Did you try Google-ing it?"

"What? The poem? Yes. It's _"The Boogeyman_" by Don Morrison."

"Well, is it in _a book_ or something? Seriously, he had to get it _somewhere."_

Ciel humoured the blonde by firing up his computer and searching for a book with the poem. To his surprise, there was a result. The book was called, "The Mysterious Poems of a Dead Man". It was a poetry collection of sorts, and upon further investigation, there where a few stores in Lodon that sold it.

The bluenette just looked up at the other boy in amazement. The boy's off-handed comments seemed to give the slate-haired teen leads on murder cases. He was starting to think that Alois may be a _genius_ if he would just apply himself. The blonde had this _out-of-the-box_ type of thinking that was an absolute anomaly, but at the same time, was brilliant. The eye-patch-wearing boy wondered if he would always be so helpful when it came to solving murders.

"Alois, I think you might've given me a lead." he said, smiling.

"_Of course..._ wait, _what?"_

Ciel rolled his eye. Maybe the blonde _wasn't_ a "genius", after all. "_Look,_ the poem on the walls in this picture, is in a book that's sold in a few bookstores in the London area. If we go to those stores, and find out who _bought_ the book, we can get a list of possible suspects!"

"Oh... _Oh!_ That's what I _thought!"_

"No you didn't..."

"Hush, my crazy little love, and let me _pretend."_ the blonde said, putting his finger to the other boy's lips.

Nonchalantly, the slightly shorter of the two boys pushed it away. "Let's get on with this immediately." He printed a map with the bookstores they were looking for plotted on it, and folded it carefully before putting it in his pocket. The bluenette walked around his desk before heading to the door, quickly pecking the blonde on the cheek as he did. "Good job."

Imediately, Alois felt his face heat up and his heart flutter at the small gesture. It was uncommon for the other boy to initiate such contact so casually. He touched the spot on his cheek for a moment, taking in the moment.

He came back to reality and called after the bluenette before running after him. "_Hey! Wait for me!"_


	72. ADULTolescence

Night fell with a thud as the boys searched every bookstore on their list. They went to the East end, they went to the West end. They went downtown, they went every which way, combing the stores for a list of people who bought that book. It would be wise of them to wrap this up soon. Alois was starting to get _bored_, the bluenette noticed. Still, they had a few more stops to make before they were done for the night.

With a small sigh, Ciel extended his arm to the door, opening it while ushering the troublesome blonde inside. He followed suit, as they casually entered the establishment. In the corner of his eye, he saw the blonde wander throughout the room, desperately trying to find something to hold his interest.

_"Behave, Alois."_ he warned. He knew full-well that the blonde menace was bound to get into trouble. It was in the boy's nature. "This'll only take a few minutes."

The flaxen-headed teen turned around to address the boy. "But_ Ciel!_ That's what you said _last_ time, and we were there for an _hour!"_ he whined, throwing in a pout for good measure.

"It couldn't be helped. The woman at the desk obviously had _no idea _what she was doing." the bluenette replied. "If you're bored, I suggest you go find a _book to read."_

"How could you even _suggest _something so_ perverse?!_ I would rather eat my own shorts!"

"Then go _quietly _stand over there, while I get the information we need."

And with that, the eye-patch-wearing gentleman nonchalantly walked up to the front desk. He played with his badge in his pocket, knowing that he would have to show it. He cleared his throat to get the attention of the clerk. The pizza-faced, obviously-part-time-working, older teen looked away from his computer for a moment to greet the boy.

"Hello. Did you find everything alright?"

"No. I'd like to speak to your manager." the boy said, plainly.

"What seems to be the matter?"

"_Nothing_, as long I can speak with your superior." This was a constant problem in information gathering. The boy was _seldom_ taken seriously due to his appearance. He swore he could hear a snicker from the blonde's direction.

"Does your_ mother _know where you are, _young man?_" the man behind the counter asked in a patronizing manner, much to the bluenette's increasing annoyance.

His eyebrow twitched at those words. Still, he had to keep his cool. In one swift movement, he pulled his badge open and held it in front of the irritating worker's face. "Ciel Phantomhive; _Senior Detective Constable _and _'The Queen's Guard-dog'._ I need to have a word with the person in charge of this establishment."

Instead of the usual response, all the boy got was: "I don't have time for this. Go play somewhere else before I call the cops." And with that, the clerk went back to gazing at the mesmerizing computer screen, ignoring any further statements made by the bluenette.

_Now_ Ciel was annoyed. If flashing his badge didn't work he would either have to fetch Sebastian or use _"Plan C"._ Neither option appealed to the boy. He didn't want to use Sebastian because his pride simply wouldn't allow it. He didn't want to go through hearing the bulter's teasing about being such a "_Little _lord." As for _"Plan C"_, the boy didn't want to waste the energy. The technique required took a lot of mastery and skill or pull off, and even if he did, _it was exhausting, _without possessing a contract holder.

But what choice did he have? _Sebastian's taunting, _or _being tired?_ Obviously, he chose the latter, motioning to the blonde to "stay put", as he turned, and exited the building.

Alois stared at the door, waiting for the boy to return. Several minutes passed, and he was starting to worry a bit. He looked over to the clerk, who was staring at him suspiciously. It was rather unsettling. Finally, the door opened, and the person who appeared from behind it made the blonde's eyes widen.

The man; _yes,_ the _man_ who walked into the building was clad in black, with and eye-patch that matched. His eyes were blue, as well were his earrings, and the tint of his dark hair. It was hard to tell exactly _what _age he was, as he looked fairly young, and yet had a mature look about him. He made eye contact with the blonde boy and pressed his finger to his lips, silently telling the boy to remain quiet.

He strode right up to the front desk, and smiled at the teen behind the counter, startling him a bit. The clerk was shocked at how similar he looked to the boy who stood there previously. All the same, he greeted the man with hospitality.

"H-hello. Did you find everything alright?"

"_No._" the bluenette man said. His voice was soft, with a sophisticated sound to it. _"I would like to speak to your manager."_

_ "Oh, w-what seems to be the matter?"_

"I sent _my son _in here earlier on an errand." he lied. "My name is _Ciel Phantomhive._ I'm a _Senior Detective Constable,_ and also known as '_the Queen's Guard-dog.'_ I have an important case for which I will need the full cooperation of your manger." The teen stared at him with a severe case of _deja vu._ He couldn't help but stare at the man before him, mouth agape, while at the same time, unable to conjure words to emit from it.

"_If you would please?"_ the man said, snapping the clerk from his trance.

"Oh... Oh! O-of course! Please wait a moment..." thus the teen scurried to the back of the store, in search of his superior.

At the same time, the man felt eyes buring holes in the back of his head. He turned to see Alois staring at him, similarly to the way the teen from before did.

"Wha-wha-wha-whaaa?!" was all the blonde was able to say, waving his arms in the air, occasionally pointing at the man in front of him.

"What? Surely you knew that demons are able to _transform, _yeah? Could you please stop doing _'The Dance of the Blathering Idiot'_? It's _unsightly."_ he said to the boy, immediately changing gears from they way he acted before.

After blinking a few times, and staring a bit longer, Alois finally came out of his hypnotic state to run up to the bluenette before him and hug him. "_Ciel!"_ he cried. His face only reached up to the man's chest.

"Yes, yes, _I'm Ciel._ Now could you stop that? We're in public!" Ciel said, trying in vain to push the blonde away. He glanced around, and fortunately, no one was watching them. The _last_ thing the bluenette wanted was to be accused of being a _pedophile_.

Something occurred to the demon at that thought. At the moment, Alois was showing no signs of fear. The fair-haired boy was ordinarily deeply afraid of grown men, yet the form the bluenette was taking didn't seem to bother him at all. _Why was that?_ Was it because he knew it was _Ciel?_

The clerk from before, returned with the store's manager, snatching the "man" away from his thoughts. The manager was a large, older, surly-looking man, with thinning hair and a mustache. Immediately, the blonde boy shifted his position to behind the bluenette at the sight of the man, as though he was trying to hide_. Maybe the bluenette's hunch was right._

_ "So what can I do for you, sir?"_ the man-in-charge said in his northern accent.

"I was hoping you could help me in an investigation I'm currently in the middle of." Ciel paused, reaching back into his pocket to retreive his badge. My name is _Ciel Phantomhive._ I'm a _Senior Detective Constable,_ and also known as '_the Queen's Guard-dog'._ There has been evidence linked to a _certain case_, involving a _certain book_, and I was hoping that you could provide me with a list of people who had bought said book."

An hour or so passed, as Ciel continued to explain the situation to the manger, and retrieved what he had came for. Alois, however, wandered aimlessly throughout the store, occasionally picking up a book to look at. Eventually, he was summoned by the bluenette "man", and they vacated the premises.

They walked to the car, where Sebastian was waiting, and got in. Ciel immediately sunk into his seat and changed back.

"Shall we go home? You seem a bit _tired,_ my lord." the butler teased.

The bluenette scoffed, while Alois teased the (once again) boy as well. "You can lean on my shoulder, if you want!" he half-heartedly jested.

_"Never_, will I _ever_ reduce myself to your level of_ girliness_, Alois." said Ciel, leaning back in the seat. "I don't suppose you found a _book_ that tickled your fancy on this outing?"

"There was _one,_ actually."

This, the bluenette perked up at. "Really? What was it?"

"'_Fifty Shades of Grey'."_ the blonde said with a grin before being swiftly punched in the arm by the boy next to him.

_Of course Alois didn't really find a book to read._

* * *

**A/N: Oh, Alois... Whatever will we do with you?  
**

**Oh, and the same guys on youtube who did "_Slenderman: the musical"_ and "_Doctor Who: the Musical_", also did a Musical-esque parody of _Fifty Shades of Grey._**

** Just thought I'd throw that out there. Hey, you're on the internet anyway, so why not? **

**i'm noticing a pattern of these author's notes seldom having anything to do with chapter-content...**

**Anyway, until next time, my duckies!**


	73. Patriotism, At It's Finest

Surprisingly, it was the blonde who woke up first the next morning. Ciel was still asleep, recovering from his transfiguration from yesterday, and- well, Sebastian _doesn't_ sleep, actually. The butler was awake at all hours, making sure the manor was spotless, and attending to various errands that needed done. Narrowing down the people on the suspect list, for example. He was to disregard any suspects who had a good, solid alibi, or were otherwise deemed "incapable" of committing the murders.

Alois was thoroughly convinced that the raven-haired man needed a hobby, but that is not the point. The point is, that while Sebastian was out and about, _Alois_ was put in charge of taking care of the young master. While this didn't seem to be a very good idea in hindsight, the blonde was capable as a servant when given a specific task to focus on. He would clumsily complete his missions, only botching them up on occasion, which is more than what can be said of the household's _previous servants_.

Since it was past _noon,_ he decided that the bluenette had gotten enough sleep. Thus, upward he traveled to the manor's second floor, and down the lonely hallway to the you master's bedroom. He opened the door and stuck his head in the room. Doubt lingered in his mind that this was going to be easy.

Over on the bed, the boy saw his target, _Ciel_ _Phantomhive_, the master of the house. The bluenette lay on his back, with his face turned away from the window, wearing a dressshirt as sleepwear. Why that amused the blonde, he'll never know. Alois walked up to the window, drawing back the curtains before looking back at the boy.

_Nothing._ He didn't move an inch. The flaxen-haired teen at the very least expected a _flinch_, but no, the young(?) Phantomhive was out like a light.

"Ciel, wake up. It's like, two in the afternoon." the blonde said.

Nothing.

"Ciiiieeeeellll... Wake uuuuup..." next, he poked the boy.

Nothing.

"Damn, you can really sleep, huh?" Alois walked around to the other side of the bed, crouching down so the boy's face was at eye-level. He noted that the bluenutte wasn't wearing his eye-patch, but disregarded it for the moment.

"Hey, Ciel, if you don't wake up, I'll _kiss_ you..." the blonde said. He got no response, so guess what he did?

He climbed on top of the bluenette and pressed his lips against the bother boys. _Now_ he got a response. The bluenette moved his lips with the blonde's, being a safe indicator that he was pretty much awake now. After staying like that for a few moments, his eyes finally fluttered open.

"Good morning, _darling."_ Alois said with a grin.

"_Get. Off. Me."_

"Nah, _I quite like this position_."

Ciel summoned his strength and flipped them over to where they were now reversed. He was now on top of the blonde. Now it was his turn to _smirk._

His companion blinked a few times from the surprise before smiling again. "Ooh! _This one's much better! Don't you agree?"_ he said, earned him a playful slap to the face. The slate-haired teen crawled off of him and rolled his eyes, fighting off a blush.

"Why? Is there _no other way_ you could've woken me up? Really?"

_"That is correct."_ the blonde boy said, sitting up. Apparently, the bluenette was ignorant to Alois' earlier attempts.

It was after a moment that the blonde noticed what his companion was wearing, or rather, _not_ wearing. "So _Ciel Phanthomhive does not sleep in pants._" he grinned, playfully before adding "_Union Jack boxers? Nice."_

"_OUT. __**NOW!"**_

_ "Yes, my lord."_

The day carried on even after the bluenette was clothed. They spent it as they would any other weekend, playing games, watching TV, looking over the _pictures of the victim's dead bodies_.It was at this point that the blonde noticed something.

"Hey, why are these kids all _blonde?_" he asked.

"What?"

"Look. Every one of 'em. Blonde. This some kind of _hate crime_ or something?"

Well, Alois had been helpful so far, so Ciel was willing to look over the images one more time. "They _are_ blonde..."

"Yeah, yeah! And look closer! It looks like their hair was hastily _cut_ in some places."

An idea came to the bluenette. It was obvious, and he felt stupid for not thinking of it sooner. "You know what this could mean, Alois?"

"That the killer has some _freaky fetish for collecting hair?"_

_ "No,_ well, _yeah._ But I mean _besides_ that. Tell me, exactly what kind of person collects hair?"

"A _complete nutter._ We already _knew_ the guy was crazy, so why is this extraordinary?"

"It isn't. But it gives me an idea of how we can narrow down our search even further." Ciel said, digging out his cell phone to text Sebastian. The boy enjoyed texting more than actually _calling_ people. It was less personal. The boy could be rather _antisocial_ sometimes.

_"Check to see if any of the suspects have any documented_

_mental illnesses. That should help narrow down_

_ your search._

_-CP"_

Within seconds, he got his reply.

_"Yes, my lord._

_-SM"_

He smiled at this, now noticing that there was someone reading his messages over his shoulder. "What is it, Alois?" he asked.

The blonde blinked at the question. He wasn't sure how to answer, so he just said the first thing that popped into his head. "_Patriotic Underpants."_

He noticed the flush on the bluenette's face as he remembered the events from this morning. "You aren't _ever_ going to let that go, are you?" In response the the question, the blonde sang.

"'_God save our gracious Queen!_

_Long live our noble Queen!_

_God save the Queen!'"_

**"**_**SHUT UP!"**_

* * *

**A/N: Hello, children.  
**

**CIEL'S UNDERPANTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED!**

**You SO wanted to know... I know you did... Don't lie, now...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies.  
**


	74. Invitation To Disaster

The list was narrowed down to two people. The first had schizophrenia, and the second, a diagnosed sociopath. Naturally, these people would be suspects. However, upon further examination, it would appear that neither of these two were the killer.

While the first one had schizophrenia, she was fairly frail, and simply couldn't wrestle with the older victims into submission before killing them. Nor did she have anyone she was particularly close to, or hung out with, so she she couldn't have had help. Thus, she was eliminated.

The second was a fairly normal man. He was diagnosed with sociopath, however, when talked to by the boys, he showed no signs of this. They know a sociopath when they see one, being ones themselves, and discovered that he had been misdiagnosed.

He was ruled out, leaving them with nothing. The two boys were at a complete loss. After all of that, they had no suspects. None, nil, and zero. Back to square one, they went.

Apparently what Ciel had thought was a stroke of genius on the blonde's part, had ended up only leading him on a wild goose chase. Still, he couldn't blame the boy. After all, it was the _Phantomhive boy_ who was convinced his off-handed comment held some deep meaning to it, and tied it to the case. But that still didn't change the fact that they wasted all that time for nothing.

The bluenette sat at his office desk, rubbing his temples in frustration, while the blonde sat on the almost _unbearably uncomfortable_ couch and stared into space. Both seemed rather depressed on the matter. It had taken them days to come up with that lack of evidence. How where they going to catch "_the Boogeyman"_ now?

Sebastian knocked on the door, and entered, noticing the smog of cheerlessness hanging in the air. He cleared his throat as though he was trying to rid his lungs of the miasma. "My lord, you have a telephone call from a _Kristopherson Miles?"_

This was an odd occurrence. Never had the bluenette received a call from the faux-blonde before. He quickly got up and answered it, forgetting about murder for a moment.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ciel?" asked the voice on the other end of the line. It was recognizably the boy in the pink tie. "It's me, Kris. Are you free this afternoon?"

He thought for a moment. He decided he should at _least _see what the boy wanted. "Yeah, why?" he asked. He lied a bit, but the case could be on hold for an afternoon, right?

"I'm hosting a pool party this afternoon, and, I know it's short notice, but I was wondering if you'd like to come?"

"_Can I come too?!"_ the blonde menace said into the device, startling the boy on the other end. He had at some point, followed the bluenette, and was listening into the conversation. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have, but as soon as Sebastian mentioned it was Kristopherson, is interest was peaked.

It finally registered in the mind of the boy on the other end who it was, and he laughed. "Of course you can, Alois. I was going to invite you too, anyway."

_"Sweet."_

At this point, the bluenette couldn't refuse the faux-blonde's offer. Alois had just eliminated that option. He pushed the blonde away from the speaker so he could answer the boy's question.

"Alright. We'll be there." he said, holding the phone in one hand, and fending off the blonde with the other.

"See you then."

With that final utterance from Kristopherson, the conversation ended. The bluenette turned his attention back to the blonde.

"Could you honestly not wait until I was off the phone?" he asked.

"No. No I could not."

"You don't even have a swimsuit, do you?"

_ "No. No I do not."_

The slightly shorter boy sighed in exasperation. Obviously, there was no way of winning, here. "Alright, we'll just pick one up on the way there. _Sebastian!_ Fire up the car, we're going out."

This was going to be a long afternoon...

* * *

**A/N: Filler?  
**

**OR IS IT?!**

**(It_ isn't_, actually)**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	75. Having Fun, And A New Lead

The gang arrived at Kristopherson's house after stopping to buy some swim trunks for Alois. Sebastian dropped the two boys off, and and drowve away. He would be back to pick them up later this evening.

On the outside, the house was very large, and very _modern_. It lacked the old aesthetics and grandeur of the Phantomhive estate. In fact, it was a tad _smaller_ than the Phantomhive estate. Still, Alois was impressed, having never seen such a building before, except perhaps on a science-fiction program on the TV.

The boy's were let in by one of the servants, and their eyes were greeted with an equally modern, equally _stylish_ interior. I suppose that would make sense, given that the faux-blonde's mother was a fashion designer. They were lead into the entertainment room, were the rest of the guests were playing ping-pong. They paused their game for a moment to greet the demons.

"Oh my God! It's a cyclops! _everybody run!"_ a familiar voice shouted jokingly. Daniel was there, as well as Preston and Travis, and a few others from their class, plus the hosts slightly younger sister, and some of her friends.

"You fool! It's not a cyclops! It's a _pirate_! Quick! _Hide your valuables!"_ Kristopherson teased, pointing at the bluenette. He had really lightened up since his chat with Ciel that one day in the boy's restroom. Noticeably so. Even the others had to agree.

"_Very funny."_ the bluenette said, his words dripping with sarcasm, "Tell me, was I only invited to be made fun of?" he jested.

"Nah, that's just a bonus!" said the brown-haired boy, earning giggles from others throughout the room.

"Glad I was able to help with the entertainment, but isn't this supposed to be a _pool party?_"

"Yeah, but the pool isn't ready yet. We all apparently showed up much earlier than expected." What a silly mistake. Sebastian would have never allowed such a screwup. Still, at the guests didn't seem to mind.

"Hey, Trancy, you wanna play?" Daniel asked, holding up a ping-pong paddle.

"I would, but _I don't know how."_ the blonde said. In all seriousness, he did not. He didn't even know what the game was _called_. Still, he did his best to maintain the illusion of being a "_modern child_".

"You don't know how to play _ping-pong?"_ Preston echoed.

"Nope."

"C'mere, and let me show you. After that, you can play against Preston since he sucks so bad at this game." Daniel motioned for the blonde to come and take the paddle, while Preston attempted to agrue that he, in fact, did not _suck._

The bluenette took this opportunity to converse with Kristopherson, while his companion fumbled with the art of ping-pong. He had been slightly curious as to the boy's being, as of late.

"Alright?" he asked.

"Alright." was the boy's response. Kristopherson had been doing really well. He felt much better about himself, like part of a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Trancy talk you in to comming?"

"Yeah. I'm just not that big on parties." Ciel said, adding in a slight chuckle at the end.

"That's what I thought. You must really have your hands full, yeah?"

"You know it..." he trailed off, catching a glimpse of something- or rather, _someone _in the corner of his eye.

The young man seemed so out of place in the room. He just stood against the wall, trying not to attract any attention. He was dress in a green polo shirt, and khakis. He looked about college-age, and was certainly too old to be hanging out with such teenagers. This sort of person was very suspicious.

"Who's that?" he asked the host.

Kristopherson followed the bluenette's finger to the man, and replied. "Oh, that's my _tutor._"

"Really? What does he help you study?"

"Literacy, mostly. I'm really bad with _poetry_. Lately he's been having me read a book called '_The something-or-other Poems of a Dead Man'._ It's full of creepy poems. He seems to like stuff like that."

That book. That book was the one they were looking at. This guy wasn't one of the two they had narrowed it down to earlier, but it could be worth looking into. "Really? Are you close? It's kind of odd to invite your tutor, otherwise, isn't it?"

"We _were_, I guess. He's mad at me_ because he found out a bleach my hair blonde_. I thought inviting him might help patch things up. We have that big test in a few weeks, after all."

_Blonde?_ Weren't all the kids in the pictures blonde? Why would anyone be mad about that? The bluenette had to dig deeper.

"Oh, you're right. Is he any good? Alois will fail, if he doesn't straighten up soon." he lied. Still, he got what he was hoping for.

"You can't make Alois Trancy '_straighten up'_!" the faux-blonde joked. "He's as _straight _as a _bendy-straw_. But if he needs a tutor, I can give you his name and number, if you'd like."

"If you would? That would be a _great help."_

He got it. He got the man's information, and discreetly texted it to Sebastian. Just in the nick of time, too. The pool was now open, much to the boy's displeasure.

Everyone got dressed in their swimwear. Alois had on his new purple swim trunks, and Ciel had on his blue ones, in addition to a black t-shirt. The bluenette also wore swim-goggles with one of the lens tinted, and without a nose-piece since he couldn't wear his eye-patch. The other boys looked disappointing at this, since they kind of wanted to see what was underneath the patch. Instead, they busily tried to refrain from teasing him about wearing a shirt, since Kristopherson was wearing one too, for obvious reasons.

While the other boys were taunting each other and pushing each other into the pool, Ciel simply sat in one of the fold-up chairs, wanting to avoid the "fun". This was only _partially_ due to his antisocial attitude, but was mostly due to the fact that even after all of these years, _Ciel still could not swim._ He cursed himself for this lack of ability. Swimming for recreational purposes never really interested him, so he simply never learned, and that was that.

The others, however, had other plans. Daniel got out of the pool, and walked up to the bluenette.

"Aren't you gonna swim too, Phantomhive?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm fine just sitting here, thanks."

"That's no_ fun_."

"Pardon me, but_ it appears that I do not care_."

Daniel placed his hands on his hips, and just looked at the boy with a puzzled expression. Then he hatched a plan. Quickly, he motioned for the other boys to come over as well, and silently conveyed to them is devious plan.

Each boy grabbed one of the Bluenette's limbs, lifting him from his chair. They carried him closer, and closer to the edge of the pool, stopping near the edge. Ciel was _not_ happy.

_"Put me __**down**__!" _he ordered. However, this was the wrong choice of words for this situation.

"You heard him, lads! On three! _One... Two... Three!"_

_ SPLASH!_

After briefly flying through the air, the poor bluenette landed in the water, trying to remain calm as he became completely submerged. _Fortunately_ for him, he only landed in the shallow end, so at least he wouldn't have to explain why_ he didn't need to come up for air._

After a few moment, his head came back up, and he shouted every swear word he knew, some of them being in _other languages._ He shouted, and the boys laughed at the now drenched bluenette. All of them _except Alois._

In fact, there was a moment were the blonde was nowhere to be _seen_. However, he was able to be _heard_.

"_THIS. IS. __**SPARTA!"**_

Now it was _Daniel's _turn to fall into the drink. The bluenette, luckily, was able to move out of the way in time. As the Westly boy's head came back up, he was confronted with a triumphant-looking Alois Trancy, and a group of laughing teenagers.

Next, Trancy was pushed by Kristopherson, and Kristopherson was pushed by Preston, and Preston was pushed by Travis, who dove in on his own. Soon all six boys were in the pool, laughing at each other, and at themselves. Even _Ciel_ was having fun at this point.

"Oh my God! You guys are so_ immature_!" shouted one of Anatsasia's freinds, followed by an eruption of girly giggles. They had completely ruined the moment for the group. That was, until _The Blonde Menace_ spoke up.

"_Shut up, and show us your tits!"_ he shouted before having his head shoved underwater by an angry bluenette.

The evening continued in this way until it was time to go home. Sebastian picked the boys up, and they drove home.

"Did you have a good time, my lord?" the butler asked.

"Yes, actually. Well, except for the part were Alois yelled _obscene_ things at a group of girls." the bluenette replied.

"Hey,_ in my defense_, anyone wearing such a_ revealing _swimsuit is probably wanting to show them off, anyway."

"That isn't the point, Alois!"

"I believe the young master is_ jealous_, Mister Trancy..."

"I am _not!"_ the bluenette declared. "_Sebastian,_ did you get the information I asked for?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, sir. The information regarding a mister _John Wilson_ has been acquired, and is now in a folder on your desk. However, while he did not meet the conditions you did not speculate the other day, his medical records reveal that he _does_ have trauma to his frontal lobe as a result of a childhood injury."

"Meaning?" the blonde asked.

"_Meaning_, he does not have a _'filter_' like most people do."

"So how do we catch him? We don't have a search warrant or anything to check him out!"

"We don't need one." Ciel said with a small smirk. "_He's going to be your tutor."_

* * *

**A/N: Filler? WHAT FILLER?**

**You thought it was gonna be filler, huh?**

**I WANTED CIEL TO BE TOSSED INTO A LARGE BODY OF WATER. THAT IS WHY THIS ARC HAPPENED.**

**Okay, so maybe that's only _PART_ of it.**

**Ciel cannot swim. FACT. It says so in the books, and in the anime.**

**Having a damaged frontal lobe can make a person a potential killer. FACT. Because they now how difficulty "filtering" their words and _actions._**

**Alois, if you ask nicely,_ Ciel may or may not show you his tits_. FACT.**

**Although most likely not...**

**Ciel tits = "Cits"(?)**

**Well, this has gotten really weird really fast...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	76. The Tutor's Abode

The blonde had acquired a tutor to help him study for a massive literacy exam at the end of the week. The car he was riding in pulled up to the home of a Mister John Wilson, and before he stepped out of it, he was reminded of his alternative agenda at the household.

"You are to look around the house for anything suspicious, you got it?" the bluenette asked the blonde, making sure he heard him. The blonde had trouble listening at important moments like this.

"Yeah, yeah. I got this. No worries, mate." he said. "I go in, pretend to be tutored, and find all the weird shit he's hiding. I got it."

That still didn't ease the bluenette's mind. Why was _he_ the nervous one here? He wasn't the one going into the home of a potential serial killer. That's what he had _Alois_ for! The blonde was very sturdy, and was incredibly difficult to kill, but still, the Phantomhive boy couldn't help but worry.

"...And one more thing. It's the most important thing you should keep in mind on this little 'adventure', and that is: _'don't get caught'."_ he warned his bubbly companion.

"Roger! I won't let you down!" the blonde said stepping out of the vehicle. "I'll get ya _dead bodies_, no problem!" And with that, the door was closed, leaving only the bluenette and the butler in the car.

"Sebastian, do you think it was wrong to send him in on his own?"

The butler looked in the rear-view mirror, examining the boy's unusually worried face, and released a small chuckle at this. "It is not really my place to have an opinion, my lord. However, I don't think you need to worry. Alois _is_ a demon, after all. He is also wearing a wire. As he would say, '_no worries, mate'!"_ the butler said in his best impression of the blonde.

The boy in the backseat shot the driver a look of disgust. "Don't _ever_ say that again..."

"_My apologies_."

Meanwhile, as those two were driving away, the blonde walked up to the ordinary-looking townhouse, and knocked on the front door. He was greeted by the supposed "_Boogeyman"_, a college student who went by the name of John Wilson.

John wore rather large glasses that looked as though they would fall off of his face at any moment, and a _London Metropolitan University_ T-shirt covered his slender build. He had to down at the blonde, since he towered over him. Alois wondered for a moment if he was related to _Slenderman_, with his stature_._ He shivered at the very thought.

"You must be Alois, then?" the man said, scratching his face. He looked as though he had just woken up, even though it was three in the afternoon.

"Sure am!" the blonde said in a friendly manner.

"Alright, why don't you come inside, then? It's so hot outside that it's _stupid."_ John walked back inside, and motioned for the blonde to follow. "Just set your stuff down anywhere, and have a seat."

"'Right." The blonde literally did just that. He tossed his book-bag on the floor, and immediately sat down right next to it. John just looked at him for a moment with a puzzled look on his face, before puzzlement turned into understanding.

"You're a right _smart-ass_, aren't you?"

_ "You know it_."

"This'll be _fun._" he mused. "So, what areas do you have trouble with, then?"

"Math, English, History, you know_, the works_." Alois listed off, as if he had this rehearsed. The man now sitting across from him sighed.

"Yep, this is going to be so much _fun."_

The two gentleman studied together for a long while, discussing English, primarily, due to the blonde having a test at the end of the week. Alois' eyes subtly wandered around the room, analyzing it ever-so carefully to the best of his ability. He came to the conclusion that it was, in a word, _boring._ It looked like the living room of any ordinary college student, if not a little bit cleaner. However, this was to be expected, since he was to tutor student here. Eventually, however, the blonde had decided he had seen enough of this room, and became set upon seeing the rest of the house.

"S'cuse me," he said, "Mind if I use your loo?" It was a believable lie.

"Go right ahead. It's through there." the other gentleman said, pointing to the general direction of the bathroom. "Shout if you need anything, then."

"Will do."

The flaxen-haired teen got up and straightened himself before walking in the direction indicated by the tutor. He passed several doors, glancing into the rooms, before finding the bathroom. However, he decided to save that for last, since if John heard a flushing noise, and the blonde didn't return soon after, he would become suspicious. Thus, the lad continued walking.

He stopped in front of a particular door at the end of the hall, feeling an unsettling feeling in his gut. It was locked, of course, but the boy couldn't help but smell something _foul _coming from the other side.

_It smelled like blood and rotten meat._ Now that was suspicious. However, since he felt that he was taking too long, he decided to retreat to the bathroom, like he said he was doing. He closed the door behind him, and took out his phone to text.

_"Room at the edge of hall reeks of death. Door's locked. Suspicious?_

_-AT"_

He sent the message to the bluenette before flushing the toilet and washing his hands. He had to make it seem like that was what he's been doing the entire time. As extra precautions, he turned his phone on vibrate and deleted the outgoing message, and formulated an excuse as to why he was so slow taking care of his "business".

The blonde walked back into the room, and sat down in front of the man once more. "Sorry, I had trouble finding it." he said.

"That's fine." the now oddly anxious-looking man replied. "Now, where were we?"

"_Poetry."_

"Oh, that's right."

The day ended, and Alois left the Wilson gentleman's house, and stepped into the black _Rolls Royce_ of the Phantomhive household. He took a seat in the backseat with his bluenette companion, ready to report his findings.

"Well? Did you find anything?" the eye-patch-wearing boy seated to his left said, turning his body to face the blonde. It rather annoyed him when Alois sat on the side he wore his eye-patch on. The bluenette couldn't see him when he did.

"Well, _other than that mysterious room at the end of the hallway that smelled like rotten flesh and was fastened with a deadbolt lock,"_ the blonde took a moment to _breathe_, finally. "He was rather darty after I returned from my 'bathroom break'. However that's _perfectly normal._ Maybe he was afraid I found his _porn stash."_

Ciel rolled his eye at that. The blonde's ability to steer a topic into the gutter was astounding. He disregarded this to ask: "Anything else?"

The blonde thought for a moment. Nothing else seemed to stand out. "Well, almost all of his childhood photos that were on display had a _blonde girl_, in it. Does that count as 'weird'? I mean, even Kristopherson as well as _yourself_ seem to have _a thing for blondes."_

The driver chuckled and the bluenette shot him another death-glare before composing himself once again. "Well, since the killer has been _targeting blonde children in particular_, and _taking locks of their hair, _that very well could be." he said, completely ignoring the other boy's previous comment. "If only we knew what was in that room..."

"Who knows? But judging by the fact that he gave me _this_, we may very well _find out."_ the blonde said, pulling a copy of "_The Mysterious Poems of a Dead Man"_ out of his bag.

* * *

**A/N: Why, I do believe this arc shall be ending soon. Don't you?  
**

**Why does John end almost every other sentence with "then"? Dunno. That was unintentional, but I think I may leave it as a verbal tic. (Did you guys even notice? Well, whatever...)**

**Until next time, my duckies!**


	77. The Boogeyman

Weeks had passed and Alois continued to go to John's house for help with schoolwork and such, and the man would come over to the blonde's on occasion. He was pretty good at helping too. He explained things very clearly and in a way that was easy for even a blonde of Alois' magnitude to comprehend. He didn't even get frustrated with the blonde's excessive cracking of jokes, and instead, laughed at them. The blonde was actually glad to have the help. His grades were steadily improving, much to everyone's surprise. It was such a shame to see the same college student hanging around in the dark near a certain manor in the dead of night.

John paced back and forth down the street with his tools in his backpack, as though he was hesitant to go inside. He had very good reason to, since he wasn't invited to the household, and he had no intentions of even using the front door. He had never broken entry to a house of this size, before. The young man was now debating whether or not he could.

Finally, he mustered all of his courage and climbed the large wall separating the estate from the area around it. Stealthily, he stayed within the shadows of nearby trees as he made his way to the manor. He made his way around to the back of the house, and, naturally, none of the windows on the bottom floor where unlocked.

Fortunately for him, he had anticipated this, and was prepared. He took off his bag and unzipped it, pulling out what appear to be a grappling hook he had bought on the internet. With a mighty throw, it soared through the air before attaching to the roof. After giving the rope a few tugs to make sure it was sturdy, the young man began his ascent to the second floor of the building.

Much to his displeasure, the windows up there were locked as well. But there was a way around this, with the windows up top being in the Victorian style. John pulled his knife out of his bag and stuck it through the gap, thus he was able to undo the latch with ease while still maintaining hold of the rope.

Gently, he eased himself into the window, leading into the upstairs bathroom. He pressed his ear up against the door, and listened for any footsteps on the other side. Hearing nothing, he was sure that the hallway was empty. He slowly turned the knob and entered the hallway, with knife at the ready in case he was wrong.

He knew which way the blonde's room was because he had been to it before in order to instruct the boy on occasion. Stealthily, he crept closer to his destination and turned the knob, only to find it locked. He clicked his tongue in disapproval, and pulled out his next tool. A lock pick. These old skeleton keyholes were easy to pick, to his fancy, and he was in.

John walked into the room without a sound, closing the door behind him. He raised his weapon and walked towards the bed before bringing back down, stabbing again, and again into...

_...pillows; just a large pile of pillows_. The blonde was nowhere to be found.

The man scratched his head and thought about what could be going on, when the lights came on. In the doorway stood the butler of the manor, accompanied by the two boys who lived there, all smiling cheerfully at the man.

"Hello, John." the blonde said.

"W-what's all this, then?!" the man demanded, hiding the knife behind his back.

"I believe it is _you_ who should be answering that, John. After all, you _did_ break into our house in the middle of the night." said the master of the house, a petite bluenette boy.

"W-well, I..." before the young man could even say anything, the house's butler was already beside him, and had somehow taken his weapon.

"Why don't we all discuss this downstairs? I know a group of fine gentlemen who are just dying to meet you, mister Wilson." he said with his usual devilish grin, waving the weapon tauntingly in front of the college student.

"Who?"

"_The London Metropolitan Police."_

After venturing downstairs, Wilson confessed that he had broken into the house to kill the blonde boy while in tears. Apparently the man's cerebral trauma was caused when a childhood friend, famous around the neighbourhood for her _flaxen hair_, and the girl in the many pictures in his house, had accidentally pushed him out of a tree. Afterwards, he had developed a hatred for blondes.

This was all fine and dandy, but where were the children's bodies? This was where the seemingly ordinary man was _not so ordinary._ Following his confession, the police were granted a search warrant in order to search his house, and following the blonde's insight, checked the room at the end of the hallway that reeked of rotting meat. That is were things got _grisly._

In that room was the remains of the children- well, _some_ of them, anyway. The buckets of blood and the dismembered children were more than enough to make most of London's finest, vomit. But that was not all of it.

No, in addition to that, there were items fashioned from human remains found in that room. Lampshades, belts, and various other items where made from the victim's _skin. Knives, exactly like the one John had on his person on the night of his arrest,_ were found to be made from their _bones._ Bowls made from skulls, necklaces made from teeth and finger-bones, as well as other things were found in this room. Other bits and pieces, however, _were missing._

That is, until they checked the man's _kitchen._ In the fridge they found more, and various pots and pans on the stove and in the stink tested positive for human remains. This man, was in fact, _a cannibal._ He really was a real-life Boogeyman. Alois was just _relieved_ he never took up Wilson on his numerous polite offers to fix the boy _lunch._ The very _though_t that he could have accidentally ingested a human being made the blonde, who had seen many, many _gruesome and unsettling _things in his lifetime, gag and feel ill.

But on the bright side of all of this, Kristopherson was still alive, as was the infamous _blonde menace._ The case of "_The Boogeyman"_ finally came to a close, and in perhaps the most _unexpected_ turn of events, _Alois passed his literacy test with flying colours at the end of that week._

He beat Ciel by _one point_.

* * *

**A/N: ANTICLIMACTIC, MUCH?!  
**

**Why, yes...**

**What? Did you expect some _super-awesome demonic kick-assery every time?_**

**Nah, bro, That ain't how I roll.  
**

**Still, you did get some pretty grisly stuff towards the end, so _you're welcome._**

**I wanted to wrap this up quickly, so I just slammed all my cards on the table, here. I guess my interest just waned.  
**

**What'cha gonna do, eh? That's how it is, sometimes. (A.D.D. medication, I forgot to take this morning.)**

**However, I did LOVE the idea pitched by _Purplekitttensmiles_ in the reviews, that the killer is actually _Kristopherson_ . That is like, one of the BEST PLOT-TWISTS I have ever heard of. **

**Indeed, _major kudos to you_, good reader.**

** The only reason I didn't use it, was that I already had all this stuff set up for the arc, and I'm just not done with Kristopherson. There's so many things I still need him for. He hasn't come out to the others, yet, for example. That, and I just really like the character. GUILTY, I am, along with other readers.**

**Ugh... what am I gonna do for the next chapter...? Didn't you guys give me suggestions? AAAAAAAWWWW YEEEAAAHHH. I'll look at those then. I did look at them, I just forgot what exactly they said because I was in the middle of this arc. If I don't use a request, and just do my own thing, you'll be cool with that too, right? But if I DO, I'll put your username at the end of the chapter if I use one of those, m'kay? **

**Just don't expect them to be exactly what you had in mind.**

** I CANNOT READ YOUR BRAIN THROUGH A COMPUTER SCREEN, OR THROUGH ANY OTHER METHOD, FOR THAT MATTER.**

**CAPSLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCCC CKKKKK!**

**See you at the end of the next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	78. Back In School, And In The Friend Zone

Warwick Academy. This prestigious school is where the offspring of the social elite receive their education. Here, they study Mathematics, Literacy, History, as well as the fine arts. Yes, Warwick is such a fine school. Truly, it is worthy of praise, this wonderful example to academia!

That is, _most_ or the time. Yes, there are times when the children of Warwick act unruly. This day, just happened to be one of those times. You see, Warwick is just like any other school, in that it has cliques, and bullies, as well as other things. Today is one of those days where students such as those step out of the shadows to stalk what they believe to be easy prey.

Today also happens to be the day that a certain boy wearing a certain effeminately coloured tie, summoned all of his courage and decided to wear something he would ordinarily never wear. Today, he decided to don the legendary garment that no man or boy, for that matter has ever _dared_ walk the campus wearing, since "The Blonde Menace". Yes, you should know precisely what article I am referring to by this point. The legendary _short-shorts._

Kristopherson had a thing for effeminate clothes, and, with the moral support of the menace and his slate-haired companion, thought it was high-time he began to wear the kind of clothing he liked. He waited a long while before doing this due to the fact that he didn't want to be suspected of copying the _notorious Alois Trancy._

He was also very aware of the dangers of wearing the shorts. There would be those who disapproved, there would be those who mocked him. He would probably have to face a bully or two, but he felt as though he had to steel himself. The faux-blonde had to master the Trancy boy's technique of "_not giving a single fuck"_, should he desire to fully step out of the closet.

He knew all of this, yet that didn't prepare him for the vicious onslaught he would face on this day. From the moment he set foot on the school lawn, he had been shoved, verbally abused, he had belongings taken, and he had been threatened. Apparently, the bullies at the school _couldn't pick on the blonde menace_, therefore they focused all of their fire on the poor boy in the pink tie. He was having a hard time all over the place, lately. His tutor turned out to be a serial killer, and a cannibal, and now he was getting bullied. _It really just wasn't his week._

The faux-blonde was very well ready to go home, at this point. He didn't want to go to class. The boy hid in a stall of the boy's bathroom for several class periods. He couldn't bear to show his pitiful face to anyone.

Kristopherson's uniform was muddied from the many times he was shoved to the ground that day, his eyes were red and puffy from his tears, and his bag was torn from the many games of "keep away" he was forced to play with the his tormentors, most of them being older than him. He sat in the stall, just waiting for the day to end. He sniffled as he attempted to shove the memories of the past few hours to the back of his mind. Relentlessly, they didn't budge, stuck on replay in the boy's head.

_ "Hellooooooo?"_

The voice startled him, causing him to jump. He looked at the bottom of the door to see feet wearing black dress shoes as part of the Warwick uniform, and part of what appeared to be purple knee-socks.

"Kris, you in there?" the intruder asked, knocking on the stall door. Kristopherson recognized that voice. The boy it belonged to was one of the _last_ people he wanted to see him like this.

"Go away!" he shouted. His attempts to keep his voice steady failed, as his voice cracked.

"No can do, mate. 'Can't let you skip any more classes. Being a delinquent is _my_ thing!" the blonde boy on the other side of the door said in an attempt to make a joke. "C'mon, open up!"

His plea was met with silence. The boy in the pink tie didn't just his voice. He was afraid that if he spoke, he'd just break down again. Alois, however, did not appreciate being _ignored._

"Kris, if you don't open this door, I'll break it!" he threatened.

The boy in the stall disregarded the threat. "_Like he could."_ he thought to himself, continuing to stare at the feet from the gap between the door and the floor. His thought processes were interrupted, as the feet walked away. For a moment, he believed the boy gave up, but oh, how very _wrong_ he was.

Fast footsteps were heard before a loud crash against the stall door. It moved a bit before bouncing back into it's original position. The boy's eyes widened as he looked at the barrier's hinges, observing that they wouldn't hold for long.

"Are you _mental?!" _he shouted. It was more of an exclamation, that an inquiry.

"Kris, are you seriously _just now _noticing this?!" The blonde's feet walked away once more, preparing to give the boy another running start before he rammed the door with his shoulder once more. He was holding back, of course. After all, there was absolutely no need to use_ demonic _strength to break open a flimsy bathroom door, is there?

The footsteps were heard again, and this time the door gave way with the final blow, nearly hitting the boy on the other side. Once the barrier was gone, they could at last meet again, face-to-face.

"Alright?" was all the blonde said.

Kristopherson was speechless. The boy honestly couldn't think of anything to say. His torment was forgotten for a moment while he stared at this _insane_ boy in front of him.

"Now, now, what seems to be the matter, Pinky?" the blonde asked him, casually leaning against the door frame as though nothing had happened. "You look like you've been having a very well _awful_ day. Care to share?"

_"How on earth, does Ciel put up with you?"_

"That's not the question I asked..."

The boy in the pink tie sighed in exasperation. "You're _unbelievable,_ you know that? No wonder nobody picks on _you_ for the shorts..."

"Oh, so you've been bullied, huh? They stopped teasing me after they realised I didn't give a shit what they thought. Also, my anti-bullying techniques are unstoppable!" the blonde menace said proudly.

"And those 'techniques' would be...?"

"Seriously? I've used them on _you_ before, remember? I forced your insults back on you, and acted like a total nutter until you were too afraid to even come near me."

Kristopherson felt a pang of guilt in his chest at that. He had completely forgotten how mean he was to Alois. He didn't do it with the intention of being mean. No, he did it only to get the boy's_ attention_. Looking back, it was stupid of him, and it was wrong.

"Oh yeah..." he said, "I forgot..." He looked down, unable to even look the other boy in the eye. He was ashamed of his previous actions. "Look, I know it probably doesn't mean much now, but... I... I'm _sorry."_

Alois stood there, hanging onto every word the boy said. This was the first time someone who had wronged him in such a way apologized to him with such sincereity. It was now his turn to be speechless.

"I wasn't trying to be mean... In fact, I didn't even really know what I was doing was wrong. I must've made you feel awful... I'm sorry. I... I just... wanted you're attention, y'know?" Kristopherson swallowed hard, he figetted as he was about to drop a major bombshell on the blonde. "...Because... I... I think I _like _you..."

He knew he was going to be rejected. Alois had Ciel, after all. Still, he didn't expect what the blonde was going to say next.

"_I know_." Alois said. "You're like Ciel. _You both aren't that good at hiding it_." he smiled at the boy. "You know, Kris, you're very... _sweet._" He almost stumbled trying to find that word. Regardless, he continued. "That's why I'm gonna help you out."

The boy in the pink tie finally looked at the blonde. His face was completely red. "Uh... o-okay..." He was happy to finally get that off his chest, even more so that the blonde had called him "sweet". While he didn't get a boyfriend, he did get a _friend, _and that is almost just as well. Now he had someone to help him combat his tormentors. Maybe he should rely on friends more often when he was in need of help.

"First off, we need to get you a_ coin sock_."

"_What?"_

* * *

**A/N: Hullooooooooooooooo  
**

**Jumped back to skool romance. Murders? What murders? no1curr~!**

**This seems so jumpy, and doesn't make any sense, and doesn't feel like it goes here, but I'm posting it anyway, dammit!**

**Okay, okay, as for requests, this is actually lead-in for_ one. _I'll get on to them when I get to them, m'kay? **

**One small step for weasel, one giant leap for weasel-kind.**

**You guys, this fanfic... IT MAKES STRAIGHT GUYS GO "SQUEE" FOR SHOUNEN-AI.**

**Trufax.**

**My guy friends, yo... Some of them are now Ciel X Alois fans...**

**THAT'S HOW WE DO IT!**

**THAT'S HOW I ROLL!**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	79. Fair Punishment, And The Purple Knight

A smog of discomfort hung in the air in Headmaster Horton's office that day. Alois had apparently gone too far this time. He had even called in _Sebastian_ to discuss the boy.

"Mister Michaelis, It's so good to finally meet you!" the portly man said, gesturing to a nearby chair.

"Don't mind if I do." Said the raven-haired man in a casual manner. It was as though he remained completely unbothered by the fact that he was called here so suddenly.

With an exasperated sigh, Horton spoke. "Let me get straight to the point, Mr. Michaelis. I need to talk to you about your _adoptive son, Mr Trancy._ It appears he's been caught in an act of violence on campus."

"Oh my," the butler said in feigned surprise. "what ever did he do?"

"He has, reportedly, been caught threatening a group of students by waving around _a sock full of change._ When asked _why_ he did this, he said '_I had to return my friends honour to him'."_ he said, quoting the boy while frowning. He didn't seem the least bit amused.

The man clad in black, sitting on the opposite side of the desk refrained from chuckling at the thought. He could easily picture the blonde doing such a thing. "Who was the friend?"

"Kristopherson Miles." the headmaster said. "Mr. Trancy has actually been in here before for knocking the boy unconscious, but they are now apparently 'friends'. Why do you ask?"

"Well, lately the boys have been coming home, talking about how Miles was being bullied by a group of older boys."

"Do you think that could have been part of it?" Horton asked.

"I am nearly _positive_."

Silence fell over the room as the headmaster leaned forward in his chair and looked down at his hands, lying on the desk in front of him. He looked as though he might find an answer by doing so. Still, it was the man in black who spoke first.

"While _Alois_ has been known to commit acts of violence," he began. Somehow, calling the lad by his first name felt odd. "...As of late, his behaviour has improved immensely, to the point where he will only do so _if provoked._"

"Trancy... He's got some sort of... _mental illness,_ doesn't he? Phantomhive said that the last time he was in here."

"Yes. Alois has developed a few... _complications_ due to his _troubled past,_ you see. He really can't help it, Mister Horton." Sebastian was pulling the strings as Ciel did last time, making the headmaster take pity on the boy and let him off the hook, however, there was _one_ minute detail in the way.

"He also reportedly _broke the door off of a bathroom stall_, for some reason."

_"We'll be sure to take responsibility and cover the damages."_ While it wasn't his place to make such promises, he was sure his young master wouldn't mind, and agree that it was only fair.

With another sigh, the headmaster had no choice but to let go. "Very well then. However, Mister Trancy is going to need punishment for the happenings today. Two weeks after school detention." he said.

"That sounds just."

"Thank you so much for your time today, Mr. Michaelis. I hope Alois improves."

Stepping out of the large office, Sebastian closed the door behind him and looked next to the door to see both "children" sitting in chairs, waiting on him.

"Well?" the bluenette lad asked. While the other one figetted guiltily. While the blonde was unable to see why what he did was _wrong,_ he was able to see that his actions had upset people, and gotten him in trouble which was pretty good for him.

"The headmaster said Alois must attend after-school detention for two weeks, _and that we need to pay to fix the bathroom stall door he broke."_ the butler replied.

Ciel looked over at the blonde boy next to him, half-angrily, half-questioningly, at that last part. "_You broke a door in the bathroom?"_

The blonde shrugged. "I couldn't get Kris to come out, otherwise..." he said quietly.

"Very well then. We should be able to manage that." The bluenette sighed. There simply was no helping it. There was no use getting mad at the blonde for what has already happened. "_Just don't do it again."_ he warned.

"Roger that!"

"Well, if there was one good thing that came out of this, it's that Mister Miles shouldn't have to worry about bullying for a while." Sebastian mused, chuckling slightly. "And it's all thanks to his _purple knight."_ He was given a mean look by his young master as the boy stood up.

"_Whatever."_ he said with just a tinge of jealousy.

"_Purple Knight?"_ What nonsense! The boy in the eye-patch simply couldn't see it- or rather, _didn't want to._ Alois was _his,_ and no one would change that. Ciel simply wouldn't allow it.

"If I'm _'the purple knight', _what does that make _Ciel? 'The Blue Prince'?"_ the blonde in question joked, igniting a set of mixed feelings in the other boy.

"_Shut up."_ While the bluenette liked that Alois thought of him that way, and he liked the regality of the prince, a prince is just a male version of a "princess", right? He didn't like that idea _at all._ His competitive nature and pride would not allow him to be "whisked away on a white horse" by _anyone_, even Alois. He was in charge here.

"Oh, Ciel, you're so _charming!_ Even if I'm a knight, I'd be your _princess any day!"_

_ "Shut up!"_

_ "Ooh... _maybe you're a _dragon..."_

_ "ALOIS!"_

* * *

**A/N: _Gentlemen, it has often been said that I like war... My friends, I like war..._  
**

**Oops, wrong series!**

_**(No! My Friends, I LOVE war.)**_

**Kudos, if you know it, yo. **

**I don't even...**

**This started with an idea/request from _tory332_ (Hello, may I ask how are you today?) Where "_something happens at school so Sebastian has to come to school_". I totally had this, then everything just sort of fell into place like this. That's how these chapters come about, mostly...**

**Dunno if this is what you had in mind, but I gave it a shot!**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	80. 1970

It was an ordinary Saturday, just like any other in the Phantomhive household. Things were running smoothly, everything was relaxed, and there was really nothing out of the ordinary at all for this house of demons, except for _one thing._ Ciel had just walked into his office and witnessed something _rather abnormal._ Something that he thought he'd _never see._

_ Alois Trancy was reading a book out of his own free will._

Had the bluenette just set foot in the _Twilight Zone?_ That would never happen. Ever. Alois _hated_ reading. He would sooner wear _pants_ than read a _book_, yet here he was, sitting on the almost _unbearably uncomfortable couch_, reading. The Phantomhive boy stopped in his tracks and watched the blonde for a while, taking this in.

"What?" the blonde finally asked after noticing the stare he was getting.

"You're... _reading?_ Reading... a _book?"_ asked his rather confused companion.

"Psh, _no." _Alois said, holding up the book. "I found it on your shelf. I found a_ bunch _of them, actually." What the boy held in his hand, was a rare item. That was no ordinary "book". What he possessed, was none other than _one of Ciel Phantomhive's school yearbooks._

I say "one of" for the simple fact that he had _many._ He had been around for a while, you see. He had gone to many different schools, posing as a "human being" in order to kill time. He was very _bored_. So bored, _that he eventually resorted to resurrecting one of his old enemies._

He gestured for the boy to scoot over so he could take a seat. Ciel sat down next to the blonde, and looked with him at the old albums. He always had mixed feelings, looking at them. He felt nostalgic, but at the same time, irritated. He hadn't changed in _any_ of the pictures. The only thing that ever changed was his uniform.

Admittedly, it was also a little embarrassing to be looking at them with Alois, but the blonde was deeply fascinated by the yearbooks. "Who's that?" the boy asked, pointing at some kid talking to Ciel in one of the pictures.

"An old classmate. We would talk occasionally. He was weird, though."

"How so?"

"_He liked to eat glue."_

That made the blonde laugh. "What happened to him?"

"_He's still alive_, if that's what you're wondering. He has a wife and kids now, I think."

"Da'aw,_ and you're still the same height_, huh?" The bluenette just jabbed Alois in the ribs as a retort.

Rubbing his now pained ribcage, the blonde somehow came up with an afterthought. "Hey, Ciel. What's the_ worst thing about living forever_?"

Ciel was completely taken off-guard by the odd question. Honestly, Alois' train of thought seemed to be not be riding on any tracks whatsoever. He sat and thought about it for a moment before giving his answer.

"Everything constantly changing." he began, "The scenery, the fashion, the technology,and worst of all, _the people._"

"Hard to make friends when the day will come when you have to explain the reason why you don't age, huh?"

"Yeah..." he said sadly.

That was probably the most difficult thing. Even the antisocial Ciel needed someone to talk to, and that was impossible to maintain with his "_condition_". He had always felt so alienated and alone. Anyone would get sick of it eventually.

These melancholic thoughts circled in his mind for a bit before he felt the blonde's arms around his neck. "_You don't have to be alone anymore_." the blonde said cutely in an attempt to lift the bluenette's spirits.

A smile crept onto Ciel's face against his will. How could it not? This blonde, this _insane deliquent bent on wrecking as much havoc as he could,_ had snuck his way into the slate-haired teen's heart, and wouldn't leave, and he didn't want Alois to ever do so.

Looking at that face, he couldn't help but kiss it. He tilted the blonde's chin upwards and guided his lips to his own. Slowly, he was getting used to this sort of thing. Usually any form of intimacy was immediately shunned by the bluenette, but when they where alone like this, he felt as though it was perfectly acceptable, and _enjoyable._

Their lips parted, leaving only a small thread of saliva bridging the gap between them until it snapped. "And _that_, my friend," the blonde said, "is how you _french kiss."_

Ciel touched his now slightly swollen lips and tried to hide his ever-darkening blush. The blonde just smiled at him. "I was surprised you went for it." he continued. "_Almost as surprised as I was when I found this picture."_

Holding up the yearbook they were looking at previously, Alois pointed to a photo of the Phantomhive boy wearing _shorts that stopped at mid-thigh _taken at what appears to be some sporting event_._ Smirking triumphantly as the slightly shorter boy reached for the book, but failing to grasp it as it was held _just _out of his reach.

"_Hey! Those were worn by everyone in the 1970s_!" he shouted.

"_You still wore them! _I am _so_ making copies of this!"

"_Moron!_ I can't believe I _kissed _you!"

"I love you too, darling!"

"_I WILL DESTROY YOU!"_

* * *

**A/N: Oh, my~!  
**

**Yeah, I have no explanation for this one...**

**They _do_ have yearbooks in the U.K., but they _don't_ have class rings.**

**Truefax.  
**

**Class rings are kind of stupid, anyway. I had the choice of getting a class ring, or a bunch of manga. I WENT FOR THE MANGA LIKE THE LITTLE GEEK THAT I AM, AND REGRET NOTHING. **

**Call me crazy, (and many of my classmates do because of this) but over a hundred dollars for something I won't even CARE about after highschool is a bit steep. **

**Practicality Shininess**

**F*cks given = zero**

**Power level 9,000**

**Chances of Author's Notes having any relevancy to anything = approx. 0.1%**

**I did, however, buy a yearbook. _Most talented 2013! _YOLO**

**God, I should be punched just for typing "YOLO"...**

**I AM SO ASHAMED.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	81. Preston's Dilema

Warwick Academy: the creme de la creme of prestigious private schools. Here, the offspring of the social elite go to receive their education. The parents of the students here come from all sorts of business areas. Some are actors, some politicians, some specialize in various industries such as fashion, pharmaceuticals, technology, business, all the way to _toys_, of all things. And as the children of these financial giants, they are expected to learn well in order to succeed their parents.

They begin to form connections now, so that they may gain from them in the future. Here, although it was unfortunate, friendships aren't always based on things such as mutual understanding, or compassion. Today, we see examples of this throughout the classroom.

"Did you study for that test today in science?" asked Kristopherson Miles, to his friend, Daniel Westly.

"Nope. Not a bit. I was just planning on copying off of _Preston_." the obnoxious boy replied, looking over to his ethnic friend, patting him on the back. "Alright?"

"Yeah... Alright..." Preston was a good example of friendship for the sake of profit. The boy of Indian descent was the son of the head of an electronics and technology company, and didn't really have actual "friends".

Daniel was the son of a major Politician, therefore possibly beneficial to befriend. Kristopherson was the son of an actor and a fashion tycoon, so being friends with him could be profitable. Preston was friends with Travis because Travis' mother, owner of a large jewelry manufacturer, bought _mining equipment_ from his, to dig for _diamonds_. Last by not least was the Phantomhive boy, the owner of a major toy company. The Funtom company would sometimes by electronic equipment in order to manufacture some of their more _modern toys_. Alois was only friends with him because he was friends with the bluenette. These were the reasons why Preston was even sitting at their table.

In all honesty, Preston didn't really like being around some of them. They could be bullies. Especially Kristopherson and Daniel. They were the worst. However, he wouldn't jeopardize his profit by standing up for himself.

"Are you sure you're okay with that, Preston?" the bluenette asked. He noticed the look on the boys face, and already knew the answer. Ciel knew about Preston's reasons, and understood them entirely, therefore seldom interfered.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it's fine." _No it wasn't._ "I don't really mind..." the boy trailed of. He _did_ mind because if they were caught, he would be in a ton of trouble along with them.

"Oh! I just remembered! My parents are going to be gone for a few weeks and said I could have friends over whenever I wanted. You guys in?" The faux-blonde in the silly pink tie asked.

In response the blonde menace rose from his seat and shouted: "Hell yeah! I've been practicing in the art of _the ping-pong_, and demand a rematch with Preston!" Alois was eager to try again, after losing last time. He wasn't going to loose.

"I'm in! I can't wait to see Trancy mop the floor with you, Preston!"

"What?! But this is such sudden notice..." The small-ish Indian boy's words were drowned out by the excited shouting of the others.

"What about you, Travis?" the sturdily-built boy just nodded in response. "Whoo! Travis is in! It's a party!"

"Out of curiosity," Ciel chimed in, "Where are your parents off to, Kristopherson?"

"Paris. My mum's got a fashion show."

_ "Hooray for fashion!_ Party at Pinky's place!"

"Don't call me 'Pinky'_ Daniel!"_

"So only_ Alois _can call you that, huh?"

"I've long since given up on arguing with him about it..." the boy in the pink tie said, his face entering a shade worthy of his nickname.

"A broken heart is a terrible thing..."

"_Shut up!"_

_"Ping-pong! Ping-Pong! Ping-Pong! __**Pong-ping!"**_ chanted Alois, as he stood in his chair while his bluenette companion shouted at him.

_** "Alois, sit down!"**_

How on earth was poor Preston going to deal with all of this? He spent a long time thinking about it, but the scheduled day arrived, and before he knew it, he was standing outside of Kristopherson's house. He debated going in for a long while. So long, that his driver had already taken off. Town was quite the walk, had he reconsidered, and the driver wouldn't be back for several hours. While he didn't especially want to spend time with Kristopherson and Daniel, the others were tolerable. The boy paced back and forth outside the gate as a black Rolls Royce pulled up. Two boys exited the vehicle, one with dark hair, and the other flaxen.

"Preston!" the loud blonde shouted, nearly causing the boy to have a heart attack. He turned around and discovered it to be none other than Ciel Phantomhive, and Alois Trancy. "What are you doing out here?"

"Uh... _Nothing_. I was just about to go inside..." Preston lied. Now that he was seen by the two demons, he _had_ to go inside. _Perfect._

He began to walk through the gates, as the other two followed, the blonde one was nearly _skipping_. With a sigh, he knocked on the door, expecting one of the Miles family servants, but instead finding _Daniel Westly _on the other side.

"You're here!" the obnoxious son of a politician said. "Now the main event can commence!"

_"Huh?"_

* * *

**A/N: I WRITE WHAT I WANT!  
**

**Still, I feel like there is WAY too much focus on OCs. This, however, is set-up for the PING-PONG MATCH OF THE CENTURY.**

**Last time I mentioned Ping-Pong, Alois was supposed to play against Preston, because that's how that worked out. HOWEVER, I was unable to fit the battle in that chapter, therefore it is on now!**

**But, I felt like I should give a little insight into Preston's character first. He's hardly mentioned, and he has issues too, y'know? AND THUS THE BATTLE SHALL BE MORE HEATED.**

**TRANCY versus OMID**

**WHO WILL WIN?!**

**(We all already know.)**

**UNTIL THE SHOWDOWN, DUCKIES!**

**(Wrestling announcer voice?)**


	82. And Then It Hit Him

Two boys were placed at each end of the table in the entertainment room of the Miles Household that day, seeking victory in the form of crushing the other. They didn't have much in common, other than the fact that they were both male, and in the same grade. The first was _Alois Trancy,_ a problem child from the 18th century who was murdered, resurrected, and became a demon. He had blonde hair, icey blue eyes, and pale skin, wore lots of purple, and was secretly dating another boy in the room. He smirked confidently at his certain victory.

The other boy went by the name of _Preston Omid. _He is a slightly shorter, shy, _human_ boy, of Indian descent, with dark hair and eyes, and tanned skin. While he wasn't especially competitive, something about how the way the blonde smirked, made him want to prove the boy _wrong_.

A third boy, Daniel spoke. "Alright! And now it is almost time to begin the rematch of the century, between two students of Warwick!" he said in his best "announcer" voice. "To my left, at one side of the table standing at about 5'5'', Warwick's own _'Blonde Menace'. _You know him! You love him! _Alois Trancy!"_

_ "Jesus Christ, Daniel, just get on with it!" _shouted an annoyed Kristopherson, seated comfortably on the couch.

_ "And on my right, Preston."_

Preston rolled his eyes at the lack of introduction._ "Daniel could be such a prick, sometimes." _he would often think. While the brown-haired politician's son would often say otherwise, Preston was actually _the_ _best_ ping-pong player of the group. He smiled internally at the fact that he was going to _destroy_ the new-player. He threw the ball into the air and hit it, causing it to fly across the room at a ridiculous speed towards the other boy.

Now, Alois wasn't exactly playing _"fair"_, so to speak, having the reflexes and hand-eye coordination of a _demonic apparition_. Once he understood the rules, the game was easy. The blonde swatted the ball, returning it to it's original attacker.

The other boy was a bit startled by the fact that he had actually _hit it_, and stuck again, this time bouncing it off the table and high into the air. Alois jumped in order to hit it again, succeeding, much to Preston's frustration. He _could not loose._ If he lost, Daniel would _never_ let him hear the end of it. Now, he had to be _serious_.

Back and forth, the projectile went across the gap in between the two competitors. It flew at such speeds, most of the spectators lost track of it entirely, and were only able to see the two swing their paddles, and hear the sound the ball made against the table. The only one who could see it where the games participants, and Ciel, who possed sight similar to that as Alois', aside from his inferior_ depth perception_, caused by a certain contract on his right eye.

Neither male was allowing the other to score, leaving the tally at _nil_-to-_nil`_ for a long while.

"Whoa, things are getting _intense!"_ Daniel said excitedly. "Alright, who'll win! Time to place bets! I say Preston will win!_ Fifty quid on the Indian!"_

"Same here, I bet on Preston." Said Kristopherson.

"Preston." added in Travis.

"I disagree. I's be willing to place my bet on _Alois."_ Ciel said finally, with a smirk. "Double or nothing?"

"Oh, you are so on!" Daniel said, extending his hand to the bluenette. "Prepare to _lose_, Phantomhive!" And thus, they shook on that bet.

Meanwhile, the two adversaries were locked in a heated battle, shooting the small, plastic ball across the room at each other. Preston now started to shoot the projectile a tad off course, in hopes that the blonde would eventually miss. But it was all for naught as his opponent caught every single hit and propelled it back at him, sometimes jumping to do so.

Preston had had enough. He summoned all of his strength and frustration into his right hand, hitting the ball with exceptional force with the hope that it would somehow make it past the blonde. It didn't.

The blonde anticipated this, and took a step back. He began to spin his entire body, as though he were dancing, and when the ball came, it met the paddle and rebounded with twice of the force the Indian boy had given.

The bluenette had seen this move once before, but not in a game of ping-pong. He saw it in a game of _cricket._ The spin uses centrifical force to create an absurdly powerful shot. The move was called "_The Crimson Tornado"_, and was a specialty of _The Crimson Fox House_ at Weston College. How on earth the blond knew that move was beyond the bluenette, but he knew it, and had just used it _indoors._

His eye widened as the ball completely flew past Preston and ricocheted around the room. At the speed and force with which it was travelling, it could actually _hurt someone._

"Everyone! _Duck!"_ he shouted, and everyone obeyed, ducking under tables and covering their heads. Everyone, except Preston.

The boy apparently didn't know what was happening, as he could no longer see the sphere. He just stood there, wondering why everyone was cowering all of a sudden.

_And then it hit him._

The boy fell to the floor with a thud after having stopped the rouge ping-pong ball. He laid there, holding his forehead with absolutely no idea what just happened. It all happened so fast.

"Holy shit!" Kristopherson shouted. Everyone walked over to the boy to see that he was all right. When they finally pried the boy's hands from his head, it was revealed that a large bruise had already started to form.

"Oh man, his parents are going to be _so_ mad!"

"_His_ parents?! Forget _his _parents, Kris! What about _ours?!"_ Daniel exclaimed. He had already been in trouble earlier that week for getting caught cheating on a science test, and he did not wan t his parents to scold him again.

"Will you two shut up for a few minutes?" Ciel asked, taking charge of the situation. "We have bigger things to worry about. Depending on how hard the ball hit him, he may or may not have a concussion." he informed the boys.

"Shit!"

In conclusion, Preston went to the hospital that day, and, other than the massive bruise on his forehead, turned out to be perfectly fine. He refuses to play ping-pong with Alois ever again. The boy still isn't too fond of either Daniel or Kristopherson, but wasn't hassled by the two for losing.

Kristopherson and Daniel where scolded by both their own parents, as well as Preston's. Kristopherson is no longer able to have people over when his parents are out. Travis however, received the least amount of discipline, due to the fact that he was barely involved.

Alois was declared the "Ping-Pong Champion", but overall, it was _Ciel_ who came out on top during this whole episode. Due to his little bet with the other boys, he walked away with one-hundred and fifty quid in his pocket. Yes, it is the Phantomhive boy who _always _wins...

* * *

**A/N: Ciel, you gangsta.  
**

**£150 is about $228.62 in U.S. currency.**

**The more you know.**

**...And knowing is half the battle! **

**G.I. Joooooooooooeeeee~!**

**I also referenced the manga.**

**BOOM!**

**YOU SEE THAT SH*T?!**

**A request/suggestion thingy from animexpert-Shizuen. **

**May you be ever-victorious in future ping-pong crusades.  
**

**TO NARNIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**

**Anyways, until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	83. From Warwick With Love

A sigh escaped the lips of a certain brown-haired boy, as he received his graded test on this day. Daniel Westly was exactly a "bright" boy, but he still knew when he was in seriously trouble. His grades needed serious improvement if he so much as _hoped_ to advance to the next grade.

"Prestooooon! Help meeee!" he whined to his friend.

"No!" Preston said. He was still rather peeved after the ping-pong incident. Even angrier that they _took bets_ during the match. "You're on your own this time. I'm not going to jepordize _my _grade point average by getting caught helping _you_ cheat! Find someone else!"

While the bruise on his forehead hurt, Preston finally felt good about standing up for himself. Somehow competing seriously while holding nothing back had stuck a chord with the boy. Now he was speaking his mind much more often, and was noticeably happier. _Or maybe the pin-pong ball to the head rewired his brain._

"Ugh! Fine! Kris?"

"Hahaha, that's a good one."

"Travis?"

"No."

"You guys suck!" Daniel exclaimed._ "Help me Ciel Phantomhive, you are my only hope!"_

_ "My help is never free. Pay the price or do it yourself."_ The bluenette said.

"Fine, what do you want?"

"Your _soul_." Alois chimed in jokingly. While the joke was funny to the other children, it was even funnier to both he and the bluenette_ for reasons you may already know_.

"Oh _come on!_ Not even just this once?!"

"_Nope_. I would say _'I'm sorry', _but _I'm not_." Ciel said with a smirk. "Maybe _Alois _will help."

"You are _hilarious,_ you know that?"

"Hey!" Alois may not appear to be the brightest of the group, but he wasn't exactly "stupid." He was smart enough to help solve murders and such, nor was he easily swindled (anymore). While he is, in a word, "blonde", he is certainly, not behind in his studies, and he hasn't even received that extensive of an education!

"No offense blondie, but what exactly did _you_ make on the test?" Westly asked.

"An eighty-six."

"Wow, Daniel... You were beaten by Alois by a mile..." Kristopherson teased, noting the boy's score of _forty-five_.

"Shut up! There is no way you got that without cheating, Trancy!"

"Me? Cheat? No, not I, good sir. I honestly couldn't be bothered." the blonde said wistfully while tapping his fingers briefly on the desk.

"Then how am I going to pass this next test?! I don't know anything about math!"

"What's two plus two, Daniel?" asked Ciel.

"Daniel, how many sides does a triangle have?" Alois asked.

"Do you know how many fingers you have?" inquired the faux-blonde.

"How many am I holding up, Daniel?" asked Preston.

All of the boys were mocking him. This, of course, did not tickle his fancy. "Shut up! I'm serious!" Daniel shouted.

"_Well,_ I'm sure I could come up with _something._" said the Phantomhive boy once more. "However, my _insight _isn't free, either."

"What'll it cost me?"

"Bring him some cake, and he'll be in the palm of your hand." Alois chimed in, earning him a jab to the ribcage.

"_Pass._ Ugh... But if I don't do _something_, my old man will _kill_ me!"

Alois tuned out when he heard "Old", and "Man" in the same sentence, passing the baton to Ciel. Continuing the conversation was now in his hands.

"Maybe you should just start to pay attention in class, and stop doing things to frustrate him so often." he plainly suggested. It was obvious, but apparently, the brown-haired boy needed to be told.

"Well then _he_ should quit frustrating _me!_ He's always harping on me for 'not behaving the way a future politician should'." the boy said, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"You don't want to be a politician?" asked Preston. The thought that someone wouldn't want to succeed their parents was almost _unheard_ of at this school. It was almost an unspoken rule that they would eventually do so, and for someone to even try to break that rule was preposterous!

"Ugh! No way! It sounds so _boring!_ I dunno what I want to be, but I don't want to be _that!"_

_ "It's okay, Daniel. Society still needs people to work the corners!"_

The circle erupted into laugher. Even the Phantomhive boy chortled at the unexpected joke from the Indian boy. Daniel was the only one _not_ to laugh.

"_Hahaha, very funny!"_ he said sarcastically. "Laugh it up, but I'm not the only one not to know what they'll be doing! There's still Kris, and Travis, and Alois!" The boys went silent, except for Alois, who just giggled. "Right?" Daniel asked, his clever counter-argument fading away before his very eyes."

Shockingly, it was the always-quiet Travis to speak first. "I'm going to be taking over my mum's business." he said.

"Jewelry? Really? I thought you'd go for your dad's pro-wrestling."

"No, no, no. I'm no fighter. Besides, riding on the coat-tails of someone else's fame is kind of shady, in my opinion."

"Yeah, that's why I didn't take up acting." Kristopherson said. "I'm going to be taking over _my_ mum's fashion line."

"Pssh... _Gay!"_

_ "Maybe so, but both of my parents were p-perfectly fine with that!"_ the faux-blonde said, crossing his arms defensively. A slight blush stained his cheeks, as he forced out the words.

All eyes focused in on the boy in the pink tie at that moment. Even Alois, who had long since tuned out, tuned back in. They were all shocked at what the boy had said. Did he mean what they thought he meant? There was but one way to find out.

"_You came out to you're parents?"_ Ciel finally asked.

"_Yes, yes I did_."

"Way to go, Miles! It's about damn time you admitted to your _queer ways_!" Daniel said, slapping the boy on the back in a congratulatory manner.

The faux-blonde's eyes went wide at that last sentence. "Wait, you _knew!? _Phantomhive!_ Did you tell?!"_ he inquired in a nearly panicked tone, shifting his gaze to the bluenette.

"No. They figured it out all on their own." the eye-patch-wearing teen said with an oh-so-minute grin. "I may be a _liar_, and a _cheater_, but one thing I will never do, is _go back on my word."_ There was a dark regality in the manner with which he spoke that gave the other five boys _chills._

Silence hovered in the air after that as they tried to regain their senses. The boy's ever-lingering dark, almost _otherworldly_ presence was sometimes both frightening, but at the same time, _invigorating_.

"Wait, why'd you only tell _Phantomhive?"_ Daniel finally asked, shattering the silence to pieces. Ciel's grin faded, and the blonde menace leaned forward, resting his chin in the palm of his hand, as though he wanted to hear this.

"I'm sorry, but_ I'm afraid what would happen to me for giving away such classified information_..." Kristopherson stated, trying his very best to ignore the figurative _ice-beam_ that the bluenette was apparently shooting at him with his visible eye.

He didn't even want to imagine his possible sentence. It would appear that _the smallest boy in the group_ was far scarier than _the brawny son of a professional wrestler._ Why is that? The boy owns a _toy company_, for Christ's sake! Regardless, everyone knew better than to cross the boy. Come to think of it,_ he rather loathed that Goddard boy that went missing awhile ago._ The faux-blonde shook away the thought...

"Fine! Be that way! What about _you Trancy?_ What do you plan to do with your life?" Daniel asked, turning his attention to the rather relaxed looking, flaxen-haired teen sitting next to the _ice-cyclops._

The boy seemed to enter deep thought for a moment, not very long though. "Dunno. Haven't thought about it, really." he said.

"Maybe become Phantomhive's _trophy wife?"_ The beam that was being directed at Kristopherson earlier reconfigured itself to fire at the brown-haired boy in an instant, chilling him to the bone.

"Why am I always the '_wife'?"_

"Because Phantomhive has the _superior masculinity _of the two of you." Kristopherson noted.

"How so?"

"Two words: '_booty', 'shorts'."_

"But Kris, you're wearing the same shorts..."

"I am not, Preston! My shorts, are in fact, _longer,_ and _less revealing!"_

_ "Don't even pretend you don't like my legs."_ the blonde said, putting his feet on the table with a mischievous smirk. The ice-beam shifted it's attention to the blonde, causing him to plant his feet firmly to the ground once more.

"You are also 'gayer' than Ciel by quite a bit, as revealed by your previous statement, sir." Daniel added.

"Au contrare, mon ami. I am _bisexual_, not _gay_."

"And who's to say Ciel _isn't?"_ At this point, the ice beam just changed the temperature of the entire room.

"I never said he was _anything_. I was just correcting you." Alois stated in an attempt to quell the cyclops's murderous aura.

"You? _Bisexual? Really?"_ Kristopherson asked patronizingly.

"_Really_. I have as much appreciation for the female figure as any other man." the room was getting colder, and colder with every word.

"Not convinced."

"Why not?"

"You? And _breasts?"_

_ "They are like heavenly pillows of such softness, that God himself, felt as though they where never meant for any mortal man to cherish."_ Why did that remind Ciel of someone? He knew that Alois and the Viscount Druitt weren't _actually_ related, but there where times when the blonde mocked him almost _too well._ He knew it was a parody, and yet the air became colder still.

"That's... quite frightening, actually." Daniel said.

"Yeah, but still, I think Ciel's chest is _way more interesting._"

The temperature rose as the bluenette's face flushed. He stared daggers at the blonde boy, but they didn't seem to have any effect. The other five just stared at the boy questioningly before their attention turned to the eye-patched gentleman himself, and back again.

"You saw his chest?" Daniel asked.

"Why is that important? He's a _guy_." Preston questioned.

"That's not the point! Have you ever _seen_ Phantomhive's torso? He's always the last to leave the changing room during P.E, and he wore a shirt with his trunks during Kris' pool party!"

Ciel looked like he was going to kill someone at this point, if not all five of the other boys, _including Alois_ for starting this. His killing intent was clearly visible by all of them, but ignored by the blonde.

"There's a reason for this, you see. They're _**for my eyes only**__."_ he said.

"You are _too gay_ to be _**James Bond**__."_ Daniel stated

_ "So is __**J. Micheal Tatum**__, but that never stopped him from playing a __**British butler **__who many girls would gladly throw their panties at." _The palm of Ciel's hand made contact with his forehead at the blonde's absurd statement. Where on earth was this conversation going?

Apparently Preston knew, since he was the only one of the bunch to even get Alois' _obscure reference._ "But Alois, he also played _**France**__."_

_ "So he's a cheese-eating surrender monkey?"_ Kristopherson asked.

"No, he's an _American."_

"Oh, would you look at the time? Class is over. _I'm leaving you idiots."_ Ciel said, quickly gathering his things.

"I won't let you escape, _Goldfinger!"_

_ "Alois, unless you want pain inflicted on your entire being, I suggest you __**quietly **__do the same."_

_ "...Yes, my lord..."_

...And that is why Alois came home with a large bump on his head.

* * *

**A/N: I BET YOU WONDERED WHERE I WAS GOING WITH THAT, HUH?!  
**

**Well, so did I, actually...**

**I had absolutely no plan for this one, therefore I threw a few jokes on the page.**

**YOU THINK I PLAN THIS RUBBISH?!**

**LUDICROUS!**

**Nope. Often I improvise, with a very vague idea. But this time, I had NOTHING.**

**Dunno why I referenced James Bond, either. I rather don't like James Bond. He's kinda sleazy, if you ask me. The new guy is pretty _okay_, though. (Still kinda sleazy...) AT LEAST HE SHOOTS PEOPLE LIKE HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.**

**BOOM.**

**THAT JUST HAPPENED.**

**If you are a Bond fan, I am so sorry if I offended you...**

**This party just took a turn for the douche...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies...**


	84. A Trial Worthy Of Hercules

Today is a strange day in Phantomhive manor. It would appear that the entire garden has been turned into a garden/_obstacle course_ two-in-one combination. For what purpose could the head of the household do such a thing?

The boy sat in a folding lounge-chair on the patio just admiring the view. His butler had certainly out-done himself in this attempt to fulfill such a strange request. The garden looked as it normally did, but was now rigged with various dangerous traps at every turn. The only safe place being the padio where the boy sat, with an evil little grin plastered across his face.

To his left, stood his blonde friend, dressed in unusually practical clothes, wearing a rather serious expression. This was due to the fact that _he_ was to cross this trechorous course, and thus explaining the bluenette's amused attitude today. The course was made in order to test the limits of his _demonic power_.

"Is it almost done, Sebastian?" the bluenette boy called to the butler via walkies-talkie. The bulter was somewhere in the maze, doing God-knows-what.

Alois was, understandably, a bit concerned about the fact that _Sebastian_ made the course. The blonde and the man clad in black weren't on the best of terms, you see. While they shared the common interest of teasing the Phantomhive boy, the butler was still a bit _peeved_ about the blonde forcing him into eternal servitude. He was occasionally passive-aggressive towards the boy, but overall, they got along fine. They wouldn't exactly seek each other out for conversation, but they could get along out of necessity. It was the boy's hope that they would eventually become more friendly towards one another, but today, his thoughts were honed in on this trial that the bluenette had arranged for him. It also was a bit unsettling how unusually bubbly Ciel was over this.

"It is completed. You may start when ready, my lord." the man's voice called over the communication device.

"Alright, then." Ciel grinned, bringing the silver whistle tied around his neck to his lips. "Ready? Go!"

At the sound of the whistle, Alois darted onto the course. It didn't take long for him to run across the first trap, a sink hole. His foot started to sink, causing him to reflexively jump into the air to avoid the hazard. However, upon becoming airbourne, he was promptly shot by several _paintballs,_ dyeing his shirt blue, and causing him to land in a_ rose bush_.

The boy on the patio laughed at the ridiculous show out on by the _foul-mouthed_ blonde, and _reloaded his paintball gun_. Alois had quite the vocabulary when it came to dirty words and rude sayings. He screamed at the top of his lungs for several minutes before finally getting himself unstuck from the infernal plant. His cuts and bruises healed up almost instantly and he ventured on, ignoring the insidious cackling he heard from behind him.

Obviously his tactic of simply storming forward like a herd of stampeding wildebeests wasn't working at all, as he didn't get very far. He tripped on a wire, and fell face-first into the dirt, before rolling over and dodging a falling vat of tar. He immediately got up and started to run again as, judging by the previous trap, another trap was _waiting_. However, the blonde's habit of blindly charging forward only spring the next trap, as he stepped on another wire that triggered a small catapult, flinging pillows at him. The feathers flew as they fit him straight in the face.

It was at that point, that it clicked in the boy's mind what the tar was for. It was more of a _prank_ than a_ trap_.

"_REALLY?!" _he shouted to the heavens, coughing up a feather that had somehow made it's way into his mouth. Meanwhile, the boy on the patio was watching with a telescope. He was enjoying every moment of this.

At this point, Alois was finally begining to rethink his strategy. Now he was going to try utilizing all of his senses to anticipate the traps, and avoid them. He did this once before during his match of ping-pong with Preston, using his superior sensitivity to find a nearly invisible sphere, and his superior reflexes to hit it. Now he was certain that he could do this.

Upon changing his game plan, he was able to avoid various wires that would no doubt activate some humiliating prank, and progressed further into the garden with few problems. Confidently, he ran along, doding projectiles and triggers and other obstacles. He was doing well.

Then he heard it. There was a small "_click"_ as his foot made contact with the earth. The blonde's eyes widened as he readied himself on all sides. His front, his back, his left, and his right, were all prepared for an attack. However, none of those were the direction this attack was coming from. _It came from right underneath his feet_.

_**BOOM!**_

The explosion completely stunned the boy for a few moments as it launched him high into the air. He was snapped from his stupor as he felt the stinging sensation of being shot by paintballs return to him. His clothes were further dyed blue, now with a few _black _spots appearing on his side_. Sebastian was close by_.

Mother earth greeted him harshly as he landed in another thorny rose bush. Upon further inspection, the garden was _full_ of rose bushes. Why, oh why did the Phantomhive boy have to have such fondness for such a prickly plant?

The burns on his leg healed before his very eyes, but that didn't change the fact that he was now missing both a _boot _and a _pants leg._ How was he supposed to know they would resort to _mines_? Now they were just being flat-out _cruel! _Still, the test was designed to test his limits as a demon, and as such, demons are far more durable than humans, therefore require trials that may be, in some cases, considered a bit _extreme._

Alois made his way out of the second bush and dusted himself off, wincing as he stepped on a small, sharp pebble with his naked foot. He couldn't continue like this. Summoning all his power, he burst into those familiar black flames, transforming into his demonic form. He now had two out of two boots, protecting his feet, but had nothing protecting his shoulders or _abdomen._ Ciel just watched from the sidelines, allowing himself to oogle the boy's form a bit, since _no one was looking_.

_Now_ the blonde could keep going. Once his form changed, he noticed his senses were a bit sharper than before, including his _sixth sense._ The boy stopped before rounding another corner, feeling that charging around it would end in disaster. The boy cautiously peeked his head around the corner, and looked at the ground. Slowly, he crouched down and picked up a rock before proceeding to throw it down the path that troubled him.

As soon as that rock entered a certain point, he heard the sound of machinery activating. Then about ten different paint ball guns, concealed within the hedges, fired on both sides. _Motion sensors._

_ "Who do you think you are?! LEX LUTHOR?!"_ he shouted once more to the heavens, shaking his fists. however, the remark was most likely directed at _Ciel_, who was immensely entertained by the boys outbursts.

"_'Lex Luthor'?_" he quoted, lowering the telescope for a moment to rub his eye. "Now _that _could be_ fun." _he mused with a smirk. The boy sat on the edge of his seat in anticipation of the blonde's next move.

Now, Alois was in a pickle. He had to find a way past the sensors, and not get hit by paintballs. If he simply jumped over the trap, he would be pelted by the fire of both the butler, and the boy on the patio, who apparently had "_secret sniper skills"_ or _something_ to be able to hit him at this distance. Just charging through it was no good either, for he would be bombarded by a merciless barrage of the hard, plastic, colour-containing spheres.

There _had_ to be _something_ he could do. He picked up another rock, and tossed it, and the machines activated again until the protective became stationary. After throwing a few more, _Alois Trancy_ came up with an _idea._

What he knew was: _One: _The sensors only started at a certain point in the path. _Two: _It took a few seconds for the weapons to warm up. And finally, _Three:_ He has _demonicly enhanced strength and speed._

He took a few steps back from the trap, and prepared to give himself a running start. The boys legs tensed up before running as fast as he could down the path, and with an additional burst of power, he launched himself parallel to the ground at the point were the rock had triggered the weapons wrath before. The boy dove to the other side, hearing the projectiles whizz by behind him. When he ran out of push, he tucked and rolled, giving him enough force to make it past the trap. Alois got up and dusted himself off before taking off once more.

Both Ciel, _and even Sebastian _were a bit impressed at the blonde's feat. They thought for sure that they were going to get a spectacle. As such, the bluenette was a bit _disappointed_ that he didn't receive one. Still, he had a few more tricks up his sleeve, and Alois was about to run into one.

Once more the boy stopped before rounding another sharp corner, and threw a rock down the path. Nothing happened, so he proceeded. Little did he know, that like before, the bluenette had installed motion sensors. Alois just hadn't reached the actual trap yet.

The blonde continued down the path, certain that the goal was within his reach. Getting a bit cocky, he rounded the next corner without any caution in the slightest. That was a mistake. In doing so, he ran face first into "the trap", knocking the boy back on his rear.

Alois opened his eyes to see what exactly it was that had assaulted his face, rubbing his poor nose, and upon doing so, gazed upon what very obviously, was _a bear._

The motion sensor activated a mechanism that opened the animal's _cage. _Now, where on _earth_ the bluenette acquired _a bear_, or why he even _had one_, was irrelevant at this moment. What _was_ important, however, was the fact that this was no _Whinnie the Pooh_ kind of bear. Oh no, this animal was a _Godless killing machine._

The animal reared back on it's hind legs and roared at the boy, nearly scaring the life out of him. Alois scrambled to his feet, and tried to come up with a game plan, but unfortunately, coming face-to-face with _such a very large animal_ had completely robbed him of his senses.

Now it was either _fight_, or_ flight _for the blonde, and with his path blocked, he was only left with one option: _fight._ He took a powerful stance, and dug his toes into the earth before charging the Ursa. Ciel, from the safety of the patio, furrowed his brow at the boy's _ridiculous_ action. The blonde had taken up the fighting style of your average _ram_, and head-butted the creature's stomach, allowing his _horns_ to dig into it's flesh.

The beast yowled in pain and swatted at the boy, knocking him into _yet another bush,_ while simultaneously ridding his lungs of all oxygen. Quickly, the boy untangled himself from the trechorous vines, and dodged the bears own charging attack. Obviously, fighting a _bear _was a lot more difficult than fighting a _human,_ since his punches seemed to only make the ursa _angry._

Granted, the bear took some considerable damage from the blows, but they weren't _killing, or at the very least, incapoaciating _it. Obviously, Alois was going to need some more power. Then it hit the boy: _demons can use magic._

Ciel, of course, used the art of transfiguration in the bookstore to change his appearance to that of a grown man. But that seemed to wear him out. Apparently, there were some skills that required a contract in order to use effectively. Contracts make demons _stronger._ Skills such as transformation and _fire manipulation_ were examples of this.

Unfortunately, Alois knew _no magic at all_. How was he supposed to defeat this foul beast? Simply beating it to death would take forever, therefore he had to think of _something._ For some reason during his struggle, his thoughts drifted to a _certain_ demon from his past that helped him. One that showed him kindness. _Hannah Annafellows._

The maid helped the boy get revenge on _everyone_ by causing both his, and Ciel's butler to duel to the death, killing his servant, before granting the Phantomhive boy _demonity,_ thus forcing Sebastian into eternal servitude. He remembered the events that took place in his own garden at the Trancy manor, in his final hours of consciousness during the 1800s. _The garden_ that Hannah was able to manipulate. _Hannah did this without a contract_.

The rowdy blonde stunned the beast with another punch, before backing off towards the bushes that had caused him so much anguish this afternoon. He reached out and grabbed a vine, squeezing it tightly in his hand. The thorns stung, and he felt blood drip from his pam, but he ignored this to focus his energy towards the flower, just as he did previously in order to become his demonic self.

Disturbingly, the plant began to move, twisting, warping, growing, and bending to the boy's will. Both the butler, hidden in a nearby tree, and the young master, Ciel, sitting on the padio with his telescope, were absolutely flabbergasted at the sight. _It was as though Alois, after having merged with the demonic maid's soul and being torn from it once more, had stolen some of the woman's power._

Alois' eyes glowed an ominous crimson as the plant sprung forth, and wrapped it's vines around the bear. The creature's fur had protected it from most of the torns, but the pressure with which the flora had inflicted on the animal was starting to get to it, cutting off the bear's circulation, and it's intake of oxygen. It clenched the beast until it's body went completely limp. When Alois let go of the bush, it withered and died. He wasn't sorry, though. After all, the bluenette had just made him kill a bear out of requirement.

_ "Who's the __**effeminate **__one now, Phantomhive?! When I get done here, I want to see that beastie turned into a __**rug!"**_ he yelled at the top of his lungs. The bluenette had to admit, although not aloud, that _was _quite 'manly'. _Except for the fact that he killed it with a flower._

The blonde trudged on, although tired from using so much energy on the bear. The sharpness of his senses waned accordingly, as he ran into traps similar to those from the beginning. He stepped in sink-holes and on mines. Obviously, it wasn't his day.

Nevertheless, a light at the end of the tunnel appeared as the boy saw the gazebo where he was to blow the air-horn, signifying his completion of the course. Upon setting his sights on the glorious end, he mustered a sudden burst of energy, running as fast as he could to the finish. He would not stop, for if he did, he knew he would most definately _keel over_.

He had to make this count. The flaxen-haired demon dashed towards the gazebo at record speeds. It neared him welcomely with open arms, and he felt at last that his victory was imminent.

_But then it all came crashing down_, or rather, _up_ as he was only a few feet away from the finish line. He had stumbled into the final, and _most obvious_ trap, as he stepped on a net, and upon doing so, he was hoisted into the air. The boy dangled in captivity for a few moments before he processed what exactly had happened.

"_What. The. FUCK?!"_ he practically screamed, thrashing around in the net like a _fish._ His anger only heightened when a certain butler jumped down from said tree that the net was now firmly attached to.

"Why, hello there, mister Trancy? Have you enjoyed the obstacle course?" he said with a sly grin.

"_OF COURSE I DIDN'T YOU BLOODY WANKER! LET ME DOWN FROM THIS FUCKING TREE!"_

_ "Language,_ mister Trancy." Sebastian said, scoldingly. "Please don't _gnaw_ on the ropes, it's _unsightly."_

_ "HOW ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO GET OUT OF THIS BLOODY NET?!"_ Alois shouted. He didn't cease trying to gnaw away at the the net like a trapped rat. Eventually, this worked to the butler's surprise, _(and slight disgust,)_ and the boy fell to the ground, landing with a thud. He didn't look like he had the energy to get up anytime soon.

After a few minutes of watching the blonde lie there in a pile of himself, Sebastian took out his walkies-talkie. "Do you wish to give up?" he asked.

The blonde let out a small cough before answering with a simple "No." Much to the butler's amusement, Alois rolled himself onto his stomach and began to _crawl_ to the finish. Never, under any circumstances, does Alois Trancy simply "give up". AS much as the butler would like to thwart his last-ditch attempt, the boy's persistence was admirable. It was the kind of persistence that he found admirable in_ human beings_.

Even in death, even in demonic _life_, this quality in the boy never faltered. He hoisted himself into one of the chairs, and caught his breath before reaching across the table to the horn. At it's sound, the exercise was over.

Alois hd to be _carried_ back to the manor that day. But the trial was not a flop, but a huge success. Not only did the other two demons discover Alois' limits, Alois learned a new _skill._ Everyone in the Phantomhive household is exceptional. There are no _exceptions._

"Cieeeellll. You suuuuuuuck!" the blonde whined.

"What is it that you're blubbering about this time, Trancy?" the bluenette replied.

_**"I still want my bear-skin rug!"**_

* * *

**A/N: I don't know...  
**

**It was a random idea, and I went with it.**

**I wanted to bring the demon-element back in here, since it's been on the backburner for a long while...**

**There were probably much better ways I could've gone about doing that. I'm not really happy with this due to the improbability of this happening. It's_ too silly_. Not _natural. _ I also think I focus on Alois WAY more than I do Ciel. I think I should probably do more chapters that focus on the little cyclops.**

**I need to plan my crap better...**

**Wait...**

**ALOIS IS A PLANT-BENDER?!**

**MOTHER OF GOD...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies...**


	85. So It Was Decided

The year is coming to a close at Warwick Academy. As such, students are scrambling to arrange time during the summer break to spend with their friends. That is exactly what the sensational six are doing today, rather than schoolwork, like they should be.

"Who has plans for vacation?" Daniel asked the group, looking to butt in and invite himself along.

"Well, my family is planning on going to Switzerland over the break." said Preston.

"Switzerland? _Switzerland?!_ Why would you want to go to Switzerland in the _summer?!"_

"Probably because it's ridiculously hot outside?" quipped Kristopherson. He was having nothing to do with Daniel's silly shenanigans today.

"Yeah, but summer is for like, going to the beach, and stuff! If you get too hot, eat some ice cream!"

"You should probably calm down before your_ brain overheats_, Daniel." said Ciel. He hated the heat. He hated to sticky feeling of sweat. Even his eye-patch was starting to stick to his face, much to his annoyance. Thank _God _for air-conditioning. That was one of the many technological advancements this century offered that the bluenette could actually appreciate.

As a matter of fact, all of the boys had long since switched to their summer uniforms. For a place known for being dreary, rainy, and freezing all of the time, London was showing no signs of any of this, and instead decided to torment it's residents with a heat wave.

"Oh _come on!_ Don't any of you like the beach?"

The blonde's ears perked up when he heard this. Honestly, the boy really could resemble a golden retriever sometimes. He had an especially excited look on his face. Alois had never seen the ocean before. To him, the suggestion sounded like a wonderful adventure.

Ciel saw that look. He knew that look. That was the look the blonde had whenever he was going to try to drag the bluenette into some nonsensical situation. The eye-patch-wearing teen didn't at all care for the beach, similarly to the fact that he didn't like the pool. _The boy couldn't swim._ He could hardly doggie paddle. If he had his way, he would just stay at inside in the marvelous air-conditioning and wait the entire season over, and have nothing to do with aquatics.

But then the blonde opened his mouth. "That sounds bloody brilliant! I've never seen the ocean before!"

The other boys just looked at him for a moment. "For real?" Preston asked.

"Yup. Never set foot on a beach in m'life. Oh! But I have been to lakes!"

Silence fell over the group as everyone looked at the blonde with pitying eyes. Here we go. Ciel was going to be caught up in another unwanted "field trip".

"Everyone! We need to get this poor child to a beach!" Daniel declared. Not surprisingly, everyone nodded. Everyone except Ciel, of course...

"We could all stay at my beach house. It's a private beach, so no one will bother us." Suggested Preston.

"I knew you were holding out on me, Omid!" The Westly boy shouted, pointing at the boy accusingly. "Then it's decided! We'll stay there!"

"It should be fine. My family's trip isn't 'til the end of summer, anyway." And thus, it was decided that the sensational six would be going to a beach.

"_Perfect_." thought the bluenette. He was not happy about this. Not one bit.

"I'm gonna punch a dolphin!" declared Alois, suddenly.

"Whoa! Wait, what? Why!?" asked Preston.

"_Those manky aquatic arsemongers have had it too good for too long..."_

_ "What the hell is wrong with you?"_

* * *

**A/N: It shall never be known what is with Alois and dolphins...**

**On another note, time does not follow in this fic as it does in the real world, obviously.**

**AND NOT ONE SINGLE F*CK SHALL BE GIVEN.**

**This is set-up for a suggestion by _Rasu_. It was so appealing, I BROKE THE FLOW OF TIME TO MAKE IT.**

_**Dis gun b gud.**_

**Until next time, my duckies!**


	86. May You Dream Of Platypi

'Twas the beginning of summer. School had let out, thus the sensational six had begun to plan their trip. They were going to spend two weeks at Preston's beach house, and enjoy themselves. Some went with great enthusiasm, such as _Daniel Westly_, who had been looking forward to this trip since the boys had discussed it approximately half of a month ago. Others, mostly_ Ciel Phantomhive_, went with nothing but reluctance, and simply couldn't wait for the weeks of horrendous torture to be over as swiftly as possible.

All six packed their bags, and met up to go together. Sebastian drove, and would be acting as chaperone of this little adventure, while Preston provided the location. Everyone else didn't have much to add that was exactly _useful,_ but they were, at the very least, _entertaining._ On the entire ride there, the other boys, primarily Westly and Trancy, sung songs and waved their arms out the windows like idiots. They played games, bothered the other boys, and had a good time. Their laughter was almost infectious as it quickly spread to the other boys, filling the car with what Ciel would call "stupidity". However, even the bluenette had to smile at the antics of his blonde friend.

Soon the ride grew to be a bit _too_ long. Alois, who had never ridden in a vehicle for so long at a time, was getting restless. Not even halfway there, he started to complain that the seats were starting to feel like the "petrified couches" in Ciel's office. They had to stop more than once to relieve the boy of his new-found claustrophobia. He wasn't the only one, though. He was just the main offender. _At least he hadn't downed five water bottles, like Daniel did._

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity _plus a day_, they arrived at their destination, _just as the sun was beginning to set._

_ "Aw man!"_ the brown-haired boy whined. "I wanted to play!"

"Calm down, we have two whole weeks. You'll be able to play in the big puddle." Ciel said, still grumpy from the car ride from hell. He saw a flash of movement in the corner of his eye. Following it, he whipped his head around to see that the blonde menace had already taken off down the hill, making a b-line for the water. _That bumbling idiot._

"ALOIS! _GET BACK HERE!"_ he shouted at the boy.

"Go for it, Trancy!"

_"Shut up, Daniel!"_

After finally rounding up the rascally blonde, Preston led the way to the beach house. First thing after unlocking the door, everyone who walked through it immediately collapsed into a pile on the floor. _Why was travel so exhausting?_

The three who didn't were of course, those from the Phantomhive house. As demons, they did not require sleep, so upon entering the building, they simply stacked all their things neatly in a pile to be dealt with when the room arrangements where made.

"Oh _hell_ no! We are _not_ going to sleep yet!" Daniel shouted as loudly as he could in his tired state.

"_Shut up, Daniel."_ said Kristopherson weakly, not caring at all about how close the floor was to his face.

"How can you even _think_ about staying up?" Preston asked, while Travis had already fallen asleep.

"We didn't get to go swimming, so we have to do other stuff!"

"Such as...?"

"Uh... _scary stories?"_

Everyone let out a moan at the boy's ridiculous suggestion, with a few rude names thrown in with the mix. _Even on his last legs_, the brown-haired boy could be a complete pain in the rear. Where on earth did he keep that extra energy?

"Oh, get off it!" he said, "Just a few stories, is all I ask! Then, it's off to bed! Promise!"

"By all means, _you start_." Kristopherson said, rolling over on his side to ignore the boy.

"Uh... yeah... but..._ I don't know any_."

Another chorus of moans escaped the other gentlemen, followed by even _ruder_ names than the last. Ciel had just begun to tune the others out, when he felt a soft nudge against his ribs. The blonde boy motioned for the bluenette to say something, knowing he had some terrifying tale stored somewhere in his brain.

"_Fine_." the boy said reluctantly. "I've got one." He took a breath and recited one of the many variations he had heard of the story.

"_One night, a young girl was getting ready for bed." _he began, "_She went through her usual routine, getting dressed, brushing her teeth, and all that, before crawling into bed. The family dog would often sleep at the edge of the bed, so she waited for him to get situated before doing so herself, clicking off her bedside lamp and going to sleep."_ Ciel paused for a moment to look around the room, and gauge his audiences reactions.

Shockingly, it appeared as though none of them had heard this story before, as they were all immensely focused on what he was saying, hanging onto every single word. Satisfied with this, he continued.

"_After a while, she was woken up by a strange sound. 'Drip, drip, drip,' it went. The girl started to get frightened in the dark room, so she reached over the side of the bed, and the dog licked her hand to comfort her. It worked, and when she was finally at ease, she settled back down and fell asleep. _

_ However, after a while, she heard it again. The same 'drip, drip, dripping, noise' she had heard before. Without turning on the light, she reached back over the bed, and once again, the dog licked her hand. This happened several times throughout the night. She would wake up to the noise, the dog would comfort her, and she'd go back to sleep._

_ Eventually, morning came, and when she opened her eyes, she screamed in horror as she saw her beloved dog, mangled, and hanging from the ceiling by a wire. The dripping noise was __**the sound of dog's blood dripping onto the floor.**_

_ Scrawled on the wall was the most horrifying part. Written in the blood of her pet was a message that said,__** 'Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?'**__ The end."_

The bluenette gazed again into the audiences faces. All of them looked sick, and very, very much _awake _now, aside from the chuckling butler_._ Surprisingly, the only one of the teens who _didn't_ look disturbed was _Alois._ The boy was weak against horror movies, but apparently scary stories were entirely ineffective. The boy was unfazed by sick and twisted things. He had seen enough of that in his time to desensitize him. It was _the things jumping out at the screen _that scared him about horror movies. If the story had no jump-scare, the boy wouldn't respond, much to the petite, slate-haired teen's dissapointment.

"Uh, o-okay, I think that's enough stories..." Daniel said. The boy's face was pale.

"Aw, but that was so _interesting!"_ Alois whined. Apparently he was also the only one of the youths who actually _enjoyed_ the story. "Tell another one, Ciel!" he said, excitedly bouncing up and down where he was seated.

With a grin, the bluenette happily obliged. While he didn't frighten the blonde, he had everyone else, scared stiff. The sheltered rich kids hadn't heard many of the common urban legends, and were therefore quite easy to scare. His mouth warped into a grin, as the boys became more frightened. He and Alois laughed at them for being so frightened.

Eventually, the human inhabitants of the building had an increasingly difficult time keeping their eyelids open. It was decided that they should all turn in for the night.

"One problem: _There's only four bedrooms, you guys_." Preston said, fighting off a yawn.

"_Easy."_ Daniel declared. "The cyclops and blondie get one, Kristopherson gets one to himself _'cause he's a homo_..."

"Hey!" Kristopherson interjected.

"...Sebastian gets one to himself too, 'cause he's the chaperone, and that would be super-awkward." Daniel's brain was obviously starting to shut down. Whatever filter he had was gone at this point, and his words were starting to slur together.

"Travis gets to have the couch, _'caus I sure as hell ain't movin' 'im."_ The brawny boy has been asleep on the couch for several hours, completely missing the scary stories.

"I guess I'll just share the last room with you, Preston." the exhausted Westly boy concluded.

"_You're just too afraid to be by yourself in the dark, aren't you, Danny?"_ Alois teased. Daniel was probably the one who was frightened the most by the bluenette's aresenal of creepy stories, although he suggested the story-swap to begin with.

"Shaddap, Trancy! _I'm off to bedfordshire!_"_ he would have to plan his revenge later_. The dynamic demon duo had won both the Trancy Mansion test of courage _and_ the scary story telling. He couldn't let them get away with that. But for now, the frightened boy retreated to one of the rooms, being sure to follow behind the Indian boy.

Kristopherson lugged his suitcase upstairs to one of the remaining three rooms while Sebastian found a blanket to cover Travis with. While they didn't need it, it would be weird for them to stay up all night and then be perfectly fine in the morning, so they retired as well. They went through their usual routine, brushing their teeth and getting dressed. Ciel was sure to put on pajama pants before crawling into bed. He didn't need to encourage the blonde to crack any obscene jokes, moreover, _it was just embarrassing to him._

Alois however, didn't seem to mind all that much, putting on a pair of boxers and a crummy shirt that wasn't fit for wearing during the day. (It was one of Ciel's old shirts, with a hole in it and a mysterious stain on the collar; Probably cake.) Still, it was awkward sharing a room with the bluenette, so they each chose a side and retreated to it, not even looking at each other. Alois chose the right, and Ciel chose the left before removing his eye-patch and setting it on the nightstand, and retiring for the night.

At least that's what Ciel _wished_ happened. Due to the discomfort of sharing his bed with someone, _especially Alois,_ he couldn't get to sleep at all. He envied the blonde for being able to fall asleep so easily. He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. Eventually he settled on lying on his back, before feeling rustling coming from the other side of the bed.

Now, demon's have very good night vision, thus seeing in the dark is no problem for either boy, but since the blonde had chosen to sleep on Ciel's _right_, the bluenette was having a hard time seeing him. Admittedly, his vision in his right eye wasn't at all that great. This was to be expected, of course, after having a _Faustian contract carved into it._

He turned his head to better see what the boy was up to, observing the blonde getting up, and walking over to his bag and rummaging around in it before walking back to bed.

"You brought _Steven?"_ Ciel asked. He wasn't very surprised at the boy for bringing the plush platypus on the trip, but still felt the need to ask.

"Hm? Yeah, _heheh_. Can't sleep without 'im." replied the blonde sheepishly. He rolled over on his side to face the other boy. It was embarrassing that he needed the odd plush mammal, but he figured his companion would understand.

"That's _silly_."

"How so? _Are you willing to take his place?"_ the blonde said teasingly. Even though it was pitch-black, he knew the other boy was blushing.

With a sigh, the bluenette extended his arm to Alois. Although he said nothing, the blonde knew what the boy meant, and snuggled up next to the slate-haired teen, cuddling him like a stuffed bear, or even a _platypus _for that matter.

The soft glow of the bluenette's contract illuminated his face, slightly whenever his eye was open. It would flash when he blinked. The fair-haired teen couldn't help but stare at it. It never stayed fixed, darting around like eyes do, but this one was specifically trying to avoid his own icy-blue eyes. The purple glow vanished suddenly as the eye snapped shut.

_ "Could you please stop staring at me?"_ asked Ciel. His chest stopping it's soft breathing motions for a moment so he could speak. He didn't have to _see_ the boy to know that he was staring. He could _feel_ the blonde's gaze.

"_Sorry_."

Silence fell over the room at last. Ciel's body finally started to relax from it's tensed state brought on by the bed intruder. At last it seemed like he was going to drift into a state of glorious sleep. But that hope was dashed to pieces when he heard the blonde's voice.

"Hey, Ciel?" he asked.

"What?"

"_You're cuddlier than a platypus."_

Since he wasn't able to think of adequate response, he simply said: _"...Go to sleep..."_ and hoped that the blonde would say nothing about his increasing heart-rate.

* * *

**A/N: You know you want to cuddle a platypus now...  
**

**I didn't write authors notes when I originally posted this last night. I was tired.**

**It Ciel's scary story sounded familiar, then you've probably heard it. It's a pretty common story. I just chose the version that I remembered irking me the most. I couldn't find it on any website I looked on, so I Wrote what I remembered.**

** REFERENCES ARE FOR KRISTOPHERSONS. (Wait, what?)  
**

**Until we meet again, little ducks...**


	87. Mr Phantomhive's Holiday

As soon as the sun rose, everyone quickly got up and hit the beach. Alois and Daniel were the first ones to reach the water, as they completely forgot about the others for a moment and simply ran towards the water. The rest of the sensational six (plus Sebastian) followed behind at their own pace.

"What happened? I thought you guys were behind us, but when I looked around, you weren't there!" Alois shouted when they finally did arrive. The bluenette simply responded to the blonde's inquiry by giving him a noogie.

All of the gentlemen had different swim-trunks than last time. They were in a way, less _stylish_, aside from Kristopherson, who wore a black and pink surf suit. Ciel wore a blue t-shirt with his darkly coloured trunks, and his custom "eye-patch/goggle two-in-one" thing on his face, while the blonde wore a plain pair of purple swim-trunks. Even _Sebastian _was dressed to kill in a pait of black swim-trunks. Ciel had never seen the butler show so much skin before. It was a bit unsettling.

The man practically _sparkled_, causing Kristopherson to stare at him. While he was distracted, the others knocked him over before picking him up again and throwing him into the salty sea water. They quickly followed suit as the boy cursed and swore at them, splashing and crashing into the waves.

All of them aside from Ciel Phantomhive. Unlike the others, he chose to sit in the shade of a parasol and watch. Mostly he watched _Alois in his swimsuit,_ as the blonde splashed around and played with the other boys. He almost felt _jealous_, and that was all he was willing to admit to himself. Secretly, he wanted to play too, however the boy's pride and lack of aquatic ability discouraged him. He wasn't the only one to know this.

"Aren't you going to play too, my lord?" asked Sebastian as he sat down next to the boy wearing that little playful grin of his.

That grin always somehow tugged at the bluenette's nerves. "No. Why would I want to do something so _childish?"_

The bulter wanted to say something along the line of "because you _are_ a child", but politely refrained, as it was out of his place to do so. Instead he answered based on an observation he made.

"But my lord, Alois is waving at you." he said, pointing out the blonde boy, excitedly waving at his bluenette companion. "It looks like he wants you to play too."

Ciel said nothing. Curse that butler, always poking at his weak points. Nothing made him feel more inferior than the butler's teasing. He instead tried his very best to maintain his serious and authoritative air, failing miserably by letting out a small "_pfft"_ upon seeing his companion get slapped with a pice of seaweed by the Westly boy.

Finally, he said, crossing his arms across his chest. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand how participating in a _'seaweed war'_ could be _'fun'." _

"Who knows? It could be more fun than sitting here by yourself."

This conversation was brought to a screeching halt when a drenched blonde boy came stampeding up to the two. "Ciel! Ciel! Ciel! Ciel!"

"Alois! Alois! Alois! Alois, what do you want?" the bluenette mocked.

"Real cute, Phantomhive... Real cute..." Alois said. "Anyways, I need you to help me make a sand castle!"

"Why me?"

"Because I want to play with you, and I doubt you would appreciate being tossed into the ocean."

The bluenette couldn't argue with that. Reluctantly, he got up, giving one last look to the butler, who just waved, and followed the blonde until the boy claimed that he "found the perfect spot."

"He build here!" he declared, stomping his foot. He looked over at the bluenette, who didn't look as though he was amused in the slightest. "What's the matter mister Grumpy -gills?"

"Nothing, why?"

"You're making a face."

"What face?"

"_That_ face." the flaxen-haired teen said, pointing at the bluenette's grouchy-looking visage.

"I'm _not_ making a face..."

"Please yourself, then." Alois crouched down on the ground and began piling sand. He became annoyed when it didn't stick. Now it was his turn to make a face.

His friend just rolled his eye. "You're supposed to get it wet first, stupid."

"...I knew that..."

"I'll go get some water, then..."

"You do that, and I shall continue to communicate with my element..." Alois trailed off before suddenly looking up with an astonished look on his face.

Curious as to what could possibly be causing the boy's spontaneous silence, the slate-haired teen followed his eyes to find quite the amazing sight. Apparently the idea of building a sand castle sounded fun to Sebastian as well, since he was in the middle of building a scale model of Phantomhive Manor out of sand. He had almost every detail of the exterior sculpted in the substance, and that was just what he had _finished._ The others had dropped what they were doing to watch him. Ciel looked back to the blonde, who returned his gaze.

"Forget the castle?" he asked.

"Forget the castle." the blonde said back, standing up. "I don't suppose you want to go swimming, then?"

"_No."_ Ciel said forcibly, without even thinking about it. He was _not_ going swimming. He would sink like a rock. The boy crossed his arms and dug his toes into the sand, as though making himself immovable.

"Oh come ooooooon!" his companion whined.

"No."

"Why not?"

_ "Because I don't want to."_

Something about the way the boy spoke seemed off. There was something he wasn't telling his friend. You know, and I know, but Alois didn't. The blonde did observe the boy's suspicious behaviour, and wanted to get to the bottom of it.

He narrowed his eyes. "Is there something you aren't telling me?" he asked.

"_What? _Of _course not!_ Don't be stupid..." Bingo. Ciel _was _hiding something, it could be heard in his voice. Thus, the interrogation began.

"Are you afraid of the ocean?"

"No."

"Is it dirty? Do you not want to swim in _fish pee?"_

"No!" Now he _really_ didn't want to go into the water.

"Are you not able to swim?"

Time passed as the boy's inquiry echoed in Ciel's ears._ "How on earth did he figure it out?_" he thought.

Rightfully so, the blonde menace took the boy's silence as a _"yes"._ A few more seconds passed without a word. The only thing that could be heard waves and the cheering of the other children off in the distance. Suddenly, the blonde took a step forward.

Ciel took a step back. The other boy would step forward, and he would step back. This process repeated until the bluenette saw the blonde's leg muscles tense. Before he could do anything else, the shorter of the two turned his body and ran, with his companion in full pursuit.

_ "GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!"_

Ciel ran. He _really ran. _ Ciel Phantomhive never _ran_ from anything. Had he still been human, he would've had an asthma attack and passed out by now. This was one of those times when he was truly glad to be a demon. It was all because the threat of a blonde boy throwing him into what he had called the other day, "a big puddle".

The bluenette was chased up and down that sandy beach for quite some time. The bystanders stopped and watched the chase with great interest. They were just glad that Ciel was finally having _fun_ today. However, this "fun" didn't last much longer.

It was all because of one fatal mistake. _One teeny-tiny, split-second decision _caused the chase to end. What Ciel had done was turn his head around to see how close the blonde was behind him. Now, the boy lacking vision in one eye, had no way of seeing what was in front of him. No peripheral vision, _nothing._

He ran _straight into Sebastian's sand creation, knocking _half of it down,_ and partially burying himself in sand._ Sebastian sighed.

"_I guess not even the sand version of Phantomhive Manor is safe from utter destruction..."_ he said, remembering the many times the original house had been burned, blown up, or otherwise demolished.

As Ciel tried to dig himself up, the blonde caught up with him. "Aha! Got you!" he said happily while grabbing the smaller boy's ankle. Now matter how much the poor bluenette struggled, his was dragged along the beach, and ultimately thrown into the water. Alois followed suit, making sure he didn't sink so far that he'd find _sunken treasure_ or anything. He pulled the boy's head above the surface, causing him to gasp for air.

"You git! You could've _killed _me!"

"I doubt it. You don't need to breathe! Besides, how else are you going to learn how to swim if you don't _get in the water?!"_ the blonde said before having his own head shoved underwater.

"Why would I need to know how to swim? _There's such a convenient flotation device right here?!"_

Using the other boy's body, Ciel was able to keep his own head above sea level. However, his companion got loose and pulled him down with him.

"Mister Michaelis? Shouldn't we _help_ them or something?" asked a concerned Preston, watching the two boys playfully take turns trying to drown each other.

"No," Sebastian said, putting his hand on his hip. _"I think they're just fine."_

* * *

**A/N: O hay~!  
**

**The title... Mr. Bean reference? You bet...**

**This chapter seemed much longer when I typed it...**

**I AM DISAPPOINT.**

**Next chapter... maybe?**

_**Probably not...**_

**Dunno yet.**

**Laters, duckies.**


	88. Arising Questions

"Alois! No! I don't want to!" shouted the bluenette boy as he struggled to escape his blonde companion's grasp.

"Don't worry! It'll be fine! _You can even hold onto me if you want!"_

"I said_** 'no'!"**_

The next day came, and Ciel was starting to make progress in his swimming. However, trying to get him in the water was exactly the same as trying to give a cat a bath. It could be done, but not without stubborn resistance and a few scratches, here and there.

"Ciel, quit being such a baby and get in the water!"

"I'm not being a baby, and don't want to swim!" The bluenette was determined to stand his ground this time. He wasn't going to give in to the blonde's barrage of nagging. But Alois had a plan, of course. Seeing that the other boy's determination, he decided it would be best to deploy it.

"Do I need to tell everyone about how _you felt me up_ the other day while we were splashing around?"

Ciel's eyes widened as his face turned red. He shouted something along the lines of "I did not!", give or take a few "_sentence enhancers"_ while quickly looking around to make sure none of the others had heard. Fortunately for him, the other boys were talking to Sebastian, asking him things like, "why do you paint your nails?" Satisfied with this, he turned his attention back to his companion.

The blonde's grin warped into a nefarious smirk. "Now, now, don't _lie_ Ciel!" he said, "I think I would know when someone grabs my _arse!"_

_ "You're _the one who's _lying,_ you twat!" Ciel clenched his fists and tried to look menacing, however this was put off by his present blush. To think Alois would _dare _say such a thing in public! Granted, the thought _had_ crossed the bluenette's mind, however his better sense said "nay". Once more he asserted his claim: "_I did no such thing!"_ he shouted.

"You know, Ciel, I _might_ have let you if you asked nicely..."

"_Alois!"_ his tone was scolding. He wasn't going to fall for the other boy's trap this time!

"What?"

"I know you're lying, and I won't get in the water! I don't want to play this _game!"_ he dug his toes into the sand, as thought that would cement himself to the ground.

"Tell, you what; Let's play a game. If_ you loose_, you get into the water."

"And if _I_ _win?"_

_"Anything you want."_

The bluenette rather liked this idea. His mind wandered to the many humiliating and _questionable _things he could make the blonde do.

"Alright. What game is it?" He said, smirking confidently. This faded a bit when he heard the name of the game.

_"Tag."_

Now if memory serves, the boys had done something similar the other day while trying to get Ciel to do the very same thing. However, Alois had a trick up his sleeve. Ciel could see it written all over his face.

"You get a _ten second head-start."_ the flaxen-haired teen added.

This instilled confidence in the bluenette. Alois would be far behind him by then. With that knowledge, he took off running. True to his word, the blonde didn't chase him.

Instead, he walked in the other direction, sparking confusion in the designated "prey". He turned around and watched as the blonde ran over and talked to the rest of the sensational six. Terror sank in as he realized what the blonde's plan was. He began running once more as the others joined the fray.

The blonde was going to wear him down.

He cursed the boy for cheating like this. Now he was outnumbered, and couldn't use his demon speed without being suspicious. They were like a pack of wolves chasing an elk, and under Alois' command, they were just as effective, changing formation to form a "v" shape around the bluenette. They two at the top ran past him before attempting to close him in. Never before had he seen someone apply a battle strategy to a game of tag.

Once the boy was encircled, there was no escape. The blonde made sure of it. He locked arms with the two boys to his sides and said "red rover!" before they got the message. All of them locked arms so Ciel wouldn't be able to force his way out.

"Dog-pile on Phantomhive!" shouted the Westly boy, and they all lunged at their target, forcing him to the ground.

Obviously, Ciel didn't appreciate this much. The feeling of being crushed by five teenage boys, weighing over a hundred pounds each, was not at all appealing. This feeling he was experiencing could also be a metaphor for his crushing defeat at the hands of Alois Trancy.

"Get off me!" he shouted, more than just "a little" peeved. He forced himself free and stood up, brushing the grains of sand of of himself. There was _sand in places where there shouldn't be sand, _but that would have to wait. "That wasn't _fair! _You had help!"

"No, no, no, no, Ciel!" said the blonde boy, wagging his finger in the face of the irate teen. "I said,_ 'if you loose'_, not _'if I win'._ Under those principles, it wouldn't matter _who_ struck you out _as long as you were struck out_. Need I remind you that it was _you_ who agreed to these terms?"

The blonde was perfectly right. He had lost. Did he do the honourable thing, and take his defeat in stride like a true gentleman would? No. He tried to run for it, before being grabbed by the other boys and thrown into the water.

_"Give it up, Phantomhive! You need to learn how to swim eventually!" _shouted Kristopherson as he watched the boy flail around.

_"You have our support!" _Preston called out to the boy as he heard the bluenette swear and curse with all of his might.

_ "It would be a better use of your oxygen if you stopped yelling!"_ Daniel yelled, as the boy sunk below sea-level, promptly making the blonde boy hop in and save him.

Alois swam out to Ciel's general location, and groped around in the water to find the boy, only to be pulled down with the bluenette. While on the surface, suspicion arose in the others.

"They've been down there for quite awhile, do you think they're alright?" asked Travis. He seemed worried.

_"Hot, underwater snogging?" _suggested Daniel.

"What the hell, Daniel?!"

"What? Y'know, like in _Romeo and Juliet_. The one with _Leonardo DiCaprio _in it? Surely you've seen it, Preston..."

_ "That's not what I meant."_ the Indian boy said, disapprovingly. "We don't even know if they're _dating!"_

_ "I dunno... Those two are obviously very close.. aren't they, Travis?."_

Travis nodded silently in agreement. Truly, he was a boy of few words.

"Daniel, not to be rude, but are you sure _you're not a gay, too?_ You seem a bit _too_ invested in this. Not to mention you just called a make-session between two _male_ friends _'hot'." _Kristopherson jested, trying to throw him off the demon's trail.

"_Nah._ Girls are _way_ more attractive than you blokes. Speaking of which, _why haven't I seen any?_ We've been here for several days and haven't seen a _soul!_ I was hoping to see some bikinis..._"_

_ "This is a private beach, dumbass..."_

_ "DAMMIT!" _

While this went on, Alois and Ciel came up for some air. Both coughing up salty water and absolutely drenched. Ciel held on tight to the blonde boy, since he would sink like a rock, otherwise.

"Well, that was _different._" the blonde said finally, while struggling to keep them both afloat. "Who do you think you are? _Leonardo DiCaprio?"_

_ "Quiet. You will not speak of this to the others, got it?"_ the bluenette warned.

_ "Yes, my lord."_ the blonde said, mocking the butler, who was sitting off to the side trying to keep his smile from turning into laughter.

Alois paused a bit before adding: "_Should I also keep quiet about you grabbing my arse?" _

_ "That never happened!"_

* * *

**A/N: This seems repetitive. This seems like a repeat of the last chapter. It's All I could muster for today, I'm sorry! I've been having an off day, y'know? But, who knows what tomorrow holds?**

**I just hope this wasn't too boring for you. I have an idea for what they do next, but I felt like I should focus on Ciel's swimming ability too...**

**Next chapter. Promise!**

**(But you know how shallow promises can be...)**

**That adds another movie reference to our ever-growing list! I can't even list them all!  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	89. A Pirate's Revenge

At long last! After a few days of planning and staking out the area, Daniel had _finally_ concocted the perfect revenge plan! That Phantomhive and that Trancy boy may have won the little game they played at the Trancy manor. They might have also scared him witless with their scary stories, so much that he couldn't even _think _about sleeping that night. That resulted in making him tired, and unable to enjoy the first day at the beach to the fullest. _For that, they must pay._

Of couse, the boy let the others in on it since his plan relied on their assistance. With all of them aware of his nefarious scheme, he decided to initiate phase one.

"Important anouncement! Important announcement!" the boy yelled loud enough to shake the entire building. That said, he now has everyone's attention, _including his targets._

_ "What is it, Daniel?"_ asked the bluenette. "Your yelling made Kristopherson _squeak_."

"I did not '_squeak'!"_

"Who cares? I got something fun for us to do!" the Westly boy said, waving a flashlight around the room, practically blinding the others.

"If it has to do with haunting _anything,_ Daniel, you may kindly shove whatever it is that you are about to say, _up your arse."_ Ciel said forcibly. He wanted nothing to do with the boy's shenanigans.

_ "Fun killer!_ It's not just a 'haunted anything'! It's a haunted _cave_!"

"No. Not going."

It was predictable that the always-stubborn Phantomhive boy would react this way. Luckily for Daniel, he had anticipated this, and was prepared. The boy smiled.

"I _thought_ you might react this way, Phantomhive! That is why _there is an ice-cream cake in the freezer for whoever gets out without being scared!" _His confident grin took up the majority of his face. He _had_ the bluenette now!

Upon hearing that sweets where involved, Ciel reconsidered. You could literally _see _the change on his face. His eye-brows furrowed in concentration. Was an ice-cream cake really worth all of this hijinks? _Not really._ If he wanted it _that_ bad, surely he could just take it out of the fridge and eat it while the others are gone...

"_Pass."_ It was _Preston_ to declare his forfeit first. "Not worth it. I'd rather watch TV."

"Likewise." Travis nodded in agreement.

_"Drat."_ the bluenette thought to himself. His plan was terminated. He _might_ have been able to bully Preston into allowing him to take the cake, but not _Travis._ The Sullivan boy had _morals_ and other _pesky things _like that. There was no way he was going to be able to eat it without playing along.

With almost overwhelming reluctance, he agreed. Thus the adventure began. Ciel, Alois, Daniel, and Kristopherson all trekked to the cave that Daniel was talking about. It was just underneath a nearby cliff on the beach where they had played this entire week so far.

It was much different being on the beach after dark. The "fun in the sun" vibe was completely gone now, and all that remained were ghostly waters. It looked as though a ghost ship was going to appear along the horizon at any moment, pirates, and all. How odd it was, that as place could change so dramatically with just a simple change in lighting.

The place of their alleged "terror" came upon them. Ominously gaping at the moon on this night, was the cave. Daniel climbed on a rock, making himself tower over the other boy.

"Check it!" he said, getting their already obtained attention. He put the light of the flashlight under his chin, casting shadows on his face. The boy's smile too, lost it's childlike essence with just a change of light.

_"Long ago, back in the days of pirates, there was a pirate captain who used to sail along these shores. He had many names. 'Captain Morse', 'The Greedy Man', 'The Sea Wolf', but the one people called him the most was **'Devil Eyed Jack'**."_ He paused for dramatic effect. _"Legend has it that underneath his eye-patch was the sign of the devil'." This little story was starting to make the Phantomhive boy uncomfortable. He zipped up his jacket in a subconscious attempt to shield himself._

_Daniel continued on with his story. "Devil-Eyed Jack supposedly hid gold all over, but this cave was special. Here, he hid gold that would never be shared with his crew. Instead, he left some of it to his son who lived in the area, and hid some even deeper into the cave for himself._

_The only other man to know of his secret other than his son, was his second-in-command, a man by the name of Peirce. Pierce was always at Jack's side. They were inseparable. Out of all the members of his crew, no one was more reliable than vice-captain Pierce._

_But Devil-Eyed Jack caught wind of the government wanting to take his gold, so he went to all of his hiding places and gathered up his treasure, leaving this place for last. He allowed no one near the cave but Pierce, so they wouldn't know of his disloyalty for hiding bounty from them. So he, and Pierce went into the cave alone do take back the treasure._

_Neither of them returned to the ship. The crew had wondered what had happened, and against orders, went inside the cave to search for the men, only to discover Devil-Eyed Jack dead in a pile of coins. He wasn't injured, he had great health, but here he was, dead. Pierce was nowhere to be found._

_Some say that Peirce killed him, and that Jack's ghost still haunts the cave, wanting revenge on his traitorous friend! MUA-HA-HAHAHAHA!" Daniel's silly laugh at the end ruined the entire thing._

"Whatever." the bluenette said, forcing a yawn to emphasize his lack of care.

"You dare question the story of Devil-Eyed Jack?!"

"I question _your sanity._... Wait, _did you write that entire story on your arm?"_

Daniel fixed his sleeve and quickly hid his arm behind his back. "_No."_ he said, causing Kristopherson to introduce the palm of his hand to his forehead. There was no way that the bluenette and the blonde weren't _suspicious._ Even if they weren't, they certainly were now.

Regardless, they ventured into the cave, climbing over rocks, jumping over puddles, and trying not to bump into things in the darkness, the sound of waves in the distance echoing throughout the structure. Kristopherson tripped and fell face-first into a puddle, much to the delight of the others. The entire time he kept complaining about how his designer jacket was now ruined, and blaming Daniel for this stupid outing.

"I said I was 'sorry', Kristopherson! Bloody hell..." the brown-haired boy said, aiming his flashlight at a large rock structure. Suddenly, he slowed down his pace, and let the others advance past him. He remembered that structure, and his plan.

Ciel noticed this, yet he walked on any way. Rather, he walked a little scarce of the structure, and stopped his blonde companion with his arm, allowing Kristopherson to trigger the trap. The boy in pink walked forward, still fuming about his jacket, yet blissfully ignorant that he was walking into an ambush.

From behind the rock suddenly came a tall figure dressed in pirate's garb. The figure seemed to glow in the nearly nonexistent light of the cave. He charged at the boys, yelling and swinging a sabre, startling Kristopherson, and causing Alois to jump and latch onto the arm of the unimpressed bluenette.

"Travis, what the hell are you doing?" Ciel asked flatly, calling the boy's bluff and putting an end to this charade.

The figure stopped dead in it's tracks before removing his hat and false beard. "How did you know it was me?" he asked.

"Wha?! What in blazes did you do that for?! Are you trying to give me a bloody heart attack?!" Alois yelled while pointing accusingly at the guilty-looking boy.

"It wasn't _his _plan. It was _Daniel's_." said the slate-haired teen.

"How'd you know!?"Daniel shouted before turning his attention to the faux-blonde. "Kris, did you tell?!"

"How could I? You didn't even tell me where Travis was even hiding!"

Preston walked out from behind another rock formation, holding various lights and such. It was his task to give the "ghost" it's glow. Being the son of a technology tycoon, that wasn't very difficult.

"You were in on it too?! You guys are dicks!" Alois said loudly, letting go of the bluenette's sleeve. His voice reverberated off the walls of the cave. He was not happy. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"He wanted to get back at us for beating him in the 'haunted mansion test of courage', right?" Ciel asked, turning his attention to the brown-haired boy.

"Yeah... But you also scared the crap out of me the other night with those stories! I couldn't sleep!"

"_I know_, you wouldn't stop _whimpering_." Preston said.

"I was not _whimpering!"_ Daniel shouted angrily.

"Could've fooled me!"

"I knew this whole adventure was pointless!" Kristopherson said, "Phantomhive knew from the start! This was a waste of time, and _a jacket!"_

The boys erupted into a fit of arguments. Each one's voice bounced back at them off the cave walls. The sound was _unbearable_. The bluenette demon tried to covering his ears, to keep himself from going _mad._ It seemed like the voices were getting louder and louder until...

"_QUIET!"_ he yelled. The others immediately went silent, picking up on the authority in the boy's voice. They all stared at him in shock.

Ciel was about to say something. Something about how this arguing is stupid, and they should just go back to the beach house. But no, his thoughts were interrupted by a new sound. A sound that was only revealed from the sudden silence of his friends. What was it? A look of worry came over his face when he realised what it was. _The sound of waves from before was much louder than it was when they began._

He looked over to Daniel. "_Do you know when high-tide comes in?" _ He asked. The look on his face shifted from worry to that of near-panic when he heard the boy's answer.

"High-_what?"_

_ "We have to get out of here __**right now**__."_

The faces of the other boys became frightful as they immediately understood the danger they were now in. Quickly, they all scrambling in the direction of the cave's mouth, the water level rising as time passed. First, it was only a few inches, then it was up to their ankles, next, to their knees. Soon it was above waist level, but the mouth of the cave was visible, so hope was in sight. However, trouble arose when the water got higher. Now they could no longer wade through the water. They had to _swim._

Ciel was trying his absolute best to stay afloat, managing to doggy-paddle a bit, but the others where leaving him in the dust. Alois looked back at his companion.

"Ciel!" he called, realizing that the bluenette was falling behind. He swam over to him as quick as he could.

The bluenette was swallowing water. It's saltiness burned his throat and his eye, blurring his vision. What he could see, was the Alois' hand reaching out to him, and he took it. It guided him over to the blonde, putting the bluenette's hand on his shoulder.

"Hang onto me!" the blonde shouted over the now roaring waves. Once he was satisfied with the bluenette's grip on his purple shirt, he paddled toward the exit, where the others were already waiting.

Now back on land, the _soaked six_ gasped to catch their breath, coughing up water, and tried to get rid of the salty taste in their mouths.

"Daniel... I'm going to _kill _ you!" Kristopherson finally shouted, having finally regained his senses.

All of the boys had, and were now viciously glaring at the brown-haired, politician's son. Now that their fight or flight response was no longer activated, they were now able to use reason, and all of that extra adrenaline was now anger geared towards the poor boy. He didn't know that was going to happen. Daniel wasn't exactly "_smart", _but he knew were to draw the line, when it came to fun. And nearly drowning in a cave, certainly was_ not fun._

Everyone had regained their senses, that includes the two demons, who now realized that _they_ were never in any actual danger. Since demons don't need to _breathe,_ Ciel could've just walked along the bottom and be perfectly fine. He kicked himself internally for this. Why did his _human_ instinct have to get in the way all the time?

The bluenette was pulled from his thoughts when his blonde companion grabbed his hand. The boy was shaking slightly. He was scared too. Not just for himself, but also for the bluenette. His panic seemed to be just now catching up to him. He looked at the bluenette for a moment before wrapping his arms around the boy's neck and hiding his face in his shoulder.

"Alois, are you _crying?"_ Ciel asked. He wasn't sure if the wetness on his shoulder were tears, or just water, at this point.

"..._N-no I'm not..."_ the blonde blubbered. He felt Ciel wrap his arms around his waist and pat him on the back.

"We're _fine._ Everyone is alright." the bluenette cooed in his ear.

Eventually, the other boys stopped their own bickering amongst each other to stop and stare at the two. Ciel didn't have to look over at them, he could _feel_ their stares. They made his skin crawl.

Finally, it became unbearable. He had to say _something_. "What?"

"Oh, don't mind us. We see that you two are having _a moment_." Daniel said.

"_Shut up." _


	90. That Crustacean, Traitorous

The very next day, it appeared that the bluenette was starting to make progress in his swimming. He was now able to say afloat and play with the other boys in the water. This usually consisted of playfully trying to drown each other and splash water in their faces. Occasionally they'll find a piece of seaweed and slap each other with it. Today, however, it would appear that they have made a new "friend".

"Daniel, _put the crab down."_ said Ciel. He was not amused in the slightest at the boy's antics. He knew that this was going to end badly.

"Don't be such a wet blanket, Phantomhive" said the Westly boy, trying to keep the rather frightened crustacean from wriggling out of his grasp. "Preston! _Give me your hand!"_

_ "That thing is going nowhere near my hand."_ the Indian boy wisely responded.

_ "You pansy! Kristopherson, then!"_

_ "Piss off." _While the faux-blonde's reply was rude, it was hardly unjustified.

"_Trancy?"_

Alois stood in the waves with a serious face. Shockingly, he extended his hand to the other boy, being the bravest of the group. "Give it." he commanded.

The boy felt the weight of the crustacean grace his palm as he now held in within his grasp. He looked at it for awhile, holding it just so it's claws would'nt latch onto his flesh. His eyes gleamed. Ciel knew that look. He's seen it far too many times before.

"Alois, _do not throw the crab."_ the bluenette said, dashing the blonde boy's current dream of seeing a flying crab to pieces.

"What do you want me to do with it? _Set it down gently?"_ Alois asked.

"Yes. Put it down, and leave it alone."

"Ooh~! Phantomhive's got you _whipped!"_ the politician's son teased, earning a glare from the Trancy boy.

"Alois, _do not throw the crab at Daniel."_

_ "DAMMIT!"_ Following the blonde's outburst, the crustacean went free.

"Like I said, _whipped."_ the Westly boy's laughing eyes gleamed at the word.

He was obviously amused this. The notorious "Blonde Menace" yielded for no man, regardless of their ranking or authority, yet here he was, being bossed around by a slightly shorter boy who went swimming in a T-shirt. That was a ridiculous notion to all who knew of his great exploits. The time he told a teacher to "_piss off_" because she told him that he was going to be a failure if he kept up his rude behaviour, the time he punched a much older boy square in the jaw for calling him vicious names, or perhaps the time he wrote the word "_fuck_" in big, bold lettering on the wall in the gymnasium because he "_thought it would be funny_". Good times, good times. All of these events specified the boy's blatant disregard fo authority. In his eyes, the authority the school held over him didn't really exist, and following the mold that was expected of him, being a male high-school student, was only a _suggestion_, not an actual _requirement_. From his "booty shorts", to his attitude, the boy did everything and anything to break that mold, and gain attention. And that's precisely what he did.

Until, of course, Ciel Phantomhive told him otherwise. All the bluenette had to do was say the word, and while the blonde would whine or argue, he inevitably would heed the shorter boy's request. That was a powerful thing. Teachers often asked how the bluenette pulled something off.

Authority was an inherent skill in the bluenette. It was unknown whether it was the sense of command in his voice, or his noble prescence, but whatever it was, he had it. The boy was a mystery, and the source of that power remains unknown to this day.

"Please don't provoke him..." the boy said to Daniel, rolling his visible eye. Daniel had been so caught up on his musings that he didn't even notice the blonde being ready to pounce until now.

"Why? It's fun! And besides, it's _true._" the Westly boy said finally. "You have excellent control over _your woman,_ Phantomhive."

Ciel felt his face heat up a bit at the suggestion, and, while he was busy pondering this, the blonde opened his mouth.

"I am _not_ a _woman!"_ he shouted, splashing up enough water to drown _a whale_. "I am 100% _male!"_

_ "But you were so girly, the way you were hanging all over Phantomhive last night, crying your eyes out."_

_ "_Those were _manly_ tears!"

"Bullshit! You were _bawling!"_

_ "Both of you shut up!"_ it was Kristopherson who intervened. His was growing rather cross at the noise. He was rather upset recalling last night. His jacket was ruined, he nearly drowned, and perhaps worst of all,_ he saw Ciel and Alois embracing_. He felt a pang in his heart, remembering the scene, and while the other boys teased the two about it and brushed it off, it was different for Kristopherson.

He still can't quite get over the fact that the two are dating. While Daniel is using it as a joke, it was unknown whether or not he actually knows anything. Travis, however, seems to have figured it out, and has remained silent as per usual, and Preston's _gaydar _was obviously _broken_, or something. It sometimes _hurt_ to be around those _idiots_.

The two stood there, staring at him for a moment, before turning back to each other. Kristopherson was a bit shocked at himself for his outburst.

"Clearly, Daniel, you must be _blind_, for as most of us can _see,_ I do not have _breasts." _said the blonde, pointing at his bare chest, attracting the bluenette's attention. Ciel was trying his best to _not_ stare at the boy, but Alois was simply making it far too difficult.

"Fine, you're his _man_, then." the brown-haired boy said, catching the blonde off-guard. Alois had no idea how to answer that without bringing the bluenette's and his relationship into light.

Just when it seemed like the blonde was trapped, as if by some _divine retribution for staring too long at the blonde's body, _the poor bluenette felt a piercing pain in his foot.

"_OW! BLOODY HELL! WHAT IN BLAZES IS THAT?!"_ he shouted, gaining the undivided attention of the others. He put his hand on Alois' shoulder and used him for support while he stood on one leg and brought his foot up to inspect the damage.

"_WHAT THE FUCK, CRAB?!"_ the bluenette yelled, eying the crustacean that has firmly clasped onto his toe. "_I SAVED YOU FROM BEING THROWN ACROSS THE BLOODY ATLANTIC, AND THIS HIS WHAT YOU DO, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT?!"_

_ "_Ciel, you're yelling _at a crab..."_ said Alois, keeping the foul-mouthed boy upright. He was amazed at Ciel's behaviour. He can't remember a time when he's heard the boy use such colourful language before. It was quite amusing.

"_SHUT UP AND __**GET IT OFF!"**_

* * *

**A/N: That crab is such a dick...  
**

**CIEL ANGRY! CIEL SMASH CRAB!**

**...Or maybe they'll eat it. Who knows?**

**I'm not entirely sure if he really deserved that, but I wanted that in there _so bad!_**

**This may be the last chapter in this arc, so if there's something else you want to see happen at the beach, send your requests in**** before I move onto something else.** (Or don't. I still feel bad for not answering the other ones yet! AUGH! I'm so sooooorrrryyy! Sometimes they click, and other times they don't! I AM ASHAMED.)

**Ah... I haven't had anything to say recently in these author's notes... Blah... I've always been to tired to keep typing! **

**Oh! Here's something: Have you seen the English dub for _Rosario + Vampire?_ I did. Right after watching the English of _Black Butler_ 2. Why is that important? Well, you see, the English voice actress for the character _Kurumu_, _Brina Palencia,_ also plays _Ciel._ Now _Kurumu_, is what my mom would call, "a big-boobed bimbo" (harsh, mom.) and in episode five (I think) of_ Rosario + Vampire_, she sings a song about said breasts. **

**NOW, after having watched _Black Butler_, the voice was still fresh in my memory, and when that song came on, _I ALMOST DIED FROM HEARING CIEL._ I made the mistake of picturing Ciel's face when I heard the voice, and laughed so hard that it _hurt_. _It hurt so good_. It sounds just like him (because it is him).**

**That story was irrelevant to "Devils Like To Dance", but I thought I'd share it with you, _just because_. **

**Both English dubs of _Rosario + Vampire_ and _Black Butler_ (season one only) are on netflix, in case you want to see that now. You might be able to find it on youtube now, but it wasn't there last time I checked. Even if the show isn't exactly your cup of tea, it is still _so worth it_ to hear Ciel sing about boobs, and say various other slutty things. Just close your eyes, and imagine Ciel...**

**My brother loves that show. "_For the plot," obviously._**

_**Honestly, the manga's better, though. Derp!**_

**Back on topic?**_** Maybe someday...**_

_**Until the next chapter, my dear sweet little duckies...**_


	91. Somewhere On Mars

After an exhausting two weeks of playing at the beach, the sensational six packed up and piled into the car to head home. They said "goodbye" to the sandy beach, the house, the haunted cave with dead pirates, and that rather ungrateful crab that had assaulted the bluenette, and the ocean where the boys had played and splashed about in, whilst simultaneously attempting the teach Ciel to swim. Perhaps they would come back another day.

The ride home had started pleasantly, as the ride to the beach had, but as time progressed, everyone was starting to feel claustrophobic, and worst of all, _bored_. Growing ever restless, the Daniel broke the persistent silence to comment on an observation.

"Hey, Ciel," he said, "is there a reason why you, Alois and Sebastian paint your nails?" The boys had asked Sebastian during the break when they noticed initially noticed it, but the man would simply dodge the question. "I knew you and Alois painted your fingernails, but at the beach, I saw that your toenails are painted too. Sebastian's as well. Why is that?"

Ciel nearly jumped when he heard the question. How could he explain that? Demons just have black finger and toenails, that is a fact. However, telling the others that would not be wise. Even if he did, they would probably think of it as a joke, and ask, "Okay, but seriously, why do you?" The bluenette needed to think of an excuse, and _fast._

Before the lad could even open his mouth, Alois was all over the question. "I thought it would be funny to paint my nails..." the blonde began, lying with ease. Both he, and the bluenette were _excellent_ at _lying,_ but then again, so are most _sociopaths._

"...And I asked Ciel if he would let me paint his too. He said 'no' at first, but eventually he said he would let me if Sebastian did it too." he continued.

What a stupid notion. Anyone who thought about it for at _least_ a little bit would know that Ciel's fingernails had been that colour since he enrolled at Warwick, _long_ before the blonde did. That story couldn't make sense, because the boys _supposedly_ did not know each other until the blonde enrolled in the school. _No one_ was going to buy that.

"Hahaha! I can _totally_ see that happening!" said the Westly boy. The others agreed, much to the bluenette's disbelief. How could anyone be so _stupid?_ Ciel rubbed his temples, fighting off a headache from the idiocy that sometimes radiated from this group.

The next few hours were filled with these kind of shenanigans, and games. Worst of all was the _singing._ Ciel pressed the side of his head against the window, as though trying to disassociate himself from the group as they sang.

"_Let me tell you how it will be,_

_There's one for you, nineteen for me,_

_'Cause I'm the Taxman,_

_Yeah, I'm the Taxman!_

_Should five per cent appear too small,_

_Be thankful I don't take it all!_

_'CauseI'm the Taxman,_

_Yeah, I'm the Taxman!"_ the boys sang.

Ciel of course, was around when the Beatles first came out with that song. It was quite odd to hear those who weren't enjoy it so much. Especially Alois, who still couldn't understand much of the modern world as it currently was. He also found the irony of a bunch of _rich kids _singing about _taxes._ Most of their parents do everything in their power to _avoid _them.

"_If you drive a car..."_ Alois sang.

"..._I'll tax the street!"_ the others would fill in.

"_If you try to sit..."_ the blonde sang again.

_ "...I'll tax your seat!"_ sang the others. They had apparently assigned the blonde a part.

_ "If you get too cold..."_

_ "...I'll tax the heat!"_

_ "If you take a walk..."_

_ "...I'll tax your feet!_

And they just kept singing while the bluenette would try to ignore them. He would never involve himself in something something so _stupid_.

"Ciel! You need to sing too!" Daniel shouted, earning a distinct chuckle from the driver's seat.

The bluenette gave the butler a glare, which was _felt_, but went unseen, do to the fact that Sebastian's eyes were fixed on the road. What a _waste._

_** "No."**_ the slate-haired boy said plainly, rejecting the request immediately. He didn't even leave any time to think about it.

"Oh, _come on!_ Have some _fun!"_ Daniel whined as a reply.

"I think Ciel's a bit_ worn out _from fun, mate." the blonde intervened. He knew that this was the case. The bluenette was more quiet then usual, it that is at all possible. Normally he would add his input into the conversation every once and a while, at the very least. But today he was uninvolved and downright _lethargic_.

This is how these introvert types are, you see. Being around people for too long wears them out. Alois has noted this, as he was very observant of the boy. The first time he noticed this was after the play when they got home. Ciel had simply passed out on the couch, and nearly scared the blonde to death because he _wasn't breathing_. At the time he was unaware of the fact that demons do not require oxygen. He knew they didn't need _sleep,_ so the fact that the boy was out cold really meant something.

"How can fun wear you out?" asked Daniel. Being an _extrovert, _he couldn't understand this, just as the Phantomhive boy couldn't quite understand how the politician's son was even _still standing._

"_It just does_." said Alois, "Do not question me, child!"

"Who are _you_ calling a _'child',_ blondie_?!"_

_ "You, _since you obviously _are_ one, ya _anklebiter!"_

"You! You..." Daniel had to pause in order to think for a moment, "_...Airy-fairy!"_

_ "_How_ very _dare you?!"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you're little disagreement, _ladies_, but it appears we have a problem." Ciel said finally.

"Hey! I'm not a lady! Alois. yes, but me, _no!"_ shouted Daniel.

"And that would be?" the blonde asked in regard to his bluenette companion's speculation, completely ignoring the whole "lady" thing (as he's heard it before).

"_Preston has to go."_ said Travis.

"Why didn't he go when we left?"

"I _did_, but that was _hours ago!"_ said the boy with the distressed bladder.

"Oh..."

"There should be a petrol station up ahead, but it will be a few minutes." the driver said, glancing in the rearview mirror at the youths. Kristopherson was to his left in the passenger seat, completely ignoring everything with his headphones in. He was apparently tired of people as well.

"A chance to get out of this car for a few moments sounds _lovely."_ the bluenette said.

"You don't like being next to _me?" _the blonde asked teasingly, leaning against the boy just to annoy him, forcing him against the door. Alois momentarily forgot about the "_introvert condition"_, due to the knowledge being overshadowed by his burning desire to tease the boy.

"If you're going to be like that, then _yes!"_ the bluenette nearly growled.

"Oh, Ciel! You_ wound _me so!"

"That station better be _damn_ close..." Ciel really did love the blonde, but when he has had two weeks with hardly any time to himself, _everyone and everything_ was irritating. This was especially true about the chuckling man clad in all black in the driver's seat, causing the boy to impulsively kick it.

When they stopped, everyone got out to stretch, Sebastian refueled the vehicle, _Preston went pee_, and the children practically _raided _the station's snack supply. The store owners couldn't complain, however, since the boy's had the money to _pay _for it all.

"Hey, hey, Ciel, look here!" the blonde called to his companion.

"Mmm?" was all the bluenette could say with his mouth full. He currently had half a candy bar hanging out of his mouth. The boy's appitite for sweets was really something.

He looked over and saw the other boys (minus Kristiopherson) posing in Union Jack top-hats and sunglasses, pointing their fingers like they where guns. While Ciel wasn't sure what the boys were doing, he was sure that they didn't know either. He also knew they looked _ridiculous._

"Aha! _An opening!"_ the blonde shouted as he lunged at the boy like some sort of predatory cat. He then proceeded to bite the end off the candy bar that was hanging out of the boy's mouth. The others let out a simultaneous "ooh~!" as the bluenette finished the treat for the specific purpose of yelling at the boy.

"_ALOIS!"_

_ "Yes? _If you're angry about losing a small fraction of a_ Mars bar_, then may I remind you that you purchased around a _bajillion_ more?"

"'A _bajillion'_ isn't even a number!"

_ "How would you know?! Have you ever counted past at least a trillion!? Numbers are infinite, Ciel!"_

_ "That's not the point!"_ the bluenette said, motioning over to the snickering group of boys watching them argue.

"What? It's not like I _kissed_ you, or anything."

"You, you-!" Ciel began, trying to find the words. Finally, he let out a sigh, and calmed himself. "Oh, what is the use? I give up..." he said, mostly to himself.

"_Like a married couple..."_ Daniel teased.

_ "SHUT IT."_

* * *

**A/N: Mars Bars are apparently big in Britain. I wonder why... You can hardly find them over here in 'Murica anymore...  
**

_**"...And it was at that moment that HateWeasel realized something dire; something that would change the way she viewed Britain forever. THE BRITISH HAD STOLEN THE AMERICAN'S SUPPLY OF MARS BARS."**_

**MOTHER OF GOD**_**...**_

**All silliness aside, that's the only reason for the name of this chapter.  
**

**See? I said something that actually had something to do with the chapter this time! YAY, ME!**

**Semi-related: I think it's funny that when I clicked to read the newest reviews for this fic, and advertisment that said "Should the Boy Scouts Ban Gays? Vote Now!" at the top of the page. **

**This site has a bunch of weird adds... Like this one add I see all the time for _corsets_, which makes me somewhat question the clientele of this site... (Corset scene cosplay?)**

**In your reviews, I often see you guys fret about taking too much of the wall, or asking too many questions. _Don't._ When you guys share what you liked, what made you squee, laugh, or cry, or when you share your own speculations and observations on the characters and what is happening, _it really helps me out a lot. _It makes writing this so much easier when I'm able to play of your opinions, and build onto what you like. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I really couldn't do this without reviews like that! Never think your review is too long, or too boring, because I love hearing (well, seeing) what you have to say, _and that helps write this fic. I LOVE YOO GAIZ SO MUCH. I NEED A BUCKET TO CONTAIN ALL OF THESE FEELS, OR MAYBE SEVEN._**

**Well, now that I've shared my random musings with you, I must say, goodbye.**

**May we meet again in the next chap- HOLY SHIT WE ARE IN THE NINETIES?! WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?! HOW MANY CHAPTERS AM I EVEN ALLOWED TO POST?! I ONLY STARTED THIS IN JANUARY! I DON'T EVENNNNNN! **

**...**

**...Laters, duckies...**


	92. A New Year At Warwick

With the end of Summer vacation, came another glorious school year at Warwick academy. However, the students didn't quite see it that way. Most of the students missed their days of lying around and doing nothing, or going and hanging out with friends upon walking through the front door. Alas, this is a place for academics, not "fun".

Be that as it may, there was still fun to be had, as we all know, at Warwick. This is due to the many interesting people of Warwick. Some students parents were politicians, others owners of famous brands and manufacturers. Some students own companies themselves, or were members of a secret government agency, or rank, such as_ Ciel Phantomhive_, CEO of _Funtom toys_, and "_The Queen's Guard Dog_".

Yes, students such as these returned to walk the grounds of Warwick in order to receive an education (or kill boredom, if they're demons). However, a new school year also means new students of Warwick, wither by entering their freshman year, or by transfer. Either way, it is now their task to adjust to the Warwick lifestyle.

"Did you see the new kids?!" asked Daniel Westly, a politician's son. The boy seemed even more excited than usual, if that was at all possible.

"No, why?" asked a certain Alois Trancy, turning is attention away from his bluenette companion for a moment.

"'Why?' '_Why?'!_ Only because they're famous! It's _Cecil Hauntington, _and _Alphonse Tracy!"_

_ "Who?"_

_ "_Are you talking about that_ stupid movie _you tried to get us to see?" Ciel asked, remembering the movie that the brown-haired boy had tried to convince his friends to go see with him. The movie sounded _comfortingly_ similar to his own life, therefore he wanted to distance himself from anything involved with it.

"It's not _stupid."_

_ "'Idiotic'? 'Ridiculous'?"_ The blonde suggested.

"Laugh all you want, but that movie grossed over one-point-two-million quid!"

"You act as though that's a _significant amount_, Daniel." said Ciel.

"How much money do your toys even make?" the brown-haired boy asked. He shuddered upon seeing the Phantomhive boy's evil smirk. "Uh... Forget I asked..."

At that moment, two faces unfamiliar to the demonic pair walked through the doorway. They didn't get a very good look at them, since a bunch of girls flocked to them and crowded around them.

"Bloody hell! It's them! Dammit! those girls are in the way!_ Now I'll never get an autograph!" _Daniel complained, earning a blank stare from the other lads.

"What is the significance of a_ piece of paper with a name on it?_ Unless it's a contract that's actually _worth something,_ it might as well be _toilet paper!"_ Alois joked. He didn't understand the worship of film actors at all.

There where very few films in his day, and those were all _silent_. While he did think that that the invention of "talkies" was significant, regarding them as a wonderful art-form, the characters on the screen were just that. _Characters_. The actors themselves could not do the things that the characters they played could do. They couldn't save the word, use magic, or survive high-speed car-chases. They were just _people_. Boring, ordinary people. Therefore it was an absolute mystery to the blonde as to why they are downright _worshiped_. It was a silly notion, indeed, but his bluenette friend had to agree. Actors are just people. They aren't heroes, villains, or anything but _people_. Daniel's desire to obtain a _piece of paper with a name on it_ was ridiculous.

"It's _not_ _toilet paper!_ It has sentimental value! It's so you can prove you met them!" the son of a politician said defensively.

"Daniel. _They're in your class..." _pointed out the bluenette.

"That's _different."_

Ciel introduced the palm of his hand to his forehead. This boy was unbelievable. Alois was '_normal'_ compared to this boy. Talking to Daniel sometimes physically hurt him. It mostly gave him headaches, but sometimes in made him_ question humanity_.

Suddenly, the sea of girls parted, revealing a very cross Mr. Irons. Yes,_ Mr. Irons_. The teacher had apparently switched grades, so he was teaching history to this class once again, much to the students' displeasure. The man was tall, with an angry brow, an angled face, and dirty-looking, reddish-brown hair. Mr. Irons is appropriately named, for his iron-grip on the classroom. His authority was absolute, his rules were strict, and he was also not a _patient_ man. When he walked into the classroom, children fled, and were quiet until the bell rang.

Even Alois Trancy, The Blonde Menace was weak against him. He was on his best behaviour in Mr. Iron's classroom, because in all honesty, _he was very afraid of the man._ He was afraid of grown men in general, aside from Sebastian, and Ciel in his "grown-up" form, but Mr. Irons filled him with_ absolute terror_. From the man's _face_, to his brash, loud voice, to his downright _ominous_ presence.

As such, the girls who were so anxious to converse with the new students rushed to their seats, fleeing from the man who the students' purple knight was unable to fight against. They left the two newbies to fend for themselves. The two boys at the front of the classroom were unsure what had just happened, but they were about to find out.

"_Quiet!"_ the man roared. He pointed his finger at the stragglers and yelled at them too. "You two! Sit down!" hurriedly, the startled child-actors did as they were told.

The first boy was a charming-looking boy with dark hair that held a green tint to it. He wore a green sweater-vest underneath his blazer, trimmed in red, but no tie. According to Daniel, his name was _Lawrence Rose,_ who played the character _Cecil Hauntington_ in the movie "_Devil Butler"._ The boy took a seat on the side of the classroom opposite to the boys.

The second was a brutish-looking boy, or, one who _tried_ to appear that way. He was slightly shorter than Lawrence, with pierced ears and dark brown hair with pink highlights in it. His blazer had patches of the logos for many famous rock bands, and looked as though it was _intentionally_ torn, lacking sleeves, as did his dress shirt underneath. His tie was red and had the end cut off, and was starting to fray. He looked as though he was trying to pull of a punk rock sort of look. According to Daniel, his name was _Walter Hackett,_ and played the character _Alphonse Tracy _in the movie "_Devil Butler"._ He was stopped in his tracks by Irons before he could even take one step towards an open desk.

"_You."_ the man said, pointing his finger at the boy with a glare. "That uniform is against the school dress code. Get out. Get changed. _Now_."

After a few moments, the boy unfroze himself and feigned his best look of "not giving a damn". He said to the man: "And if I _don't_? What are _you_ going to do about it? I'll dress how I _want."_

The oxygen from the room disappeared when all the students simultaneously gasped. No one talks to Mr. Irons, and gets away with it. Anger came over the man's face and he stormed over to the boy, towering over him, making sure to look _down_ on him.

"'What will I do'?" he echoed in a calm voice before taking up the volume. "_'WHAT WILL I DO', HUH?!"_ The Hackett boy lost all of that confidence he had given himself. His face turned pale as he sunk down, as though trying to escape into the floor.

"I'll _tell _you what I'd do!" Irons continued, mercilessly. "I'd grab you by your _stupid_ hair, and _drag_ you to the headmaster's office kicking and screaming! THAT'S WHAT I'D DO! Now march your sorry, _pathetic_ self down to the front office, and change your uniform, ya pillock!"

Slowly, _Walter_ regained enough sense to comply, and forced his legs to walk himself out the door. For whatever reason, Mr. Irons turned to face the direction of Warwick's own "Blonde Menace", who was practically beaming to himself.

_ "Wipe that grin of your face, Trancy!_ Right! Welcome to World History!" thus class began without any other interruptions.

Now,_ why was Alois grinning_, you may ask? The answer is simple. He knew a poser when he saw one. The kid _wanted_ to be the _devil_ that he was, and he knew it. Without a doubt, this school year was bound to be _interesting_.

* * *

**A/N: WARWICK.  
**

**I love that word for whatever reason... In the beginnings of various chapters where I begin with talking about how "wonderful" Warwick Academy is, I also imagine the narrator from _Negima?!_ reading it. This has just become my inside joke that only I knew about until I just told you. I just think it's fun. **

**NOW, 'bout these here new bitches: I know some of you didn't like the whole _Devil Butler_ thing, but I came up with this idea. (I can't stop my brain from doing what it wants...) _Devil Butler_ is just a plot device. Granted, it's a silly one that I pulled out of nowhere, but hey, it is what it is.**

**Anyways, they aren't going to replace the _Sensational Six._ Heavens, no! _I love the Sensational Six... They're so... Sensational!_**

** I have plans, you see... I would reassure you, but there would be spoilers.**

** _God, all the OC's._.. No matter how many times you guys reassure me, I still can't help but feel uneasy about them. I thinks it's just that "OC" is kind of like a "dirty word" 'round these parts. Most people go like, "An Oc?! I AIN'T READIN' THAT!" (Ain't nobody got time fo dat!) I'm really glad that you guys like them, though! Especially Kristopherson... He's my favourite, too, but lately I feel like _Daniel_ is stealing the limelight. He's just such a very convenient character to initiate mayhem, y'know?**

**Anyways, there was an idea pitched by _Emeraldpaw_, where "Ciel, Alois, and the gang to go To an anime convention for 'the devil butler'." However, I didn't think this idea would work, because at least in this universe, _Devil Butler isn't an anime!_ Then _this _idea _punched me in the face,_ giving me the opportunity to introduce characters I've had since before the beginning. (Which is pretty much the same as every OC so far...) I'm sorry!**

**Ah... I hope this works like I want it too... We have a long arc ahead of us...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	93. You'll Rue This Day!

Once again, the blonde menace had gotten himself into trouble, and once again he had been put on library duty. While he didn't like books, he liked the time to just _think_ about things, so he never particularly mind the punishment. What he _did_ mind, however, were the people who were _also_ on library duty.

Naturally, these are all the "delinquent kids" who always misbehave without any _grace_ or _wit _at all, and Alois rather didn't like that kind. The blonde had it down to an _art-form,_ and here these snotty brats were, with their tiny, _pea-sized _brains just flinging around random, unthought-out mischief. Granted, the blonde was more than just a bit _impulsive,_ but at least he was _witty, and bold_. These kids where amateurs, at best. They acted though, but lacked any finesse in the art of devilry.

And on this day, who was it to be added to the bunch, but a Mr. _Walter Hackett,_ his supposed_ movie rip-off_. HE knew that boy was a poser when he first laid eyes on him. "_Look at him, he even changed his uniform like the teacher said to! Disgraceful!"_ Alois thought, noting the fact that the boy now had on a full blazer as opposed to his torn-sleeve atroucity he wore earlier.

The boy talked to the others, and just hung out rather than working. The librarian would catch them slacking off eventually, but it still peeved the blonde a bit. He put another book in it's rightful place, at the top of the shelf. It was up so high that he needed a step-stool to reach the thing.

"Watch this." Walter said to his new "friends", and walked over to Alois. The others snickered, not about what the boy was about to do, but what the blonde was going to do to _him._ You see, all of them had quarreled with the Trancy boy at some point, and all of them were utterly, and humiliatingly, defeated.

The Hackett boy, however, knew nothing of this, and thought the snickering was directed towards Alois. He walked over to where the boy was, and cocked his leg back in preparation to kick the stool right out from underneath the blonde. Alois smiled.

He sensed the Hackett boy. He put the last book on the shelf before promtly _round-housing the boy in the face. _His foe flew, and he made a small noise in surprise. Fortunately for him, Alois held back immensely. He the blonde been serious,_ Walter would be missing his head._

The boy landed on his rear with a thud, only to be greeted by the blonde. "Afternoon." Alois said with a smile. "Do you need something?"

Walter rubbed his cheek ."Did you just-?"

"_Kick you in the face?_ Yeah, I did. I _would _say 'I'm sorry', but I for one, _don't like lies."_ the blonde hopped down from his stool, making a graceful landing. "Anything else?"

"What the hell?! You can't just kick me!"

"But you can knock over my stool, causing me to fall? _That makes complete sense!"_ the flaxen-haired teen's words dripped with sarcasm. He knew he wasn't going to like this boy.

"Shut up!"

"Nah, don't feel like it. Perhaps you could _make me?"_

Walter stood up and clenched his fists. "Who do you think you are?! _I'm_ the villain of last year's most grossing film! Who are _you?!"_

To this, the blonde smirked, that evil little smirk of his. He loved this question. He loved putting self-entitled brats like these in their place.

"Why, around here, I'm known as '_The Blonde Menace', Alois Trancy._ And I don't give a damn how well your stupid movie sold! That information isn't useful in the slightest." He took a step closer to the other boy. "Listen, I don't know if you are aware of this, but here at Warwick, _everyone_ is just as _'special' _as you are. Everyone has money, and everyone has power. Being an actor doesn't make you 'special' at Warwick. Get used to it."

Alois is what could be called, a "_cannibal bully"_. He likes only likes to bully _bullies_. It simply tickled him to crush these supposedly "powerful" people like bugs underneath his foot. His was a bit sadistic, in this sense, just like his bluenette companion, Ciel Phantomhive. The blonde was ruthless when it came to these people, and he got a kick out of it.

"I'm not special, huh?" Walter asked, "Then why do all of these girls flock to me when I walk into a classroom, huh?! I get asked for autographs everywhere I go! How it that not special?"

"_Dunno. Don't care." _was all the blonde said. For whatever reason, this struck a chord with the other boy, sending him over the edge.

"Who cares what a stupid _poof_ like you thinks?!" Alois just smirked at how funny the whole thing was to him.

"Stop that! _Stop smiling!" _the Hatchett boy ordered, but the smirk remained on Alois' face, taunting him. It viciously ate at Walter. He was used to everyone doing as he said, but here this boy was, mocking him!

"_Piss off."_ Alois said to the boy, delivering the final blow. That was all it took to get the boy to lash out.

He cocked his arm back and sprung it forth, hitting the boy in the jaw. _But the blonde didn't flinch._ It didn't hurt him. Walter _couldn't _hurt him.

The boy stormed out of the library after that, abandoning his duties. "I'll get you, Trancy! You'll see!" and with that he slammed the door.

While the blonde smiled, and got back to work, he hadn't the faintest idea that he had made an enemy that day. But then again, what kind of damage could one weak bully cause?

* * *

**A/N: I'm afraid this will turn into something typical... I'll do what I can to stop this...  
**

**This feels 'off' somehow... Probably because I'm kind of tired while tying this... It messes with the quality!**

**Laters, duckies...  
**


	94. Prepare For Trouble Without The Double

By the next morning, nasty rumours started spreading about the Blonde Menace. When he walked through the door, he was assaulted by stares and glares, yet he paid no mind. He was curious, however, and perked his ears to find out what everyone was so disturbed by.

_ "I heard that Trancy whored his way into this school."_

_ "Yeah, and he never gets in trouble because he has a 'special deal' with the headmaster."_

_ "Disgusting!"_

_ "What do his parents even do? Obviously he didn't get in on a scholarship."_

His went pale at these rumours. The blonde felt auspicious at the memories they brought up. "_Why was this happening? That couldn't be further from the truth!"_ he thought. Still, he was haunted by all of this. Sometimes certain words, phrases, or situations triggered flashbacks to appear before the boy's eyes, a common symptom of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and this is what he was experiencing now as he stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. Everything around him seemed to be moving at a mile a minute, while he remained frozen.

He was pulled from his trance by a hand on his shoulder. Looking over, he saw Ciel and remembered where he was.

_ "Ignore it." _the bluenette said. His face was serious, in an unusual way. Right now, he had a certain amount of sincerity and understanding on his face. Then it occurred to the blonde that Ciel's hearing was just as good as his, thus he too, heard to horrible things being said.

"_I'm trying_." the blonde said back in a hushed tone so that his voice may not crack.

_"Did you hear about Trancy?"_ a nearby girl asked her friends before receiving the Phantomhive's "ice-beam" turned on at full-blast. They were frozen immediately.

Ciel turned his attention back to the blonde. "Let's go." he said, directing the boy by pushing on his shoulder a bit. He kept his hand there, and shot ice-beams the entire way to class, where he expected the worst. He didn't say this to the blonde, however. Judging by Alois' face, he had already thought of that.

They walked through the doorway, and were surprised at what they saw. All of the children looked at the blonde with sad and pitying eyes, not at all how the children i the hallways had looked at him. Daniel stood up and walked over to the boy.

"I don't believe it!" he said. "Not one word!_ That's not Alois Trancy!"_

He was followed by several "yeahs" and nods from the remainder of the students. They didn't believe the lies at all.

"You wouldn't do any of that, Alois." Kristopherson said reassuringly.

"Somebody's been talking shit!" Preston said, surprising himself by swearing.

"Whenever I find out who started this..." Travis began, cracking his knuckles. "...things are going to get _ugly." _The class gulped at what that might entail.

"Leave it to me, I'll find out who did this." Ciel said, giving a smirk. His dark aura was emitting from his being at an alarming rate. "When I do, they will pay _dearly_." Everyone was more afraid of Ciel than the were of the son of a pro-wrestler. Now _that_ was scary.

He stopped smirking for a moment and turned to the blonde, replacing the evil face with a warm smile. "So don't worry about it." he said, patting the boy on the back.

That did it. Alois cried. However, these were not tears of despair or sadness. No, for the first time in his miserable life, Alois cried out of _joy_. These people _cared_ about him. The blonde's sudden tears made everyone jump, including Ciel.

"Stop it, Ciel!_ You're scaring him!" _shouted Daniel.

"I am _not!" _the bluenette shouted back. "Alois, what's wrong?"

"_Nothing_. Nothing at all!" the blonde said with a grin. Tears streamed down his face, but he didn't care. "I love you guys!"

With that, the Phantomhive boy smiled before directing his attention to the class. "Right! First thing's first. We need to start damage control! Everyone Do their part to get rid of these rumours, and if you don't, you'll have to answer to me! Got it?" he said in his signature administrative manner, gaining the side of the room's inhabitants.

"Yes sir!"

"Aye aye, Captain Short-stuff!"

"Got it."

Where some of the many answers the students gave him. Alois was an important person to the class, and they weren't going to let such a blatant act of bullying continue.

"That's all fine and dandy, Phantomhive," Kristopherson said, straightening his pink tie. "But how exactly do you plan at discovering the source of the rumours? If you don't stop them there, they'll just come back."

Ciel smirked at the question and answered it with certainty. "Let's just say '_I know someone.'_ All it will cost me is a_ Pixie Stick_."

Somewhere in the classroom sat a mister _Walter Hackett,_ who sunk down in his desk and tried to distance himself from the classes activity. Next to him sat a mister _Lawrence Rose,_ a friend and former co-star.

"Wally, you wouldn't have anything to do with this, now would you?" Lawrence whispered to his friend discreetly.

Walter scrunched his nose and looked at the boy before whispering back. If he spoke any louder he would be dealt with on the spot. "And if I _did?"_

The boy with the green tinted hair was taken aback by this. He leaned over to his friend once more. "Then you won't be getting any help from _me_. You've been acting weird, Wally. Why would you do something like that?" his inquiry was met with silence. "It doesn't matter anymore, I guess. What's done is done. I won't tell anyone it was you, but I won't_ help _you either. You got us kicked out of school before, and I won't let myself be pulled into this mess again!"

"Oh c'mon! You know I didn't do that on purpose!" Walter finally objected.

"But it was still your fault!" Lawrence said back. "I can't be around you if you're going to keep acting this way! This is a nice school, and I don't want to be kicked out of it because of something stupid that _you _did!" He leaned back into his seat and watched the others try and get the Trancy boy to stop crying, smiling at how good friends the bunch were. He had to admit, the actor kind of felt a little envious of them.

Walter just sat in his desk, staring at the other boy. He was flabbergasted that Lawrence would just cut off their friendship like that. When they had first met on the set, they were inseparable. They would hang out, joke together, go to gigs together, and now that was over because of a little _revenge?_

He looked ahead at the sensational six. Now his desire to mess with them burned far more strongly than before.

"_You lot better prepare yourselves." _he thought to himself_. "'Cause I'm going to make this year a living hell for you."_

* * *

**A/N: Walter, you prick...  
**

**I typed most of this last night, but couldn't finish it, due to the fact that drowsiness was hindering my ability to type. As such, I think it's a bit weak to a point. I tried. I didn't finish it and upload sooner because I was out and about since waking up. Y'know how it is **

**It just occurred to me that I typed his name wrong in the last chapter. I wrote "Hatchett" instead of "Hackett" like I did when I introduced him. I'm too lazy to fix it, but from now on, it will be "Hackett", like I intended it.**

**His character is bacally based on every though-guy type kid I've ever met at school. You know? They aren't that bright, they think they're clever and "cute" while at the same time really tough? They like to pick on kids whenever they feel like they can get away with it. BUT ONLY WHEN THEY HAVE BACK-UP. They're cowards, like that. Otherwise they'll sometimes pull shit like Walter is doing here. **

**Like Alois was doing last chapter, cannibal-bullying them is an easy way to get them to stop bothering you. If you make them look like an idiot in front of their friends, they'll leave you be. Yes, I AM A CANNIBAL BULLY, THAT IS HOW I KNOW. Still, nobody messes with the HateWeasel, and it is _so _worth it. School was so awful before I got this down. None of the standard defenses worked. Ignoring them, telling the teachers or going to the principal, nothing else worked. Only bullying them back did.**

**Remember: you're having a battle of wits with someone who is most likely _unarmed_. Therefore in theory, you should have the advantage. It becomes automatic, after awhile. **

**Insult: "Your outfit looks stupid."**

**Answer: "What a coincidence! S_o does your face."_**

**Easy.**

**It just _flies_ out of my mouth now.**

_**I'm not even sorry.**_

**Whoa, this got serious for some reason... Still, I reckon some of you_ know that feel_.**

**I should write a damn book on this!**

**As a side note that I forgot to put in chapter 92, whenever I type dialogue for Mr. Irons, in my head, he always has a Scottish, or Northern British accent for whatever reason. Just always has. There is no reason other than the fact that I like the way it sounds. Little late to mention, but hey, I'm just throwin' it out there.**

**Until the Next chapter, my duckies!**


	95. The Boy In The Big Chair

The Warwick common's room was exactly the same as the last time we were here. The room was decorated in school colours with images of Griffons all over the place, since that was their mascot. It had couches, and snack machines, and chairs to sit in, but the one that the bluenette walked up to was known as "the big chair", which was now the place famous for being able to find _Audrey Baines._

Audrey, as you may already know, was a small boy, almost smaller than the bluenette himself, he had darkly coloured hair, that peeked out from underneath his skull beanie, with his bangs hiding his eyes. The lad had a thing for the paranormal, and is known as sort of a nutter for claiming to see what Ciel knew to be a grim reaper, according to the lad's description. This was why Ciel tried not to get too close to the boy. If there was one person who would bother to snoop around enough to find out his true identity, it was Audrey.

Nevertheless, today he was forced into contact with the boy in the large chair. For Audrey was famous for another reason. _He would provide any information about anyone or anything on this campus._ However, the boy didn't work for free. Audrey did not ask for money, nor favors, not even a _laugh_, unlike a _certain_ old informant. No, what the boy desired was nothing more than a candy sold by the _Wonka_ company known as the _Pixie Stick._

The lad's family was in medicine and health, therefore his sugar intake was strictly monitored; a horrible crime against all that is good, if you ask the Phantomhive boy. While the bluenette didn't particularly care for surrendering candy, he wanted the information bad enough that he was willing to do so, if not only just this once. He had someone he cared about more than sweets, now.

It could be argued that the boy could just _force _the information out of Audrey, however the lad was known to give _false_ information to those who tried. He used his information control like a weapon, and that, Ciel respected. Audrey once besmirched the name of the school's rugby team captain so badly, that he had to transfer schools. He did it because the tougher boy unwisely bullied him.

The lad was a cannibal-bully, much like Alois was. While, the Baines boy _could_ have spread the rumors about the blonde, it was unlikely. Audrey was a "cannibal-bully", too. He didn't bully people he had no quarrel with. That made no sense to the boy. He didn't like it, so why would anyone else? He saved it for when it was necessary.

Ciel walked up to the quiet boy sitting cross legged in his designated seat, playing his _PSP_. "_Baines."_ the bluenette said simply as greeting.

"_Phantomhive."_ the boy said back, informing the boy that he was aware of his presence. He looked up at the boy through his bangs. "I think I have a pretty good idea why _you're_ here. How's Trancy doing?"

"He's fine now. He get's called names, occasionally, but he combats them the same way as usual." the bluenette _half-lied._ Occasionally an insult or two would strike a chord with the blonde, and give him another shocking flashback. However, Ciel supported him to the best of his ability, which worked wonders on the boy's psyche.

"That's good to hear." Baines said, tilting his head up to make sure the other boy knew he had his full attention. "Do you have_ payment?"_

_ "Naturally."_ said the eye-patched gentleman, reaching into his book bag and pulling out a small package of _pixie sticks_.

"You must want to know pretty bad then, judging by the quantity. But hey, _I'm not complaining_. So," said the boy in the chair, taking the package and opening it. "my guess is that you'd like to know where these rumors about Trancy are coming from, yes?"

"_If you'd be so kind."_

The seated boy smiled. "It would appear that a few days ago, Trancy had a little falling out with one of the members of Mr. Irons' first period class."

This news surprised the bluenette. Everyone in that particular class had been so supportive. He patiently waited for the other boy to continue. He really did like to beat around the bush, but upsetting him could mean wrong information.

"In the Library, while Alois was serving a sentence, there were others there at the scene of the crime who were doing the very same thing. One of them, being a_ new _student. Now who does that narrow it down to?"

"Those two actors, of course. Did they both do it? Why?"

"No, it appears that the once known as 'Lawrence Rose' has distanced himself from the other due to some '_personal disagreement'."_ Audrey said, making air quotations with his fingers. "So that rules him out, leaving the one known as 'Walter Hackett'. It appeared that he was a victim of Alois' own 'bully defense'."

"Is that so?" said the bluenette. His questions were all answered, except one, that tugged at his mind. "Out of curiosity, how exactly did you come across this information, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I don't mind at all, but if I told you, it would cost you extra." Audrey said jokingly.

"_Right._ Thanks for the information." the Phantomhive boy said before turning to leave. But before he could do so, the boy in the chair called out to him.

"If you'd like, I'd be happy to perform some damage control." he said.

"If you'd please? I'll bring you payment tomorrow..."

"No, no._ It's on me_." the boy said with a smile. If there was one thing Audrey couldn't stand, it was bullying.

"Thanks, Audrey." Ciel said, flashing the boy a smile. Now it was time for him to plan how to put a stop to all of this nonsense.

"No problem." the other boy said, downing the contents of one of the paper tubes. "I'm just glad it's not _me_ you're after."


	96. I Got You

True to his word, the Hackett boy began his torment of the Sensational Six. He gathered up everyone who had a grudge with any of the boys, and united them all under this cause. By themselves, none of the delinquents were a threat, but together with organization, now _that was problematic._

First, he began with Preston, the weakest-looking of the bunch. Walter wasn't entirely sure how to mess with him, so he just menaced him as much as possible. Whenever he was spotted alone, he would be harrassed. They would call the boy names, mostly racial slurs, and things about his height. They would play keep away with his bag, steal his possessions, and threatened to beat him up if he told any one. The boy was a mess.

Next, they tormented Kristopherson similarly to how he was tormented before when he first started wearing his short-shorts. He had Preston's treatment, substituting the racial slurs with homophobic names and comments. In addition, he was actually beaten. He was worse off than the Indian boy.

Then it was Daniel's turn, they boy was chased around the school yard until he tripped and fell, landing in mud. Somehow he would have to get his uniform cleaned. The children's laughter didn't help his self-esteem any.

Travis was last to be picked on, as his was brawny, and few thugs felt as though they had a chance crushing him. Since they couldn't threaten him physically, they did so with blackmail. Somehow, they had obtained photos of him punching another boy, and threatened to use them to get kicked out of the gardening club because of violence. What the pictures didn't capture, was that the other boy had been beating a stray cat with a stick. Travis was only trying to save it. Still, assumptions would be made.

Four of the six suffered terrible harassment, excluding Alois, who's reputation had beencleared thanks to a certain boy who was partial to _Pixie Sticks._ None of the six had any idea who was behind all of this, or why. All of them, but _one._

Ciel had been pondering a punishment suitable for the Hackett boy. He would need to suffer dearly for what he's done. However, the bluenette wasn't exactly the "_creative"_ type, so he required the assistance of a so-called "Master of Mayhem".

"Dunno." said a certain blonde boy as he sat in his usual seat in the classroom. "I'd go for '_public humiliation and suspension',_ but as to the _how,_ I've got nothin'."

"_You're helpful_." said the bluenette back. "It needs to be something that will haunt him for the rest of his life..."

Alois opened his mouth to speak, before being interrupted by Ciel. "We are _not 'pantsing'_ him, Alois."

"Yep, I got nothin'..."

"There's got to be _something_..."

Apparently, neither boy was especially creative when it came to finding ways to punish someone without causing them disfigurement, dismemberment, psychological scarring, or _death._ They thought, and they thought, and they thought.

"We could always just kick his ass." said the blonde.

The bluenette scratched his head. "No, we can't be brought down to his level. What is something quick, cruel, unusual..."

"and_ legal."_

_ "_Yes, 'and _legal'_ that we can do to him?"

Suddenly, a light-bulb went off in the lads' heads. They looked at each other, and immediately knew they had the same idea.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Ciel.

_ "We should stuff a bunch of rabid weasels in his locker?!"_

_ "_No... not even close... _Wait, why weasels?"_

_ "On second thought, let's hear your idea."_ the flaxen-haired teen said, realizing that his plan was a little bit more than "ridiculous".

"Think about it. Who is someone who's _job_ it is to protect children, who gives them nightmares? Who on this campus does even 'The Blonde Menace' _fear?"_

"Other than _you,_ I'd have to say..." the blonde trailed off, rubbing his pale gold locks in thought. Then it hit him. "_Mr. Irons!"_

_ Of course._ Mister Irons, the scariest teacher on the entire campus. He would think of a cruel, and legal punishment fit for the Hackett-boy _for _them. But he wasn't the kind to act solely on what was reported to him, because "Kids can be bloody liars". As such, they would need to get Mr. Irons to _see_ the abuse.

That was where the problem was. Bullies _always _make sure a teacher isn't around before attacking. That's why getting Mr. Irons to intervene was going to be tricky. It was up to Ciel to come up with a plan. As the gears turned in his head, he looked over to his friend with a grin, before it quickly faded.

"Wait, you think I'm _scary?"_ he asked.

"Scary, but _sexy."_ Alois replied, trying to stifle his giggle as he watched the blushing boy sitting across from him roll his visible eye.

It was the a few days later that they had all the information ready to be able to put the wheels of their scheme into motion. Ciel was inside the building at point "A", while Alois waited outside at point "B". It is known that Mr. Irons takes a specific route to lunch every single day, as does Hackett and his crew. It is also known that at a certain point, those paths intersect.

Now, often Mr. Irons walks a little faster on his own, than the Hackett gang does, making them not cross paths at the same time. Thus, it is Ciel's part to _stall _the teacher just enough so that he runs into Hackett.

"You sure this will work?" said the blonde on his cellphone to the bluenette.

_"About ninety-eight percent sure_." the shorter male replied watching his accomplice from a window. "There's about ten seconds before Hackett rounds the corner. Are you ready?"

_ "You're just lucky I do all of my own stunts_." the blonde said before hanging up. He had signed up for this role because it was the most _fun._ He had his sights set on his target. Now, it was show time.

It wouldn't be hard to get the boys' attention. Well, not if you're Alois Trancy. He had _a way with people_- way with getting them angry. He walked over until he was only a few yards away. He let out a loud whistle, getting the attention of most of the yard, yet he remained focused on his target.

"Oi! You lot!" he said before holding up his middle finger to them. "_Suck it, you airy-faeries!"_

That's it. That's all it took for him to get their attention. Immediately, they all ran after him, sprinting as fast as they could in order to catch the boy. Alois kept it slow enough to keep them on his tail, but fast enough to stay out of reach, while he ran about the yard running through other groups of children, jumping over things, making it ridiculous.

On Ciel's end, he saw Mr. Irons exit his classroom before locking the door behind him. Briskly, he walked along the corridor with his mind on food. It wasn't long before Ciel left his spot by the window and walked up along beside him, keeping pace.

"Excuse me, sir. But I have a question about this upcoming test." the boy lied.

"What? _You? You_ have a question about a test? Have you gone mental, Or is too much studying finally gettin' to ya?" the man asked. He knew the Phantomhive boy wasn't the kind to ask for help, or have a question about something regarding academics.

"I guess." the boy said, faking a small chuckle. "Will they're be any review the day before, or are we on our own?" he asked, glancing out the window at the blonde boy below.

"Nae, nae review." Irons replied. "I don't think you should worry about it. Try helpin' that Trancy kid, or somethin'. He could use it."

"Are his grades really _that_ bad?"

"He thought the _Roman Colosseum _was in _Greece."_

"Oh..." was all the bluenette could say, being able to imagine that perfectly. Alois had to learn not only the things he _missed_ while being dead, but he also had to learn things he didn't know to begin with. Obviously, _Claude _never told him better.

"He's a smart lad, but he's such a clown! Always screwin' around, wantin' to play durin' class!" the man said, venting. "Sorry for chewin' ya ear off, boy. I'm just at a loss for that one."

`"That bad, huh? I just try and tune him out, sometimes." _Fact._ While he found the boys antics amusing most of the time, there are times when he pretends not to know him during class. It was the boy's way of shunning his embarrassment.

They were on the first floor now. He looked over and saw the blonde starting to loose his assailants. He needed to speed this along, now.

"Speaking of the little 'Blonde Menace', I need to go find him for lunch. Thanks for the help, sir." he said, before departing.

Mr. Irons bid the boy a small "goodbye", and exited the building. Now all he had to do was round one last corner before ending up in the location it was desired that he be in. And not too soon.

Alois' attackers stopped to catch their breath. Luckily for the demonic duo, they were also _stubborn_. They weren't going to let the blonde get away, that easily. Walter spotted a small pile of rocks, and walked over to them, grabbing one before hurling it the blonde's way...

...And hitting Mr. Irons.

It wasn't a mere _pebble, _either. No, this was a pretty good size stone that had just struck the man upon his noggin. Mr. Irons clasped the spot were he had been hit, and stepped back a bit, trying to regain his senses. Obviously, Walter wasn't going to bowl for the school cricket team anytime soon.

"_RIGHT, WHO THREW THAT?!"_ the man bellowed. The entire yard went silent in that moment. The man laid eyes on the Hackett boy, knowing that by the trajectory, it_ had _to be him.

"_YOU_." he said, pointing his finger at the boy before marching right up to him. "_What d'ya think you're doin', throwin' shit like that?!"_

"Uh, well, I... uh" was all the cowering boy could manage to utter.

"_WELL?!"_

_ "I, but... T-Trancy, he..."_

_ "'Trancy?!' Trancy ain't got nuthin' to do with it! I'm askin' __**you **__why you did it you stupid pillock!"_

The boy couldn't say a word. He was too scared. This man looked like he was going to crush the boy given the first opportunity. This made the man's nearly nonexistent patience grow even thinner.

"Right!" he said, grabbing the boy by the collar of his shirt. "You're commin' with me! We'll have us a little chat with the headmaster! Maybe even give you the ruler, _if you're lucky!"_

As soon as the two disappeared into the building, the children erupted into cheers. Apparently, the Sensational Six weren't the only ones being harassed. Almost everyone had been tormented by Walter at this point. Alois smiled, and gave a bow at the applause, before catching a glimpse of a certain someone in the corner of his eye.

"Ciel!" he said, running up to the boy. He stopped himself from hugging the boy in public, as difficult as it was for him. "We did it!"

"Not yet." the bluenette said. "We don't know for sure what's going to happen in the headmaster's office."

_"Must you always be so cynical?"_

"_Naturally." _he said to the blonde, who in turn gave him a pout. Ciel took a step forward and pecked the other boy on the lips. _"Got you."_

Alois stood there for a few moments before realizing what Ciel had just done. He had just beaten the blonde at his favourite "game". Suddenly his cheeks flushed red.

"What did you do that for?! What if somebody _saw_?!" he asked.

"I felt like it, and _let them_." the bluenette replied plainly.

"What happened to _'Mister Prude'?"_ Alois muttered.

_ "_I don't really know... _It just doesn't seem to matter anymore_."

If Ciel was going to protect Alois from these things, he might as well do it _properly, 'like a man'._ To do this, he was willing to step out of the shadows just this once. Besides, _he just couldn't resist that blonde's pouting face._

* * *

**A/N: Haaaaay~!  
**

**I missed you yesterday. I told my brain to make words, but it was all like: "NOE". So, I was re-watching_ Princess Jellyfish_ instead. That show is THA BOMB. It gives me so many geeky feels... GOOD GEEKY FEELS.**

**It even beat Kuroshitsuji in my being favourite anime... Now THAT, my friends, is a MAJOR accomplishment!**

**Anyways, I hope this super-long one makes up for it. Even if it doesn't... Well... There's not much I can do about it then, is there?**

**I couldn't think of anything for Walter's demise, SO I GAVE HIM TO IRONS.**

**I like to think that Mr. Irons isn't really a bad guy. I think he might just be sick of bratty rich kids...**

**Yeah, I have no idea why this chapter ended this way. It went in an entirely different direction! IT UNCONTROLLABLY SWERVED OFF THE PATH. **

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!  
**


	97. Oh My

Over the next few hours, each one of the Sensational Six was called one by one to the principal's office, each shedding more light on Walter's crimes against the student body than the last. After compiling an immense bounty of evidence against him, the school made the decision to expel mister Walter Hackett. This was news for the population of Warwick. Even more so for a certain_ Lawrence Rose_.

The boy had hair with an odd green tint to it that stopped just before his shoulders, green eyes of an ever darker hue and pale skin. The colour that he chose for the trimming on his blazer was red, and while he wore no tie, he wore a green sweater vest that distracted any eagle-eye teachers who might bust him for it from that fact.

Lawrence was the Hackett boy's co-star, and the protagonist of the film "_Devil Butler,"_ thus he had gotten to know the boy a bit. They were good friends until the other lad decided he wanted to be a delinquent for whatever reason, getting them _both_ expelled from their previous school. The green gent didn't appreciate that very muchly, which is utterly understandable.

Still, he was a bit sad that Walter had to go, since he himself hadn't made any actual "friends" yet. He had _fans,_ but those aren't' the same, now are they? He rather liked the idea of hanging out with somebody without being begged for an autograph, or asked when the sequel is coming out, _or if he's single._

Oh, how he envied the Sensational Six for their wonderful friendship. He longed to be around people who just genuinely enjoy each other's company like that. He wanted to go over and talk to them, but alas, the large group intimidated him somewhat, making him unable to take a single step forward. Thus, he settled with simply listening in on their conversation.

"That is _well shameful!"_ said the boy with brown hair, otherwise known as "Daniel". "How can you not know who _Lady Gaga_ is? You're the one who wrote '_The Gagaian Law'_ on the board in math last year!"

"Yeah, _then you jumped out a window_." said a brawny boy named "Travis". Another boy spoke up, this one being an Idian boy who went by the name "Preston".

"I thought for sure you'd be a Lady Gaga fan, Alois." he said.

"Piss off! If I don't know, then I don't know. It doesn't matter _how._ I just heard the song. I didn't know who it was by._"_ a third boy said, a blonde named "Alois", objectively while crossing his arms.

"Alright, you have to listen to her now." a fourth chimed in. He was a boy with bleached hair and a pink tie who went by the name of "Kristopherson". The boy handed the natural blonde his headphones, attached to an _iPod _that matched his tie. Reluctantly, Alois dawned the electronics and tuned in, sitting still.

Fow a few moments, all of the six sat in their seats and stared at the boy, awaiting his response. The blonde boy sat perfectly still as the song started, paying as much attention to it as he could. Before long, he was tapping his foot, then he nodded his head to the beat that only he could hear. Soon he was full-out _dancing _while seated in his chair. He shook and wiggled in the seat, letting the others know that the artist had the "Trancy-Approval".

"Uh-oh, Kris." A bluenette boy wearing an eye-patch said, shifting his eyes from the boy excitedly dancing in his chair to the faux-blonde, whilst wearing an ever-so small, amused expression on his face.. "Alois has broken out his dance. You might not get your _iPod _back now."

"He _better _give it back! Do you _know_ what I went through to get this thing in this colour?_ I had to tell the clerk I was picking it up for my sister_." said Kristopherson. It wasn't doubtful in the slightest that his story was true.

"Why an _iPod?_ Why didn't you get a _Zune?"_ Preston asked.

"I have no idea what that is..."

_ "Nevermind."_

Suddenly, the blonde stopped moving and scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, tilting his head slightly.

"What is it, Alois?" asked the bluenette.

"What's this _One Direction_ crap?" the blonde asked.

"Don't listen to that!" shouted Kristopherson as he reached for the device, only to have it dangled just out of his reach.

"Hey, these guys are pretty cute. Which one's your favourite, Kris?" Alois asked teasingly, looking at the cover-art the device displayed to him. He giggled as he saw the faux-blonde's face flush as pink as his silly tie.

"Alois, don't torment Kristopherson." Ciel scolded. He wasn't very energetic in doing so, but with Alois, he didn't really have to be.

"Yes, _dear."_ the blonde boy said while returning the MP3 player to it's rightful owner. Now it was the bluenette's turn to flush. The others just looked at him and grinned.

Soon the feeling of having all eyes on him became too much to bear. The bluenette cleared his throat and uttered a simple _"What?"_

"Just waiting for you to say something like, '_What the hell?', "Stop saying shit like that!', _or _something."_ Daniel said.

"I don't really_ care_." Ciel replied, suddenly finding the window extremely fascinating.

It was Alois who spoke next, flashing a big grin. "I love you too, _precious."_

There was hesitation before Ciel answered. "Was the '_precious' _really necessary_?"_

_ "Naturally."_ The single word that the blonde uttered was met with the rolling of the other boy's single visible eye.

"_Ah-hah! A confession!"_ The bluenette was in turn, greeted by the Westly boy's finger being pointed in his direction in an accusing manner.

"I hardly think that qualifies as a 'confession', Daniel." said the boy in the pink tie.

"It's a confession of _what,_ exactly?" the bluenette inquired, trying to escape the blonde boy's mischievous grin.

"A confession of _your undying love for Alois!" _Daniel declared.

"No it isn't." Ciel said plainly. He showed no hint of being flustered aside from the slight pink hue of his cheeks.

"Oh_ come on! _Are you _blind?!"_ the politician's son asked, exasperated at how stubborn this boy was.

"No, but _you are."_ the bluenette said, taking a deep breath. "Alois and I have been 'an item' for quite some time, now." His blush deepened a bit, but his expression remained the same. Of course he was a bit unsettled by putting this out in the open.

Having your heart exposed for all to see does make one a bit vulnerable, but the fact of the matter was, part of him _wanted_ them to know. He wanted it to be known that Alois was his, and _his alone_. He had grown tired of watching as random girls and _boys_ flirted with the blonde at every given opportunity. The green beast simply wasn't his friend, nor did he want it to be.

Ciel also thought about how the blonde felt, and how he obviously was pained by the fact that he couldn't openly flirt with the bluenette in public, being only limited to these small "_jokes"_ every now and then. But they weren't "jokes". Alois was perfectly serious when he said these things.

Three of the six went silent and stared in shock, for they had_ no idea_. They knew the two had feelings for each other, but they didn't know that they were actually "together", apart from Kristopherson, that is. The faux-blonde's emotions were mixed at the declaration. He was happy for his friends, but at the same time, sad that even the slightest chance that the two would split up was gone.

It was evident on his face, sparking a reaction from Daniel. The Westly boy pat him on the back and said: "Ts'alright, mate. _There's other fish in the __**big gay sea**_."

"_Shut up."_

"For how long?" Preston asked, turning his attention to the blonde and the bluenette.

"_A while." _said the bluenette nonchalantly. It was his policy not to make a big deal of these things. He kept up this farce until the moment when a certain mischievous, blonde teenager sat in his lap. _"G-get off!"_

_ "But I want a hug! _What's the point of being public if we can't even_ hug?" _Alois said with mock innocence.

"This is _not_ a 'hug', Alois!" the bluenette's face was on fire at this point. Never had he been so embarrassed_ in his life._

"And to think," Daniel began, "we let those two _share a room_ at the beach..."

Alois giggled before Ciel could start yelling again. "You make it sound _dirty!_ Nothing happened at all! _Not while Steven was watching_!"

"Who's 'Steven'?"

"My stuffed Platypus."

Daniel's eyes wandered over to the bluenette boy who was struggling under the blonde's weight. "Wow, Phantomhive..." the brown-haired boy said, "_cock-blocked _by a _platypus..._ That's really something... Sorry, man..." His fake sympathy and teasing made _The Queen's Gaurd-Dog bark._

"_SHUT UP!"_

* * *

**A/N: Dem platypi...  
**

**I had trouble coming up with stuff today! I typed a few words, and puked this up. **

**...And that is how these chapters are written. **

**I had trouble coming up with stuff because I had _another_ idea in my head for a new fanfic. (I'd keep writing this one, obviously. I ain't a quitter! And I loves it too much!) It's fairly ridiculous. It occurred to me after a friend and I joked about a "Black Butler Justice League", and gears turned in my head, making that somehow _make sense_. **

**And that, I did.**

**Basically, they form a damn _Justice League_. Maybe I'll write a chapter or two. I have no idea for a title though... And I suck at writing summaries...**

**I know Ciel's, Alois', and Sebastian's backstories, and have Alois' superhero name, (Captain Bootyshorts! Coming to save the day in a sexy way!) but I lack the names of the other two, and EVERYONE ELSE. I want Grell in there... Just 'cause... I haven't squeezed him in here yet... **

**I _WILL_ MAKE IT WORK.**

**It might be a few chapters, then I'll end it. I don't want it to be an ongoing fic, y'know? Having two ongoing fanfics is just _too many!_**

**This idea continues to claw at my mind. "Type me! Type me!" it cries, beckoning me to create a new Word Document.**

**As the crusor of the mouse ventures ever closer to create the file, "Stop!" I yell inside my head. "I must type _Devils Like To Dance!_"**

**Well, that got really weird, really fast...**

**Until we meet again in the next chapter, or otherwise, my duckies!**


	98. Evil Girls, And Evil Bushes

Warwick Academy: where the children of the upper class of great country of Great Britain go to receive their education. Here are the son and daughter's of important people, as such, Warwick Academy has produced important people of Britain. Here are future actors, bankers, politicians, CEOs of companies, et _cetera_. Some truly gifted students get a head start on their careers, such as the child actor, _Lawrence Rose, _or the CEO of the _Funtom Toy Company_, _Ciel Phantomhive._ Yes, every day at Warwick is extraordinary. The children are always up to something at Warwick. Take this day for example, while it was extraordinary, it wasn't so in a sense that was _good._

A dark cloud hung over the school as a new menace lurked within the hallways. This new threat was in the form of a girl named _Cassandra Bates,_ who was just starting her academic career at the school that day. Like the previously mentioned boys, this girl had a head-start on her career, as well, being the owner of a large investment company.

Cassandra had reddish hair that reached slightly past her shoulders, and always seemed to harbor a scowl across her face. The young lady's most striking physical aspect, however, was her _left eye_.

That eye had a pentacle design and it was said that the insignia was merely a _contact lens._ Other student thought that the idea was brilliant, and began purchasing their own coloured contacts with intricate designs on them. _But we know better_.

At her side was her loyal maid (more like, "indentured servant"), who was granted admission into the school on the condition that her tuition be fully paid. The lass had long, straight black hair that reached past the middle of her back, and eyes that were an odd shade of garnet. Her name was _August Remy._ She walked along the hallways with her mistress, carrying her bag for her, silently, until spoken to.

"August, was the Clifton deal ever dealt with?" Cassandra asked suddenly.

"_Yes, mistress_. The deal was sealed during lunch." replied the maid, answering the question quickly.

"It's about time. I thought for sure that they would back out again." and thus, they returned to walking to their World History class in silence.

They walked into the classroom- well, Cassandra did. August froze the moment that the door was opened. She stared straight ahead, as her mistress turned around.

"_August!_ What are you doing?" the young mistress asked impatiently, snapping the other girl out of her trance. August blinked and looked over to her mistress, who was currently planting her hand on her hip, and tapping her foot.

"Nothing." said the maid as she followed Cassandra to a nearby seat and sat down next to her.

August, of course, _lied _to her mistress. There was _something._ Her eyes wandered to a certain corner of the room, and focused on a group of boys. Two boys in particular, a blonde boy and another boy wearing an eye-patch with hair of on awkward shade of blue.

The bluenette noticed her, and nudged his companion in the ribs, thus she gained his attention as well. She looked away as the two did this. Staring is quite _rude_, you see. She knew of course that the boys were able to sense her presence as well, if not just as quickly as she noticed theirs. After all, _they were the same kind._

Meanwhile, the group of boys at the other end of the room conversed, while the two boys conversed amongst themselves.

"What is she? Human? Demon? Something else?"_ asked_ the blonde boy to the other in a hushed tone so the rest of the six couldn't hear.

"Definately a _demon_. The girl next to her seems to have a contract with her, so she _might_ not be any trouble." replied the bluenette.

"'_Might'?_ There is no _'might'_. These things _always_ lead to _trouble, _Ciel."

"_True."_ said Ciel, just as it was noticed that they weren't including themselves in the other boys' conversation.

"Hey," said Daniel, shaking the bluenette's shoulder to get his attention. "What're you two talkin' about over here by yourselves?" The lad wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at that last part.

"_Nothing_." the bluenette said, obviously not convincing the Westly boy.

Just as Daniel was about to call his bluff, Alois opened his mouth to speak. "_The bushes outside the front of the school look like dicks."_ he said, immediately getting everyone's attention, and successfully changing the topic.

"What?!" asked Kristopherson, only hearing that fragment of the conversation. "What about _bushes and dicks?"_

_ "The bushes outside the front of the school look like dicks!" _the blonde repeated. "Haven't you noticed how they're cut? I assume it's supposed to be '_artistic'_, but it makes them look like _dick-sculptures."_

Ciel couldn't deny the urge to spontaneously smack his own forehead at the observation. But then again, remembering those bushes. _Alois was one-hundred percent correct._ A blush formed on the bluenette's cheeks.

_ "Only you could notice a thing like that, Trancy..."_ Kristopherson said, concealing his own blush a bit more effectively than Ciel was.

"Henceforth, _all of you will look of those bushes, and only think of dicks_." the blonde said, crossing his arms. He looked almost _proud_ of himself.

"_Alright, _to the next person to say the word 'dick', I wish to inform you that upon doing so, you will be inciting my wrath, and I will have to punish you for doing so in a cruel and unusual manner_."_ Ciel warned the group. The bluenette was now thoroughly tired of the word. His words inspired the other boys to remain silent, all of them, but _the Blonde Menace._

"Ooh! _Kinky."_ he said with a smirk. He said it while looking the boy _straight in the eye, _much to the lad's annoyance.

Soon the bluenette boy had the source of his burning annoyance and _embarrassment_ in a headlock, and mashed his knuckles against the boy's scalp, effectively giving Alois his _second _recorded _noogie._

"Now, now, you two!" Daniel began, trying to stifle his laughter. "_Save that for after school!"_ The blonde and the bluenette both went red at the implication, causing the others to laugh.

"What _idiots_." Cassandra muttered, witnessing the exchange.

August looked back at the group of boys. Where those two "_idiots" _really demons? They certainly didn't _seem_ like it. She turned her focus to the front of the room when the teacher walked in.

"Right! Sit, sit, sit! And for God's sake, _shut up!"_ the man at the front of the room bellowed. "I'm starting class now, so quit pissing around!"

As class droned on, both the boys and the two girls couldn't get one thing out of their heads. _The bushes at the front of the school really did look like genitals._

* * *

**A/N: Dem bushes, yo...  
**

**Well the bushes outside MY school look like dicks. I now think that every time I see them after MY MOM pointed this out to me.**

**Everyone I tell that to now does the same...**

**I guess they were trying to be "artistic", but failed. I see that a lot in the building's architecture... (Those colummns are_ hollow_, and hold up _nothing.)_**

**BECAUSE DICK JOKES ARE ALWAYS FUNNY.  
**

**Several of you requested demonic baddies, and it has also pointed out that _no girls_ play a major part in this fic, and thus I present to you_ August._**

**Admittedly, I could've pursued the new characters more, but I couldn't think of anything in this one scene (of how to make it make _sense)_, so I'll save it for next time. **

**Who knows if these potential baddies will hang around or not? Sometimes I want to keep them, but it's easier (and sometimes more satisfying) to just let them go._ I miss you, Maxwell..._**

**In other news, I wrote on that _Kuroshitsuji Justice League_ idea of mine. I posted two chapters of it. It's called "Meanwhile, In An Alternate Universe" (Or, "MIAAU", for short.) for no apparent reason. Check it out, yo.**

**But only if you want to...**

**I'm probably going to focus more on _Devil's Like To Dance_ more, though. It's closer to home, y'know? Also isn't as much as a _parody _of Black Butler or various superheroes. Also, I don't plan on running MIAAU as long. (Probably end it after an arc or so.) but DLTD shall continue!**

**BECAUSE I CARE.**

**Until next time, my duckies!**


	99. Know Thy Neighbour

The day wore on, slowly, but surely. The two boys walked into their Chemistry class as they usually did, and took their seats. Sure enough, _it just so happened_ that Cassandra and her loyal servant had the very same class.

"I wonder if they're stalking us..." the blonde said jokingly to his companion.

"I doubt it. For what purpose would they have to do that?" Ciel asked the other boy, tilting his head slightly.

The blonde looked at the boy with a condescending look on his face. "_Seriously? _I could think of about _ten."_ he said, listing off the reasons.

What if she had a grudge against the Funtom Company, somehow? What if Ciel had got her father locked up for laundering money? There were so many "what if's" that occurred to the blonde, and all of them made him want to_ hide the kids, hide his platypus, and hide his "husband", because he knew the lass was going to cause something out there._

In response to Alois' ridiculous claims, ranging from the semi-realistic to the _absolutely absurd_, all the bluenette could do was roll his eye. "Something makes me _doubt_ that _she is a pawn of Satan's to finally claim my soul_, Alois."

_ "It could happen_." the blonde said plainly as the teacher walked in.

"_Afternoon, _class." the instructor said, carrying a stack of papers. "Today, we'll be working with chemicals! Doesn't that sound _fun?"_ The class let out a simultaneous moan. Anytime that question was asked, everything turned out to be overwhelmingly boring. "Now, I'm passing out the instructions now. _Don't stray from them if you want to keep your eyebrows."_ the woman instructed, handing a sheet from the pile that she was barely containing in her arms to each student.

After that was done, the instructor put the extras on her desk before turning back to the class. "Now, I've been noticing that everyone always pick the same people to pair off with, so today, we're going to try something a little _different_." Another moan escaped the children's throats. "Now, in this hat, I have the names of everyone in the class, I want you to draw _one_, and that is who your partner will be. Got it?"

She came around to all of the tables before stopping in front of the demonic duo. The bluenette was the first to draw, pulling out the folded piece of paper, and the blonde did the same.

"_August Remy."_ the bluenette read off, looking up and making eye contact with the female demon, who just smiled and waved at him.

Alois stuck out his tongue in disgust. "_Cassandra Bates..."_ he wrinkled his nose.

"Be _nice."_ the bluenette said to the blonde standing up and gathering his things.

"I'm not _'nice'."_ the blonde informed, doing the same. "I never was '_nice'. _However, since it was you who requested it, I will try my hardest to be _sweet."_

_ "You stole that from KiLL BiLL."_

_ "Sue me."_

The two parted ways, joining their designated partner. Ciel gave a simple nod to August as greeting, while Alois just slammed his things down on the table without any sort of "hello" at all.

"You must be Ciel." the bluenette's partner said. "_I'm August."_

"Hey." he said simply.

"Everyone said you were the quiet type. Guess it's true." the girl said, flashing the boy a smile, which was just shrugged off. "They didn't, however, mention that you are a _demon."_

_ "_That's because they don't _know_." the boy said, finally looking away from his paper and at August. "And I believe it's safe to assume that you are one as well?"

"_It is._ Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"Naturally." The boy replied, his eye wandering to the boy across the room that was staring at him.

Alois put his fingers up to his head like they were "horns", and mouthed to him the word, "Satan". Ciel rolled his eye at the boy's antics. August followed the bluenette's line of vision to the blonde boy, who upon noticing that she was watching him, promptly stuck out his tongue at her.

"Is he your familiar?" she asked.

"Something like that, I guess." Ciel replied. He had already started mixing the chemicals according to the instructions. "Sometimes, he has the maturity of an _eight-year-old."_

"I can see that." The girl giggled. She watched the blonde boy interact with the Bates girl. Cassandra was yelling at him, and he was "guesstimating" the measurements of chemicals and dumping them all into a single beaker. "He seems to be giving my mistress a hard time..."

"Alois gives _everyone_ a hard time."

"Even you?"

"_Especially _me." Ciel could almost _hear_ the Blonde Menace add _"If you know what I mean_" to the end of that sentence. Luckily for him, Alois was too busy calling Cassandra rude names. "Is _she_ aware of our 'condition'?"

"No, I haven't told her yet. I didn't think it was important for her to know at the moment."

"Is it?" the boy said, continuing to measure and mix chemicals, taking time to do so. "What was her 'wish', if you don't mind my asking?"

"_Revenge._" August said as though it were nothing new. "Her parents were murdered after one of her father's clients found out he was laundering money into Switzerland, or something. _You know how humans are_."

"Yeah..." he said, subconsciously touching his eye-patch. He knows _exactly_ what humans are like. Strangely, it somehow peeved him to hear this girl talk about humans that way.

August tilted her head and stared at the boy with curiosity. Before she could open her mouth to speak, a loud _"BOOM"_ was heard from elsewhere in the room, causing both demons to whip their heads around to discover it's source.

There, Alois stood behind a smoking beaker, his face covered in black, as were his safety goggles and uniform. Calmly, he removed said goggles so he could see again, revealing the area around his eyes to be perfectly untouched, giving the boy what appeared to be a "mask" of cleanliness. He coughed and black smoke escaped his lips. Cassandra had fortunately turned her back to the explosion, so it was only her back covered in the mysterious and burnt-smelling black substance.

"You _idiot!"_ the girl shouted. "I _told _you not to mix everything like that! _We were told to follow the instructions!"_

"You're no fun at all." the blonde replied while trying to wipe the goggles cleaned with his now ruined, formerly purple necktie. "What's the fun in life if you're forced to follow a blueprint?"

"It's _chemistry! _It's not _supposed _to be _fun!"_ the girl said before looking at her clothes. "_WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY UNIFORM?!"_ It was less of a question, and more of a shriek.

"I _**enhanced**_ it" Alois said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "_You're welcome_."

August looked away from the scene to her own lab-partner, who currently had one hand over his mouth, and the other on his stomach. He was almost _shaking _while holding in his laughter. Alois grinned as he noticed it.

"YOU MORON!"

"BITCH, I'M _ALOIS TRANCY!"_

_ "_Mister Trancy. Headmaster's Office. _Now."_ the teacher said, folding her arms with a rather cross-looking expression on her face.

"See what you did _woman?!_ You got me in trouble!"

"I did _nothing_ to _pillock!_ It's your own damn fault!"

"Miss Bates, you go too." this time the instructor meant it. "_We do not use such rude language in my classroom."_

"Yeah, _Bates!"_

_ "Alois, you're no better off. Office. Now. Both of you. Go."_

And thus, Alois gained another afternoon of straightening bookshelves, while August got to know her fellow demons better. Ciel got a good laugh, but Cassandra, however, _received a dry-cleaning bill._

* * *

**A/N: Filler? Who knows?  
**

**Maybe this gave some insight to these new chicks? Dunno...**

**Give it time, _shit will get real, yo._**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	100. Girls Converse While Boys Perverse

Over the next few days, the demonic duo and August and Cassandra tried their best to ignore the other group's existence. That said, Cassandra occasionally would complain about how that "blonde idiot" was so stupid, thus being a bit redundant. It was a a chance mishap that changed this.

The Phantomhive boy was sitting at his desk one day, waiting for class to start, as he usually would. He sat and listened to Alois go on about how the American version of _Top Gear _was a failure, and that the British version was superior in every possible aspect (right down to the hosts) after viewing an episode of the foreign version on _Youtube_. He listened as the blonde boy passionately described his loathing of _Top Gear U.S._ for besmirching the name of one of his favourite television programes, occasionally giving some input of his oen on the matter, and chuckling at the boy's antics. But then,_ everything changed when Daniel Westly attacked._

While Ciel was distracted, the brown-haired boy grabbed onto one of the strings in the bow that fastened the boy's eye-patch before giving it a swift yank.

"Yoink!" he shouted, gaining custody of the patch with a grin, laughing at his accomplishment. Both demon's eyes went wide upon discovering that the contract seal on the bluenette's eye would be seen. Quickly, he snapped his right eye shut before covering it with his hand. He stood up to confront the boy while at the same time, _watching to see if anyone had seen._

To his relief_, it appeared no one had_. He then proceeded to turn his attention to the adamant prankster. "_Daniel! Give it back right now!"_ he shouted. He was furious. His glare held no _ice, _but only _fiery anger_.

In response, Daniel dangled the object tauntingly in front of him. "C'mon, mate. Can't you take a _joke?" _the boy replied, his triumphant grin slowly fading.

_ "No_. Now_ give. It. Back_." Ciel extended his free hand to the boy, demanding that the eye-patch be returned to it's rightful owner.

Reluctantly, the boy complied, carefully placing the object into the other lad's hand. "I'm sorry! _Jesus_..."

The bluenette took back what was his and placed it over his right eye before tying the string in the back, making sure to double-knot it. He looked around the room once more.

More students were now watching. Apparently, the boy had made a bit of a scene. However, it appeared that most of the children were on his side, agreeing that the Westly boy had gone too far. While they didn't know _how_ the bluenette had acquired his "injury", the boy had told them on more than one occasion that he had received it in "an accident", and that _he preferred not to talk about it_. Everyone was sympathetic due to this lie- everyone, _except _one girl.

_ Cassandra Bates_ noticed it. Just a flash of purple before the boy's eye snapped shut. She knew what that was. That, without a doubt in her mind, was a _faustian contract_.

She never imagined seeing another person with one. It never occurred to her, that's all. She knew that there were _special qualifications_ that had to be met in order to summon a demon._ Number one_: The human must have a lack of faith in God. _Number two_: The human must be _desperate_ for a way out.

If that boy meets those requirements, and _does have_ a demon, then where is it? Her attention turned to the blonde menace. After all, the boy _was_ able to take a small _chemical explosion to the face_ without so much as blinking, thus allowing this to be a probable conclusion.

This, however, would have to wait, as another question arose in her mind. _"Does August know?"_ she wondered. August was another demon, so wouldn't it make sense that she could be able to sense the presence of another of her kind? Cassandra remembered when August was oddly hesitant before entering the classroom for the first time. Could it be that she _did_ know, and just wasn't telling her mistress?

Immediately after the bell rang, she led her servant to a secluded location under the awning of a nearby building to interrogate the girl-demon.

_"Yes, I was aware of this, mistress_." August said, answering the redhead's question. "I didn't think that the information was relevant to you, so I simply disregarded it."

Cassandra felt her eyelid twitch in irritation. _"Of course _it's _relevant_ _information!"_ the girl said loudly. "Honestly, how can you be so _useless?!"_

The other girl bowed politely. "My apologies, mistress." August felt her own irritation swelling, but quickly shook the feeling.

The young lady folded her arms and began to pace back and forth. She had to find a way to deal with this. "What am I going to do? What if this completely blows a hole in _our plan?!"_

_ "About the plan, mistress..."_ The she-demon began, lifting her head. "...Have we any more clues as to the whereabouts of your parents' murderer?" she asked.

"_No._ That's what _you_ are for!" the other lass said, turning to face the demon. "_You_ just want to_ speed this along _so you can have my_ soul, _aren't you?!" she questioned, pointing her finger accusingly.

The black-haired girl's eyes widened for a moment in surprise, before giving her mistress a deep bow. "_Even if it takes your entire life, until the day comes that the contract is fulfilled, I will __**always**__ be loyal to my mistress."_

Cassandra paused to look at the demon. "_Good_. Now come, we have to figure out what to do about the Phantomhive boy and his stupid blonde _flunkie_." the lass said, beginning to walk out from under the awning and and motioning for her servant to follow.

As she stepped into the sunlight, August paused for a moment before turning and looking at the awning one last time. Seeing nothing, she continued to follow behind the other girl, staying a few steps behind her as she always did.

Meanwhile on the roof of the building, two lads crouched, as not to be spotted from the ground.

"I'm your _flunkie?"_ the blonde one asked the other, somewhat bothered by the statement.

"No, of course not. She's absolutely wrong." shad the bluenette to the blonde. "You're my _girlfriend."_

"Yeah! Wait..." Alois said, pausing before standing up. "_I AM NOT A GIRL!"_

_ "Then why did you hesitate?"_ the other boy teased, standing as well. "And no, _I don't need you to show me."_

"_Don't deny it!"_

"I _will_ deny it_._ What really concerns me at the moment is whether or not this _'Cassandra' _girl will be a problem or not."

"I _told_ you these things always end up being _problematic_, but did you listen? _No! I totally called that shit!"_

"Oh,_ be quiet_. We have bigger problems than whether or not you're right." the bluenette said, folding his arms.

"_Problems that I called, and I am."_ the blonde replied.

"Didn't I tell you to _'be quiet'?"_

_ "Didn't I tell you that 'I called that shit'?"_

Ciel uncrossed his arms and walked over to the other boy, getting _almost uncomfortably close _to the blonde's face, surprising the boy, and causing a flush to form on his cheeks. "I don't care if you 'called it'." the bluenette said, "Like I said, right now, we have other things to worry about."

"Like whether or not you're going to _make me?"_ the blonde said, smirking. With that question, he was sure that he had the upper hand.

Soon, however, his mouth was covered by the other boy's, rendering him completely incapable of speaking. While the blonde didn't expect the boy to actually "make him" be quiet, especially in a manner such as this, the gesture wasn't exactly "unwelcome", as his arms eventually snaked their way around the bluenette's neck.

Oh, how this boy made his heart flutter. It was seldom that it was _the bluenette_ who initiated such intimacies, allowing the blonde to steal kisses at any given opportunity, but when he _did, _the blonde felt as though electricity was coursing through him.

"Oi! Phantomhive! Trancy!" called a voice from the ground. Quickly the boy's untangled themselves, failing miserably at concealing the redness of their faces, and investigated the source of the sound.

_Of course it was the rest of the six._ There was Daniel, Travis, Preston, and Kristopherson, all grinning like a bunch of idiots.

_ "What are you doing on the roof?"_ asked the boy in the pink tie, _completely ignoring the elephant in the room._ Daniel, however, _pointed it out _and danced around it while practically screaming to the very heavens about it's existence.

"Yeah! _Other than snogging!"_ he shouted

"That is _strictly classified information!"_ the blonde shouted back. He looked to the bluenette apologetically, before leaping down from the _fortunately one-story_ building to meet the four on the ground. Had it been taller, there may have been some suspicions. It was for this reason that the bluenette hesitated before jumping, but he soon joined them.

"I'm pretty sure that breaks _several _rules in the school handbook." Said Preston. The lad had the handbook _practically memorized_ for whatever reason.

"I' be sure to alert you when I start to give a damn about the school rules, Preston." the blonde said. How he could be so calm about this, the bluenette couldn't even _begin_ to fathom. This was obvious to the six, due to his silence and his avoiding eye contact with the others _like the plague_.

"Alois, I think you _broke_ the cyclops." Kristopherson said jokingly, not even bothering to try and _hide_ his smirk.

"Nah, that's just how he is! _He's cute like that_. However..." the blonde said, arching an eyebrow and facing the blushing bluenette with a smirk of his own, "...he's pretty fun when he's _aggressive_, too."

Five of the six laughed and teased the sixth, throwing the occasional "_Oh My_" while trying to imitate the voice of _George Takei_ to the best of that which their teenage voices would allow them. Ciel furrowed his brow in irritation.

"_Do you really __**have **__to make it sound way worse than it __**is**__?!"_ he asked the blonde.

Alois stopped laughing for a moment and looked the boy in the eye. With the straightest face he could muster, he simply said: "Why, yes. _Yes I do."_

Elsewhere at Warwick, a certain girl and her demon servant were concocting their plan as to how to deal with the demonic duo. Alas, _that is a passage for another day._

* * *

**A/N: Have some random fanservice! **

**I'm probably going to cut down on it in order to focus on the story more, so I threw some out there for you.  
**

**BECAUSE I CARE.**

******I want to focus on Cassandra's and August's relationship a bit more in order to build it up to a certain point for the arc's finale, but I'm afraid that that will detract from Alois and Ciel. Ah, what to do, what to do...**

**SWEET MERCIFUL MOTHER MARY, IT'S THE 100TH CHAPTER! ASLDKFHALSDKJGALSDKGALSDKJ! HOW DID I GET HERE?!**

**May this fic continue to prosper...**

**Until Chapter 101, my duckies!**


	101. He Be Jelly

'Twas another fine day at Warwick. At this time, most of the children in the demonic duo's grade were having a study hall, and they were no exception. However, like the other children, they never actually used the study all period to actually "study". Instead they would often converse either amongst friends, or amongst themselves about this, that, and the other, or nothing in particular at all. They would also take this oppurtunity to play various games of the board variety. Today, the boys found themselves locked in a riveting game of chess, one of the young Phantomhive boy's favourite games, and one of the Trancys_ least favourite. _Yet Alois was determined to win_ this time_, just as he was the last, and the time before that.

Here they were, locked in combat, the bluentte boy playing with the black pieces, and the blonde played with the white. Each boy strategically moved their pieces to try to counter the other's moves with the eventual goal of seizing their opponent's "king". Once again, Alois moved seemingly at random, recklessly placing the small figures to block his opponent. That is all he was doing: _blocking._

The blonde seemed to not give the slightest care as to whether he ever reached the king or not, it seemed like he was only focusing on diminishing the other lad's troops to naught. This perplexed the bluenette to no end. The blonde always insists that he is going to defeat him, and yet never goes on the offensive.

_ "Perhaps playing chess was the only time the Alois was 'unoffensive'." _Ciel internally mused, while moving one of his pawns. Just a little bit further, and he would reach the end of the board and be able to exchange the pawn for his fallen Queen. Then it would be child's play to take the blonde's king.

Alois sat on the end of the board opposite to the eye-patched gentleman, arms crossed, simply observing for a moment. He picked up the white bishop and moved it across the board, effectively taking out the other lad's knight.

"_Check."_ he said, grinning proudly.

In response, Ciel rolled his eye, and moved his kind_ out of "check_", landing on a space that the bishop could not reach him. It was his turn to smirk as he watched the frustrated blonde mouth the word, "dammit".

He amusement was interrupted, however, by the appearance of a familiar face. It was the face of the she-devil. She walked straight up to the pair with a serious face, as opposed to her regular "overly friendly" mask she usually wore. Now_ this _could not be good.

"Hello." she said causally enough, with just a strand of reluctance.

"Hello." said the Phantomhive boy, keeping the blonde in his pariphial vision so the lad wouldn't cheat. "Is there something you need?"

August's eyes darted to the blonde boy, whose icy blue eyes were fixated on her. She sensed some hostility from the boy for whatever reason, but continued the speak to the bluentte regardless. "My mistress wishes to speak with you sometime. She demands that it be today, after school, actually."

"_Sounds troublesome." _the bluenette replied plainly. "But _I _don't necessarily have anything planned. What about you, Alois?"

"Whatever pleases thee,_ O blue cyclops_." the blond said to his friend, yet not allowing his eyes to stray from the she-demon.

"Today after school is fine, then. Does your mistress have a specific place in mind?"

"Yes, she insists upon _Phantomhive Manor,_ but I'm sure I may be able to convince her otherwise." August replied, knowing that the likelihood of the lad agreeing was slim.

Ciel, however, quite liked the idea of confronting the girls on his home turf. The ground is familiar, and should things turn ugly, Sebastian could step in and provide backup if necessary.

"That sounds fine." he said, watching the girl blink in surprise.

"Very well. I will inform my mistress. Have a good afternoon." With a polite bow, she was gone, leaving the lads to themselves. She was a strange one, indeed.

Alois looked to his companion with a displeased face. "Why'd you go and do that for? You're letting _the enemy_ right into our home!"

"So they would be easier to combat, stupid." the bluenette said, turning his attention to the blonde boy.

"_She is an agent of evil straight from Satan's anus!_ You're going to seriously put up with that?!"

"First of all: _Alois, that is one of the most disturbing things I have ever heard come out of your mouth._ Secondly: yes. It shouldn't be much of a problem. Sebastian will be there as well, should things take a turn for the worse."

"I guess you're right..." the blonde said, resting his chin in his palm and turning his attention back to the pieces on the chessboard.

It was unusual for him to admit defeat in verbal combat like this. Ciel thought so as well, staring at the boy. His thoughts wandered from the game of chess, to why the blonde was so against the girls coming over. Why did that matter to him? Sure, they were a potential enemy, but did that really warrant the lad calling the she-demon and "_agent of evil straight from Satan's anus"?_ Sure, Alois is a bit "odd", but the behaviour was unusual for him. Ordinarily, he wouldn't be one to care in the slightest, perhaps saying something like "_bring it on!"_ or something to that extent. The bluenette watched his blonde companion move one of his chess pieces, suddenly reaching a possible answer to his inquiry.

When the blonde looked up at him to indicate that he was done with his move, and that it was the other boy's turn, Ciel spoke. "Alois, are you _jealous_ of August?"

The Trancy boy suddenly went from dissinterested, to fully alert, perking up and nearly kicking the table. A slight pink hue was visible across his face.

"I am _not!"_ he said defensively.

Bingo. The bluenette had hit the nail directly on the head. Thinking about it, it did sort of make sense._ A female demon arrives, who suddenly talks to the bluenette, even when Alois himself isn't present?_ The blonde also knew that Ciel too found women to be attractive as well as men, so why wouldn't he be a bit jealous? In a society where romantic homosexual relationships were still not fully recognized as "sociably acceptable", if one's sexual preferences also allow for women, wouldn't it be logical to choose the woman? Moreover, August is a demon as well, so they had one major secret in common. The more Alois thought about it, the more frustrated with himself he became.

Ciel grinned a bit at the blonde's response, resting his own his in his palm, and his elbow on the table. "_You are, aren't you?"_

Frowning, the blonde sat back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest. "_So?"_ he said, refusing to answer directly.

_"It's cute_." the Phantomhive boy said, moving his pawn to the edge of the chessboard and exchanging it for his previously lost Queen. "You're in _'check'."_

Alois pouted at being called "cute", furrowing his brow and flushing scarlet. He could hardly_ think _about chess right now. He stared at the chessboard, with no strategies coming to mind. All that echoed in his head were the other boy's words. He didn't need to look up to know that Ciel was smirking at him, he could _feel_ it. Soon the board started to look like nothing at all, just smudges of black and white as his brain started to _forget_ he was playing chess.

It was hearing the other boy chuckle at him that snapped him back to his senses. He promised to win, hadn't he? Now he really felt like he needed to defeat this boy, and the black and white colours started to transform back into the game-board.

As requirement of being in "check", his next move has to be him getting _out _of "check". In his mind, he plotted the possible directions he could move the king, all of them leading to eventual defeat by the black queen. Soon, he just moved his rook to stand in front of the king, temporarily blocking his opponent's path.

Ciel then proceeded to take out that rook, leaving the queen right next to the white king. In response, Alois used his king to take out the queen.

"BOOM! _That just happened_." he said mockingly.

"That doesn't change the fact that _you're still such a girl_." the bluenette said mockingly, watching the blonde pout again. "_Boom. That just happened."_


	102. Purpose

Phantomhive Manor, which stands on the outskirts of London, has been standing since , at the very least, the Victorian era of Britain. Even being burned, blown up, and being left to rot in disrepair, it still stands in all of it's original grandeur. This massive estate has seen many a dark secret in it's time, but none so great as this: Phantomhive Manor is home to not one, but _three_ demons.

Yes, the vary same kind of evil apparitions who so dare defy God and walk the Earth in pursuit of human souls to consume, thus further sustaining their own wicked existence. Lou, that these three abominable beings are not the _only_ demons in the London area. There is indeed a _fourth_ devil, whom goes by the name of "_August"._ Fortunate is the population, that this she-demon is kept on a leash held in the hands of a posh, pampered, and yet somewhat corrupt teenage girl.

Her name is "Cassandra Bates", and on this day she and her demon-servant will meet with the residents of the Phantomhive household. She showed up at the front door sometime after school let out, confirming that this was the address that the bluenette boy had hastily scribbled on a torn piece of paper for her. While the paper was trashy, and gave her the impression that the boy was paltry, upon seeing the grand building, she changed her mind.

It was far more grand than her modern home in both size and regality. While her home was both large and fancy, nor was it anything to sneeze at, it paled in comparison. Perhaps the boy who was the head of this household held more, even greater secrets that she could never even imagine.

The young lady's demon, August, raised her hand to knock on the old wooden door, only for it to be opened before her knuckles could even brush against the surface by a tall man clad in black. He smiled with hospitality.

"Welcome to Phantomhive Manor. We have been expecting you, Miss Bates." he said, holding the door open for the young lady and her demon.

August's eye's widened in surprise. _"Just how many demons did the Phantomhive boy have under his control?!" _she thought, and rightfully so.

Ciel Phantomhive had _not _one, but _two_ demons at his disposal, and judging by the ominous power the man was emitting, this man was the strongest. The bluenette boy was now obviously nothing to sneeze at. While it is not uncommon for demons to have _familiars,_ it is, however, for the demon to possess full-fledged demons, capable of making contracts with humans, in their possession. Cassandra, of course, being an ordinary human, was unable to sense any of this, maintained ignorance in the matter and paid the man hardly any mind. The she-demon chose to _keep it _that way, but was now ever-alert. The man lead them into the drawing room where the two boys sat, one was_ reading, _the other was_ building a castle out of couch-cushions_. I will leave it up to _you_ to decide _which boy was doing what_.

"Cassandra Bates and her maid, August Remy, my lord." the man said to the bluenette, bowing politely.

"Thank you, Sebastian." the boy said in response. "Please, have a seat."

The young mistress seated herself in a chair, as the man clad in black was busily placing the cushions on the couch back in their appropriate locations, while her demon stood behind her like a shadow. Alois plopped down on the couch right after Sebastian was done fixing it, while Ciel sat in his own chair, patiently waiting for Cassandra to get situated before speaking.

"I understand there is something you wish to discuss with me, Miss Bates." he said finally. "What is it that I can do for you?"

"First of all, you can cut the formalities, Phantomhive. Secondly, _I understand you have a demon too."_ the young lady said, playing with her hair.

The bluenette smiled. "_Yes, that is correct._ Was it August who told you, or did you find out on your own?"

"So you knew about August, huh? To answer your question: I found out on my own, when that Westly kid took your eye-patch the other day. _August has been keeping secrets from me."_ the girl said, looking at her demon with mean look. August kept staring straight ahead, seemingly taking no notice, so Cassandra turned her attention back to the bluenette. "Well, let's see it, then. _Your contract_." she continued. My, this girl was quite haughty, waltzing in and acting as though she owned the place.

The blonde did not like the way she spoke to Ciel: _not one single bit._ However, the "_August has been keeping secrets_" bit struck a chord with him. He stared at the mistress with evil eyes.

"Well, _aren't you observant?"_ the Phantomhive boy said patronizingly. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass on that. _I don't like taking orders in my own home_." He smirked. "Did you really come all this way just to say that, or is there more?"

Cassandra felt her eyebrow twitch in irritation. "I want to know _why._" she said. "Why do you get a demon too?"

"_Ladies first."_ The blonde couldn't help but giggle at the bluenette's retort.

"Are you _toying _with me, Phantomhive?"

"Of course not. Like I said, _I don't take orders in my own home_. I don't like beating around the bush, either. Why are you _really_ here?" Ciel said, observing as the girl sat in her chair, in silent anger. "Do you have business with the _Student, Ciel Phantomhive? _Do you wish to converse with_ the head of Funtom toys?_ Or rather, did you want to speak with _The Queen's Guard Dog?_"

"The Queen's _what?"_

"In regards to your parents murder, as the _Queen's Guard Dog, I looked at that case_. Wouldn't that be helpful to you if I told you what I knew?"

"..._Not really.._." the girl said, looking away. August stopped looking straight ahead, and looked to her mistress in surprise.

"But mistress..." she began, only to be silenced by Cassandra.

"_Be quiet, August_."

"_Oh, I see..."_ Ciel began, his smirk faded. "Your very purpose for having a demon is the very _lack of purpose_."

Everyone in the room gave the boy one-hundred percent of their attention, now. Even Alois, who was so lazily lying on the sofa, was now at full attention._ He knew what Ciel was talking about_.

"W-what do you mean?!" Cassandra demanded, leaning forward in her seat a bit.

"I was told by August that you seeked revenge for the death of your parents, yet you refuse information that could make you even one step closer to completing your task?" the bluenette asked. "Why is that?"

"I-I have my reasons!"

"_**Number one: **__A human must lack faith in God. __**Number two: **__A human must be desperate for a way out._" the eye-patched demon listed off, "These are the requirements in order to summon a demon. Now that you've found your way out and settled back down into everyday life, do you still_ burn with anger?_ Do you still_ ache for vengeance? _Do you still have the _resolve to see this through to the end?"_

Cassandra's eyes went wide and she looked to August. The she-demon was looking down at her with _contempt _for what she was hearing. The young mistress tore her eyes away from the demon to look at the boy again.

"Of course I do!" she yelled at the boy, trying to keep her voice steady and her tears at bay. She stood up. "I won't sit here and be talked to like this!" she said, trying to compose herself. The young mistress turned and began to head for the door, walking briskly. "_Come, August. We're leaving."_

August stood for a moment before beginning to follow the girl. Her eyes switching from contempt to uncertainty. She looked back at the boys one last time before curtsying politely, and closing the door behind her.

Immediately after they left, the blonde lad sat up and looked to the other boy. "Do you really think she's lost her purpose?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. It was unusual for the boy to have such a concerned expression on his face, _especially_ for someone he didn't particularly like.

Observing this, the bluenette hesitated in his answer. "I was just playing with her at first, but judging by her reaction, I would say it'_s definitely possible_."

"Oh..." was all the blonde said. His tone was sort of melancholic.

The slate-haired teen stood up from his own seat, and took a seat next to the blonde boy. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. It's just... I was the same..._ I lost sight of my goal, and Claude, he_..." Alois trailed off. His companion pulled the boy closer so the the blonde was resting his head on the lad's shoulder.

_"You don't have to say it. I know_..." Ciel said, stroking the blonde's hair comfortingly.

"I think that could happen to Cassandra. Even though I don't like her, and she's a total bitch, _I just can't help but feel sorry for her..."_

"What happens, happens. Whatever happens between her and August can't be stopped. _Not all stories can have happy endings."_

_ "I'm glad mine did."_ the blonde said, snuggling into the other boy, making him flush.

Meanwhile,while this was happening, in a certain car was a certain pair of girls riding away from a certain manor in silence. The one with straight black hair stared straight ahead, the words of the boy echoing in her mind. The one with reddish hair, and the pentacle on her left eye stared outside the window, too afraid to even look at the other female. Unwelcome, the silence hung in the air, nearly smothering them both.

"Don't listen to Phantomhive. He doesn't know what he's talking about." the young mistress said finally. Her eyes never wandered from the passing scenery. "Of course I have the resolve to see this through. Never doubt that." The attention of the she-demon's eyes wandered to the other girl.

"Of course." she said, eyes glowing. "Even if it takes your _entire life_,_until the day your soul becomes mine, _I will _always_ remain loyal to my mistress..."

* * *

**A/N: O hay~!  
**

**Oh...**

_**August.**_

_** Stahp starin at me.**_

_**August.**_

_**STAHP.**_

**I still have no idea why her name is "August." **

**That was something decided a long time ago, that Cassandra's demon was named "August". There was no reason for it other than _it sounded cool. _The original "August" was completely different. For one, he was male, and his design and personality were kind of _boring._ (Though he did have _cloven-hooves...) _So, I trashed that concept and drew a bunch of other demon-characters, and I liked this version of August the best.  
**

**She is much more "demon-y" in both her design and personality, I think. She just _works_ better. I don't think she would be the same had I kept her gender the same as before. (Girl power! Cha!) The old one was far more wishy-washy, and didn't stand out at all.**

**Cassandra remained the same as her "Pre-DLTD" version, except I think she got _bitchier. _**

**_Until next time, my duckies._**


	103. Cassandra

Over the next few days, all was quiet on the boy's end. They certainly didn't like being dragged into the affairs of others, so they simply ignored the girls at school. Even though they noticed strange behaviour between Cassandra and August, they did nothing to interfere. It's best to let these things play out for themselves, isn't it?

August seemed to have grown colder to her mistress, no longer walking several paces behind her, no longer assisting in various tasks she was asked to complete, and no longer remaining by the girls side, taking the chance to wander off and talk to other children instead. Lord knows what was going on behind the scenes. The young mistress herself seemed a bit more _fearful_, especially with August around. She would often cower at the she-demon's stare, and roll over when asked to do something. The stubborn, bossy, haughty girl that the class had known before was gone, and while the girl that replaced her looked the same, her behaviour wasn't like Cassandra's at all. This new girl was quiet and withdrawn. While Cassandra had an eternal scowl plastered across her face, this lass had a frightful look about her. This Cassandra was a pitiful sight, indeed, hardly a shadow of her former self.

Perhaps this isn't technically true. In fact, Cassandra acted this way several years ago, starting the very night her parents fell in a pool of their own blood right before her very eyes. The only reason she had survived that night was because the masked gunman claimed that he "didn't shoot kids", out of a _cruel act of mercy_.

She stayed there at her parents side as the last bits of their essence escaped them, leaving her alone, and _lost_. Before long after that, she was forced away from them by strange men wearing black suits and spectacles.

_"This is no place for kids. Go home_." they said, but alas, she had no idea how to even get there.

Over the next few days, she was forced to wander the streets in search of the way. She slept in allies and metro stations, running away from packs of strange men on more than one occasion. They offered her things like food, money, and safety, but she could sense something off about the men so she ran away as fast as her legs could carry her.

Ever onward, she ventured in search of "home", trying her very best to ignore her hunger and fatigue, until finally, her little twelve-year-old legs finally collapsed from underneath her. How damp her filthy clothes were, providing no insulation from the chilly night air. How her stomach growled and clawed at her insides like some ferocious beast, preventing her moment of rest from being enjoyable. How worn were the soles of her feet from walking and how her legs ached, as she lied there on the unforgiving concrete.

Oh, how she wanted it to end. It was by some miracle that she met this man who so graciously offered her a place to stay for the night. She ate good food, scrubbed away the dirt that had collected over the past week from her being, and rested her tired, aching feet. He was such a nice gentleman. She wished that those days could've gone on forever. Maybe then she could've been happy. Woe, it was not meant to be.

Before long, she discovered the man's true purpose for treating her so well. It wasn't out of the goodness of his heart, but so he could sacrifice her in a ritual of heinous nature. She was never allowed to enter the basement of the man's home, but upon waking she realized immediately where she was. That is when she met her first requirement. When she saw the altar, the blades, and the bones in the home of this man, who had been so kind to her, this man, who had saved her from a certain, slow and painful death, this man, who was now going to brutally end her life, she came to the following conclusion:

"_God doesn't exist."_

There was no "savior". Good things don't happen to those who do no wrong. Everything she had been taught by the good book at that very moment was proven to be nothing but a lie. She was just an innocent, twelve-year-old girl. What could she have possibly done to deserve all of this?

Now, I won't go into too many details, but she still has the markings that were carved into her skin that day. They have healed, but the symbols and insignias carved by a knife can still be faintly seen in the form of pale, soft skin, lacking any and all pigment in their places. When the knife carved into her skin for an unknown number of times, was it that she had met her _second_ requirement_. She was desperate for a way out_.

She wanted it all to end. The pain, the fear, the anger, the sadness. All of it, yet she did not want to _die._ Dying is for the weak. Only when you stand and fight do you rightfully earn the ability to trample on the weak. This man had _not_ earned it. It was for this reason that the devil appeared not before him, but before Cassandra.

It was then and there that Cassandra's sadness turned into anger, and her fear had turned to hatred. From that day forward, she would be in possession of a demonic apparition. For several years after that she had kept this hatred burning, but as time went on, she realized that she wanted nothing more than to _forget_ the past and move _onward._

Onward, _forward_, never_ looking back _at the horror she had experienced. _But that conflicted with the promise she had made that day._ August wasn't about to let her forget, either, and now, this is why the young mistress had reverted back into her old, wretched, _unworthy_ self. Now she didn't want to look back at the past, or forward to the future and the terror it may bring.

The true reason she had visited the Phantomhive estate was to clear up that she was no threat, and potentially make a friend with whom she could relate to. Ciel, since he possessed a demon, must have gone through an awful experience as well, making him a person she could feel empathy for.

But she was not met with kindness. Instead, the lad had only enhanced her problems, notifying her servant of the weakness in her heart she felt about pursuing the what had at one time caused her so much "_trouble_", as an understatement.

Obviously, he knew what he had done, and now, he wasn't even going to _help_ her? Underneath her fear of August, there was seething anger towards the bluenette boy for doing this to her. Finally, after August had left her alone for a moment to go galivanting at her own pleasure, had she let this feeling boil to the surface.

She got up and made a B-line towards the Phantomhive boy and his blonde companion who were busily discussing nothing in particular. She strode right up next to the couple of desks they were seated in only to be ignored. That wouldn't do, not one bit. For a slit-second, she threw a bit of a fit, punching the surface of the desk as hard as she could to get the lad's attention. Her knuckles stung and ached as they turned a dark pink, but she ignored this, and pressed onward.

"Can I help you, miss Bates?" the bluenette said, lazily turning his attention to the girl. He rested his chin in his palm, and his elbow on his desk, to emphasize this somehow.

"Yes, yes _you can_." she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "You see, because of _you,_ I now have_ demon problems_." While the bluenette was known for his "Ice-beam", the energy that seemed to emit from her own eye seemed fiery.

The boy ignored this, of course. "I'm deeply sorry for that, but what exactly can I do to stop this? This is between you and August now, do _not _pull _me_ into it." he said, shooting back his ice-beam.

"Look, I'm _begging_ you." she said, voice cracking. "I can't go on like this. I'm not like you, I don't _have _the resolve, or power to do this on my own..."

Ciel opened his mouth to speak, but the blonde boy stopped him, putting his hand on the bluenette's shoulder. The expression on his face was sympathetic, or maybe the closest the little sociopath could get to "sympathetic". Alois knew how Cassandra felt, and this pang of empathy stabbed at him. The blonde didn't like the girl, not one bit, but at the same, he would feel _guilt _if he denied her help. They were the same, after all. He stared into the eye of the bluenette lad, wordlessly conveying all of this.

how could Ciel deny the blonde boy at this moment? Alois hardly ever felt sympathy for an "outsider". The bluennette couldn't help but feel a little jealous at this for whatever reason. Looking back to the girl again, with great reluctance the boy said: "Alright, what do you want us to do about it?"

_ "How do you break a contract?"_ the girl asked.

"Listen, this isn't something you could just have a lawyer look at, find loopholes, and escape from. You _can't_ turn back._ It's impossible_." The boy should know, he _is_ a demon.

"What if August were to died before the contract was completed?" asked the blonde boy.

"_Kill_ August?" the girl asked in surprise. "But... August..."

"Don't tell me you're _attached _to her." the bluenette said. "If you don't have the resolve to _kill the person who's trying to kill you,_ then you're _better off _dead." Alois nodded in agreement.

Cassandra hesitated a bit before asking: "Would that even _work?"_

"Like I would _know._ It _could_ completely backfire and kill you too." the bluenette pointed out. "There are different types of contracts, some are weak, some are strong, and demons are _very _protective of their prey. It could be a natural case of 'if I can't have it, then no one can'."

"But what other choice do I have? If there's even a slim chance of surviving this..."

"_Now_ you're thinking like a contract holder." The blonde smiled. "So what's the plan, _darling?" _he asked the bluenette.

Ciel cleared his throat, trying to conceal the slight pink on his face. "It's simple, really. Tell August that I'm willing to give you information on your parent's deaths. That way she'll be willing to come. Bring her to that _old, abandoned manor_ and we'll take it from there."

"How on earth are you going to kill her though?" the girl asked.

"Quite easily. You see, we of the Phantomhive house are one _hell_ of a team."

Having this been decided, the three formed an alliance, unaware of the quiet boy in the _skull beanie with black hair in front of his eyes_, writing all of this down. He was going to prove, at least to _himself_, _that there's more out there than what can only be seen to the normal, human eyes._

* * *

**A/N: It's that weird kid again...  
**

**Remember that kid? I don't blame you if you don't...**

**I feel like I focused WAY more on Cassandra than really necessary, but I really wanted her back-story to be known. I think that there is an aspect to her that _can_ be sympathized, but it's not... working? I dunno. Tell me what you think. Is she still a bitch, or are you on the fence about it? I don't even know anymore. I kind of want there to be a certain level of redemption, but I still want her to be kind of a bitch. _I'm so conflicted!_**

**_But still, I don't think there was enough shota.  
_**

**There will be more demonic shotas, promise!**

**DEMONIC BATTLE TO THE DEATH ASLDKHGALSKGAJLKDG_THISISSPARTA_HALKDHJAOIEHALKNFLAKHG!**

**...or is it? (It is.)**

**I still have a few tricks up my sleeves...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

**QUACK.**


	104. August

It was close to night fall at the old and barely standing house of Trancy, and the leaves were rustling softly until the weaker ones would give way to the force of the gentle breeze the whiffed through the air, causing them to fall to the ground. Autumn was here, and the air was chilled just enough that the boy's outside the Trancy house had to wear jackets as they sat and waited for their appointment to show up at last.

As the Phantomhive boy and the former owner of the house sat on the steps, a third-party member hid in the bushes, camera at the ready. Audrey Baines, or as most people knew him, "_The Boy In The 'Big Chair'",_ was often mocked for his belief in the supernatural. His fascination began at a young age when he saw a man get hit by a car. What he saw that day would set him on this path to seek the paranormal.

After the man got hit, another man wearing a black suit and spectacles rushed over and couched down next to him. The adults thought that the bispecled man was trying to help the innocent victim of a hit-and-run, but that wasn't true. Audrey saw it with his own two eyes. The man in the suit and the specticles didn't _help_ the man, but _cut_ him with what appeared to be garden shears. While that could happen, what happened next _couldn't_. From the cut came forth strips of film wafting in the air, reaching toward the heavens, glowing. How do you explain that? None of the adults seemed to notice, but Audrey did. The boy would be forever burdened with that image, and the fact that no one would _ever believe him._

Until today. What he had overheard the demonic duo and the Bates girl discussing could lead to his big break. _Demons? Faustian contracts?_ This was too good to be true! The lad was willing to endure the pain in his joints from crouching in order to prove his own sanity. To his fellow students, his teacher, his friends, his parents, but most of all, to himself. He almost held his breath when he saw the two girls walk up.

Cassandra and August casually walked up to the manor, side by side, but silent. Cassandra had a look of indifference on her face, because that was all she could muster. The she-demon on the other hand, had an expectant look on her face. She half-expected Cassandra to not go through with this, and half expected her to, but there was another feeling nagging at her mind that she couldn't quite describe. It was almost as if her sixth sense was acting up, and as such, she was on-guard.

The pair casually walked up to the boys, stopping a feet away, but this was ordinary for such situations. You never know when things could turn ugly.

"You have the information?" the young mistress asked, her usual self returning a bit. She smiled when the bluenette held up a briefcase.

"It's right here." Ciel said, keeping the briefcase in plain view. "All of the files on your parents murder are _right here."_

Cassandra took a step forward to take the case, but she was in fact getting out of range. She began to walk forward to abandon the she-devil and escape from the girl forever, but she didn't expect August to _stop her_.

August's face was serious, and she held her arm out, parallel to the ground, blocking her mistresses path. "_How do we know it's good?"_ the devil asked the boys.

The bluenette boy handed the blonde the case, in order to use him as a stand, before opening it and pulling out a folder full of documents to the girl. "I may be a _liar_, and a_ cheater_, but I am not so dishonourable as to go back on a _promise."_ Ciel knew the girl wasn't stupid, so he had some cleverly crafted fakes made. Courtesy of a certain butler, of course.

August stepped forward, walking at a steady pace over to the two gentlemen. The bluenette put the faux-files back in the brief case, and held it out to the girl. Closer, she walked, stepping hardly five feet away from the boys before unknowingly stepping into a circle. Sparks flew, as fire emitted from the circle. Audrey sat in his hiding place, speechless, completely forgetting his plan for a moment.

Of course the lads didn't expect that to kill her. They just hoped to stun her enough that they would be able to pounce. Quickly, the boys ran to both sides of the fiery vortex, waiting for it to die down a bit. But when it did, _no one was there._

Suddenly Ciel felt something making hard contact with his skull, effectively making him stumble a bit. Alois saw a flash of black before receiving a swift kick to his cheek. After both boys recovered from their initial surprise, they looked over to where Cassandra was, seeing a demon behind her.

August had black, crow-like wings, and her eyes glowed crimson. Her tail was pointed, unlike the boys', as were her ears and canines. Her nails were black, as they usually were, but long, like claws. She had a dark grey skirt torn at the ends, and the top of her boots with spiked heels disappeared underneath it. Her shirt was black as well, the sleeves reaching down her arms into almost-gloves, covering only her middle and ring fingers on both hands. Instead of the black horns that lads are so familiar with, the lass instead had black antlers protruding from the side of her head.

"I knew something was off here." she said, smirking a bit. "I didn't think you were the type to give information for free, Phantomhive. Rightfully so, it would seem." August put her arm over Cassandra's shoulder, before using her free hand to make the human girl face her. "As for _you_, Cassandra, I must say I'm _shocked_ that you would go back on your word. You were even willing to collaborate with these two boys in order to _kill me?_ Too bad it didn't work."

Cassandra was frozen, her eyes wide. She didn't move, didn't speak, didn't blink or look away, the poor girl was to frightened to _breathe_. The only movement she could manage was her uncontrollable quaking in fear. She felt the demon brush one of her claw-like nails against her throat.

"That wasn't _nice_, Cassandra." August said.

Her eyes widened when a root sprung from the ground and wrapped tightly around her wrist before quickly doing the same with the other one. The roots yanked her arms away from the girl, freeing her. August looked over to the lads, snarling in anger.

_ "Run Cassandra!" _shouted the blonde boy, his eyes glowing crimson and his cheek gashed where he was kicked by the demon's spiky boots. Blood mixed with sweat as he dug his fingers into the earth, focusing all of his energy on restraining the she-demon.

Snapping from her senses, the young mistress caused her legs to move, retreating behind the blonde boy, as the bluenette took the opportunity to transform into his true form as well.

Suddenly a click, and a flash was seen coming from the direction of the bushes where the third-party, Audrey, was hiding and gathering evidence.

_ "Shit!"_ he muttered under his breath. _"I thought I turned the damn flash off!"_

It that short moment, the flash was able to break the blonde's concentration long enough for the she-demon to escape the binds. Alois feel to his knees, tired from restraining the girl, as said girl darted for the bushes where Audrey was hiding.

A boyish scream was heard as was some rustling before August returned from the bushes, dragging poor Audrey kicking , screaming and clawing at the dirt desperate for an escape.

"Oh look," the she-demon said, "we have a_ visitor_."

The other's eyes widened upon seeing the boy. They had been _seen_. Not only that, but they had been seen by a _human from their school._ This was not going to end well.

"Let him go, August!" Alois shouted, using a bit _too_ much of his remaining energy on the command.

"Hmm... _nah."_ the girl said, picking the dark-haired boy up by the collar of his shirt, and placing her claws near his throat. The lad's eyes were visible for once, and shear terror reflected off of them.

_ "Here's the deal:"_ August began, staring directly at her opponents. "Now I know you gentlemen aren't the type to do things out of the _goodness of your hearts,_ but I think I have a proposition beneficial to all of us. _You give me the girl, and this innocent bystander lives_."

The blonde and the bluenette looked at each other for a moment before looking to Cassandra, and back to Audrey and August. They had to weigh their options, here.

If Audrey was still alive, they would have to deal with him later. If by come _miracle_ he survives, and they _don't _pick him, the poor boy may never recover from this night.

On the other hand, Cassandra could die either way, depending on the type of contract she has. She wouldn't be that nice to deal with if she lives, either. Either way, it would appear that the boy's loose. The option did exist to just kill _everyone,_ but the lad's had too much on their conciseness as it is.

They thought, and they thought. "Well? _Choose wisely."_ the she-demon taunted.

Before either boy could speak, Cassandra stepped forward. "Let him go." she said, her tone sincere, but melancholic. _"I'll cooperate."_

"But Cassandra..." Ciel began. He was completely blind-sided by the girl's sudden declaration, as was the blonde, who couldn't find the strength to make his voice work.

_ "It's fine."_ the young mistress said. "I was going to die anyway. I'd rather let Audrey have the chance to live happily, than forever live with the guilt that I let him die." She looked back to the boy's. "I can't run away forever, can I?"

The demonic duo looked at her solemnly. No, she wasn't like them. Cassandra still wasn't_ completely _tainted. The girl was bitchy, grouchy, bossy, and stubborn, yet deep down, _kind._ While she was all of those negative things, the girl didn't have the darkness in her heart that the boys did. She wanted to move on towards the light, rather than dwell in the darkness on the past.

August's eyes grew softer, and she loosened her grip on the boy's collar, allowing him to fall to the ground. He backed up a few feet on the adrenaline rush, but didn't get far as he crashed.

_ "Mistress..."_

Cassandra walked forward without looking back. While she shook, she didn't pause for a moment. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity and a day, she stood in front of the demon.

"_August."_ she said as greeting.

The demon extended her arm to the girl with the sun setting behind them. The others watched watched as the two stood there. When August was about to touch the face of her mistress, _she was stopped by another root._

The blonde boy grit his teeth and strained to keep this up. He was tired. He was still too young as a demon to be able to perform this ability with ease. "Ciel..." he choked out. "_Kick her ass!"_

With a smirk, the bluenette said: "_Yes, you highness."_ before lunging at the trapped demon. He shoved Cassandra out of the way as gently as he could before cocking his arm back and hitting the she-demon straight in the face, sending her backwards and breaking the roots that bound her.

"Now, ordinarily, it would be against my policy to hit a _lady_. Especially as hard as I just did, however, _I'll make an exception just this one time."_ the bluenette said tauntingly.

The blonde chuckled behind him as he lay exhausted in the dirt. "_But you say I'm a girl, and you've hit me."_ he thought.

Audrey crawled over to Alois, shaking him a bit. "Alois! Alois! What's going on?!" he asked, his voice shaking.

"_Tell you later. Too tired."_ was all the flaxen teen could choke out.

August got up. She wiped off her face and glared at the bluenette. "You flatter me." she said. She ran at the boy before disappearing again. She was at his left, then his right. She was at his front, she was at his back. She was above him, then she was in front of him again and it was the lad's turn to be sent flying.

Ciel flew several yards before crashing into a tree and knocking it over._ August hit hard._ She had the upper hand of having a contract. Contracts make demons _stronger._

He was on his own. Alois was out of commission, and Sebastian was at home. "_Don't worry, we can handle this."_ the lad had said to the man, regretfully. Sometimes he cursed himself for his own arrogance.

He got up and ran at the girl again, faking a left, before hitting her with his right. She quickly recovered and kicked him in the stomach, knocking the wind that he didn't really need out of him.

Unfortunately, this is how Ciel knew how to fight. He wasn't as fancy as Sebastian. He was quick, but not quick enough. He was powerful, but not powerful_ enough_. Again and again he received blow after blow from the girl. How was Alois going to react when he found out the bluenette had been _beaten by a girl?_ That was a never-ending eternity of torment that Ciel was _not _willing to endure.

"This is _sad,_ Phantomhive. I was thinking a man of your caliber would be more of a _challenge!_" August taunted, amused by the boy's inability.

Finally, in a last-ditch effort, the boy had somehow managed to get the girl in a headlock. He ground his fist into the girl's scalp just as he would with Alois, but this time, he was _rougher._

"Ow, ow, _OW! Let go!"_ she cried, unable to escape the boy-demon's iron grasp.

"Give up, then!" the bluenette shouted back.

"Okay, _OKAY! I give up!"_ and just like that, she was released.

The girl rubbed her aching scalp before swiftly kicking the boy in the stomach. Ciel arched over and grasped the sore are. "_I thought you said you gave up!"_

_ "What?! _A _demon lied_ to you?!" August mocked. "Hindsight is 20/20..." Ciel grunted and stood back up, thoroughly aggravated.

"You know, Ciel," the she-demon began, "I think that had all of this not happened, we could've had a _beautiful friendship._" she said, tapping her chin. "Then you had to ruin it by helping Cassandra for who knows what reason."

"I didn't want to. _Alois did."_ the boy said.

"Why go along with it then?"

"Well,_ I love him_, so it's not exactly like I could say 'no'."

"Oh, so _that's_ your relationship." August smiled. "Hardly surprising._ I'm not sure why I didn't see that_."

"It wasn't your concern._ You had a job to do_."

"I _still_ have a job to do."

August's leg muscles tensed before darting away from the fight, and over to the others, grabbing Cassandra as she passed. Ciel's eye widened, and Audrey was speechless. "Don't act so surprised." August said. "I'm a _demon._ We don't play _fair._"

"August, please!" Cassandra cried, trying to free herself from the demon's grip.

The she-demon's eyes softened. "Don't' worry." she said, smiling warmly. "Even if it takes_ your entire life, until the day I take your soul_, I will _always _be loyal to my mistress."

The young mistress didn't scream. She only let out a small squeak in surprise when the demon tore into her flesh. She didn't feel pain, her body was in shock from having the demon stab her in the stomach with nothing but her claws. Her eyes widened as it dawned on her what just happened.

Audrey wanted to run, but he couldn't feel his legs. Alois wanted to fight, but couldn't feel his entire body. Ciel wanted to shout, but he couldn't find his voice. They all thought the same thing. One word. A name.

"_Cassandra."_

The girl coughed up blood, still in shock. "_Aug...ust..." _she choked out.

"_Yes mistress?"_ the demon cooed.

"_I don't want... to suffer anymore..."_

_ "I know, mistress."_

The demon granted the girl's wish by giving her the _demon's kiss,_ and taking her soul. Cassandra died that day. Never again would she call the blonde boy an idiot. Never again would she invite herself over to the Phantomhive estate. Never again would she sit in Mr. Irons' World History class. _Never again_, because she was _no more_.

The boy's couldn't believe it.

August pulled away from the girl's cold lips, and held her. She did not smile, she did not smirk, she did not laugh, but she did frown. _Was it worth it?_

Finally, she looked to the bluenette boy. _"I've won_." she said, smiling faintly. "I still believe we could've been _friends, _Phantomhive."

"August..." Ciel said with a snarl. He was angry. The boy was a sore loser. This girl had harmed Alois, exposed their secret, and killed their classmate. But what could he do?

Nothing. She got what she wanted. She no longer had a reason to fight. She carried the young mistress' body with care, and begin to walk away, slowly reverting back to her "human" self.

_ "I'll see you all at school tomorrow." _she said, looking back.

She left the two demon boys and the boy who will exchange information with pixie sticks. She left them there, defeated at the Trancy manor.

* * *

**A/N: Whoa.  
**

**That got heavy.**

**This way, I can keep August on longer, and get rid of a character no one seems to like.**

**I think it's fitting. **

**Still, it's kind of sad, don't you think?**

**Next chapter will be them dealing with Audrey, and going back to school with August.**

**Ah... I can't think of too much to say right now...**

**Wow, this is heavy...**

**I think I may get some angry reviews for this chapter! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It just happened! I COULDN'T CONTROL IT! IT ALL ESCALATED SO QUICKLY!**

**Laters, duckies...**


	105. It's All Good

"Well, Audrey, I believe we all need to have a little _chat."_ said a certain demon.

The secret was out. Audrey, "The Boy In The '_Big Chair'_", had witnessed a battle of demons, and the death of a classmate. By now, it was night-time, and many children were at home getting ready for bed. _Most _children.

Audrey, unfortunately, was here at the abandoned Trancy Manor, face-to-face with demons. Real life, honest to God _demons._ They too, were classmates of his, and because he had overheard them talking in class, he had foolishly decided to come out and take pictures of what he hoped was supernatural activity. He got his wish, and now the demons had to figure out what to do with him.

"I-I won't tell anyone! _Promise!" _the boy pleaded. He saw what happened to Cassandra. He saw what these creatures could do. The lad did not show up to be executed.

"How do _we_ know that?" asked the bluenette demon. "With your information manipulation skills, you could have it around the school in a matter of_ hours_."

"I know, I know! But I _won't, I swear!_ Besides, even if I _did, _no one would _believe_ me!"

"What about that _flash?_ You had a _camera_, didn't you?"

_"August broke it!"_ The lad led the demon over to his former-hiding spot, revealing that his story checked out. Still, it wasn't absolute that they could trust the boy. "Is Alois okay?" he asked.

"He should be fine." the bluenette said, smothering his worry. He couldn't help but worry about the boy. "That plant ability takes a lot out of him. He just needs rest." That said, the boy was still eager to check on his blonde companion.

"Alois, are you alright?" Audrey asked the blonde menace.

"Just _peachy."_ Alois said weakly, smiling a bit. "The ground's a bit uncomfy, though... It's a lot like the couch in your office, Ciel..." he chuckled a bit, not having the energy to giggle.

Ciel propped the boy up, letting him lean on him. "honestly, how on earth are you still capable of cracking jokes in your condition?" he asked.

"Easy... It's 'cause I'm_ Alois Trancy_..."

"Of course it is..." the bluenette said in a hushed tine, smiling a bit. Alois was trying to keep him from worrying too much, and while it failed to do so, it helped the other lad feel a bit better.

The boy in the skull beanie stared at the two for a while, watching the exchange. After doing so, he realized something: _These were still the very same boys he went to school with everyday. _Them being demons didn't change that. They were _still_ Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy even after their true faces were revealed.

Audrey dwelled on this a bit longer before speaking up. "I won't tell anyone." he said again, catching the attention of the two demon's. "You're still _you_, right? I'd feel bad for ratting out somebody _who didn't really deserve it_."

"Who's to say we _don't?_" said Ciel. "We _are_ demonic apparitions who steal the souls of humans, you know."

"I know, but you didn't do anything to _me,_ personally. You also didn't let August _kill me, _and for that, _I thank you!"_ The boy in the skull-beanie put his hands in his pockets._ "It's all good."_

"You're too kind." Ciel put one arm around the blonde's shoulder, and one underneath his legs, picking him up _like a princess._ The blonde groaned in response.

"Do you need a ride home? I get get Sebastian to pick you up." the bluenette offered.

"Nah, I can call for my own." Audrey said, whipping out his cell-phone. "See you at school tomorrow?"

"Just like always." said Ciel with a slight smile. "We'll be taking our leave, then." With that, the boy turned, blonde boy in his arms, to head home.

"Keep_ 'Princess Trancy' _safe!" the Baines boy shouted to them, waving goodbye. Ciel chuckled, and Alois seemed to have regained enough strength to give Audrey _the finger _as he was carried off, earning a laugh from the boy.

With that, they two were alone. They were quiet for a long while, Alois resting and Ciel reverting back into a "human". After a few more blocks, Sebastian would be waiting with the car.

"Ciel?" the blonde said.

"Yeah?"

"What are we gonna do about August?"

"I don't know. Hopefully after achieving her goal, she'll leave us be." The bluenette answered. He was met with short silence.

_ "We couldn't save her_... If we didn't intervene, Cassandra might've lived longer..." the blonde said sadly. His voice cracked.

"We _tried_, didn't we? There was nothing more we could do, and besides, how we to know that would happen?" Ciel said. "I knew contracts make demons stronger, but I didn't know August was going to be _that_ strong. I thought that because it was two on one, we had a real chance..."

"I did too..." the blonde said before remaining silent for awhile. "I thought I could've been more helpful, but look at me, I can't even_ stand_. What good am I? In the end, I guess I really _am_ more of a _'purple __**princess' **_than a _'purple __**knight'**__.._."

"You did the best you could, and that's more than enough, Alois." the bluenette said reassuringly. "You're still _very young _for a_ demon_, so your power hasn't had time to develop yet. Qho knows? Maybe you could become a _great_ _'knight' _someday."

The blonde smiled into the other boy's shoulder. "Does that mean I could be the **'**_**pitcher' **_someday?" he asked with a small laugh.

"You _wish!"_

* * *

**A/N: ...If ya know what I mean.  
**

**AUGH! It's so shooooooort!  
**

**I'll save August for tomorrow. I feel like I should think about it more. (That and I wrote a three-thousand-and-something word chapter for _Meanwhile, In An Alternate Universe_... I update it less often, so it had to be done before I forgot what I wanted to happen.)**

**Audrey turned out to be pretty chill, huh? I thought that seemed a little unrealistic, but that's just how he rolls, y'know? It ain't no thang.**

**I read your reviews, and I like how I make you guys hate Cassandra and like August,_ only to come back around_ and make you like Cassandra and hate August. I love that so much, and I don't know why. I love those characters who you don't know their true face immediately. I think it makes for a more compelling, more _realistic_ character in a way.**

**Who knows if Alois will become a pitcher? (That's the 'seme', for those only familiar with otaku-terms.) Unlikely, at this rate. Ciel is just a bit _too bossy_ to let that happen.**

**...If you know what I mean...**

**What DO I mean? I don't even KNOW! **

**...or really want to...**

**...Or DO I?**

**Nah, I dunno.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies.**


	106. Say No More

Warwick, Warwick_, Warwick Academy_: lavish school for the offspring of Britain's upper class, and place of all-around academic excellence. There are many interesting things at Warwick. There are many clubs, and sporting teams, and activities to do at Warwick. But the most fascinating thing about Warwick is the _people _of Warwick. Specifically speaking, the_ non-human _students of Warwick.

The demonic duo walked into the building just as they would any other day, and walked straight into Mr. Irons' classroom, where they would usually converse with friends until the bell rang. This, however, was not their major concern, today. Upon entering the doorway, the lads scanned the room quickly to see if all was "normal", and for the most part, it was.

They saw Audrey in his usual seat at the back of the class. He waved "hello" to the boys, and did a gesture to indicate that "his lips were sealed" in relation to their little _secret_. Alois waved back with a grin, and Ciel gave the boy in the skull beanie a slight nod in greeting.

Then they scanned the room again to spot _August_. The girl was sitting in the middle row, on the side closest to the door. She saw them and waved, _smiling pleasantly _as though absolutely nothing had happened. _The nerve of her!_

And the boys thought _they_ were the _disturbed _ones here. They casually walked to their desks, sitting down with a thud. Alois was still a bit tired from last night, and Ciel was still aching from Augusts punches. Demonic healing abilities did nothing to help either of those ailments.

Their moment of rest was interrupted by a certain Indian boy. "You two okay? You look _tired_." The blonde and the bluenette just groaned at the question. "I take that as a _'maybe'_."

"Bet they had a _rough night_." spoke a certain brown-haired son of a politician. "_Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. Say no more, say no more, _am I right?"

Ciel suddenly felt compelled to repeatedly smash his head into the desk until his brains came out. He flushed red at the lad's implication, but ignored it. Alois, on the other hand, simply didn't get the joke.

"What the _hell,_ Daniel?!" Preston exclaimed.

"What? All they were doing was the _horizontal tango." _the other boy defended before adding: "_Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. Say no more, say no more."_

Alois still didn't get the joke. The bluenette just hoped that if he ignored the source of his annoyance, that eventually, it would _go away_. The duo didn't really want to bother with Daniel right now. They had just_ fought a powerful demon_, and_ watched a classmate die_. They were certainly not in the mood for Daniel's hijinks.

"That's a rather _personal_ thing to know, Daniel." said a certain boy wearing a pink tie. "Tell me, were you _outside the window with a pair of binoculars_, or something?"

"Let's just say only I know because Alois _sings very loudly._" Daniel said. "_Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. Say no more, say no more."_

Ciel's face felt like it was on fire as he_ tried not to imagine that. _He rested his head on his desk, closed his eye, and tried to ignore the boy again. Alas, it was not to be.

"So you were just _listening_, then?" Kristopherson asked, trying to trap the boy.

"_Indeed_." said the brown-haired boy. "I could also hear _you_ Kris, as you had your _quality time with senorita mano."_ Kristopherson blushed, and furrowed his brow. The jokes were annoying when they started, but now he was thoroughly unamused. Daniel spoke again. "_Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. Say no more, say no mo-"_

"Daniel, if you say _'Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. Say no more, say no more' one _more time, I will personally _beat the ever-loving shit out of you _and proceed to_ chuck you out a window_." the bluenette snapped, cutting off the boy's sentence.

Four of the six stared at the irate bluenette boy in silence, minus Alois who was just yawning. They dared not to speak to the boy when he was like that. Ciel Phantomhive was one of the most fearsome people on the Warwick campus. He was up there on the "most feared" list along with The Blonde Menace, and Mr. Irons, as well as powerful people such as Audrey. Cross his path, and you will most certainly feel his wrath.

_"We didn't get that much sleep last night, you guys." _the blonde said finally, rubbing his eyes. _"We went to bed late."_

Now all six were silent. It was a long silence that unwelcomely lingered in the air, making anyone who breathed it in unbearably uncomfortable. Finally, the mist of silence dissipated, or rather, was shattered into a million pieces by the brown-haired teen.

"_...If you know what I mean."_ he added.

Ciel's head hit the surface of the desk. He was exasperated at this point. What on earth was he going to do with these people? They were complete imbeciles! Next it was the blonde's turn to speak.

"Oh... I get it!" he said finally with a giggle.

_"I HATE EVERYONE."_

* * *

**A/N : Don't lie, Ciel... We know how you think...  
**

**Monty Python's Flying Circus reference! Holla!**

**This chapter is like, _speedo-short._ I couldn't come up with anything! I wasn't even sure if I was even going be able to get a chapter out today at all! **

_**Such is life.**_

**Have you noticed that whenever I have no idea what I'm doing, I start with a quick "commercial" for Warwick Academy at the beginning? Dunno why. Maybe it just gets me in a write-y mood.  
**

**Dunno what to do with August. I also really want to use _Lawrence_ as well, but have no idea how. **

**I think MIAAU is slowly taking over my thoughts, and I don't want that to happen, because_ I like this story more_, and want to keep doing it.**

_**(Wink-wink, nudge-nudge?)**_

**Ugh... I hope a good idea punches me in the face soon. I don't want to just do a bunch of random filler!  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

**I wrote "QUACK" in one of these AN's and now I'm being quacked at in reviews. **

**U GUISE, RLY?!**

**I guess my readers are officially "duckies"...**

**Cool.**


	107. Flip-Flopped?

It's time for the lads' English class, and the teacher is running late. Ciel still ached from the previous night, but was slowly recovering. He is still a bit upset for having being beaten by a _girl_. It infuriated him, even knowing the fact that August was under contract at the time, giving her a significant edge. He just knew the blonde was just _itching _to tease him about it.

Speaking of the blonde, Alois sat on his desk while waiting, kicking his legs back-and-forth in a playful sort of matter, as he was far more awake now than he was this morning. He did in fact quite want to tease his companion, but knew well of the bluenette's frustration on the matter, thus he refrained. He was still a bit upset in the matter of how Cassandra died. After all, he died similarly.

For this, August will never be forgiven by the blonde boy. It made him sad, angry, and it made him feel that oh-so-familiar feeling of helplessness he had at one point forgotten. Alois didn't like it, not one single bit. Since moving into Phantomhive manner, he had felt like he had been given a clean slate, a second chance at life, and most importantly, a sort of power over what he could and could not do. If he didn't like something, he didn't have to participate, and that was a wonderful gift.

But all of that power was revealed to be only an illusion by the she-demon, in the blonde's eyes. He_ couldn't save Cassandra_, he _couldn't help Ciel_, so what could he really do? Alois felt as though he was once again that little orphan boy in that small village, who struggled everyday in order to survive. That boy who was forced against his will to perform lewd acts by and for a wealthy, and_ very sick _old man. That boy who was fooled by a demon into believing that there was danger before him in the form of the Phantomhive house, when the true danger was _beside him _all along. That boy was _not Alois Trancy. _That poor, weak, naive boy was _Jim Macken,_ and _that _lad was entirely helpless. While on the outside, the blonde appeared to be unchanged, all of these thoughts swirled in his mind, granting him nothing but doubt in only himself. He had other things to worry about other than teasing Ciel.

"_Alois get off the desk, _and to the rest of you, _good morning."_ said the teacher casually as she walked in.

_Missus Chang_ was a petite woman who dressed somewhat casually in comparison to other teachers, yet it suited her demeanor perfectly. She teaches English, and does so in a matter that is somewhat fun and easy to understand, yet she is never hesitant to tell the Trancy boy off. He doesn't particularly mind, since he's somewhat fond of the teacher. In fact, this class was his best grade. All is takes is a few jokes and interesting presentation. May it also be noted, that the woman's daughter is in the same grade as the demonic duo, and only goes to Warwick due to a special discount. Yes, Missus Chang was a superb teacher.

As such, the blonde menace heeded her words, and sat in his chair rather than the desk itself. Ciel chuckled at him for getting in trouble, causing the blonde to stick out his tongue at him.

"Now, today we're going to talk about poetry- Shakespeare, more specifically." the woman said, earning a groan from the student. "_Now don't give me that._" She put her hands on her hips. "Shakespeare can be _very_ interesting. In fact, there are a _ton_ of _dirty jokes _in _Romeo and Juliet_ that I'm sure you'll _adore._ In _Twelfth Night,_ there's_ cross dressing_, and in _A Midsummer Night's Dream, _there's _magic and donkey people, _so don't you _dare _argue with me that Shakespeare is _'boring'."_

"All of that sounds fascinating, Miss, but it's no good if we can't _read_ the stuff." Alois blurted out, gaining the approval of the room.

"That's because you aren't _paying attention to what the words are saying_, Trancy. If you bothered to shut up and listen for five minutes, you might understand it a bit."

"Only '_a bit'?_ Why do we care about the man? He's been dead for centuries, as_ has Elizabethan English!"_ Alois argued, sitting up.

"It's still _culturally relevant_."

"I wear _booty-shorts, _not _tights,_ Miss."

"I don't have time for this, Trancy. _I'm starting class_." the instructor said, rubbing her temples.

_"UGH! I don't caaaaaaaaaaare!"_ the blonde whined.

"Just ignore him, Miss. He'll shut up if you do." spoke the bluenette boy seated next to the blonde, resting his chin against his palm. "Being ignored is like _kryptonite _to him. He's _lying_, anyway."

"I'm not _lying!"_

"How is he 'lying'?" the woman asked, confusedly.

"He can recite Sonnet 130 at will." the bluenette said.

This was true, as the blonde had none other than _Sebastian Michaelis_ as a tutor. The butler had a command over the English language that made him perfect to teach Alois how to read and write properly. How else could he have gotten from a third-grade reading level to a ninth-grade reading level so quickly? The blonde was in tenth-grade now, and was able to read and understand quite a few things, as well as memorize them. While the blonde hated reading, he could do all of this, and Ciel knew it. It is for that very reason that he even bothered to mention it. _To bother the blonde._

"Well, Alois?" the woman said, looking at the flaxen-haired teen with a skeptical expression.

"Nope. _Ciel_ is the _smart _one. I'm just _the_ _obnoxious one in sexy booty-shorts._ I need to keep up my reputation, y'know." Alois said back.

"Alois, Ciel has just presented you with the opportunity_ to prove that you're more than that_. Are you seriously going to give it up _because of something so meaningless?"_

The woman's words struck a nerve with the lad. "_Prove he's more than that?"_ Of course he wants to- All the time, actually._ Ciel _has all of the_ brains, Ciel _has all of the_ skill_, the blonde was just_ useless in practically every aspect_. The blonde kind of envies that. Of course he would, at the very least, be able to _catch up to the bluenette,_ who was constantly leaving him in the dust. He slammed his hands on the desk and spoke at a mile a minute.

"_My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun;_

_Coral is far more red than her lips' red; _

_If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; _

_If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head._

_I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; _

_And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks._

_I love to hear her speak, yet well I know That music hath a far more pleasing sound; _

_I grant I never saw a goddess go; _

_My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. _

_And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare _

_As any she belied with false compare."_

The people in the room stared at the boy for a moment. The teacher did so as well before getting out a textbook and checking for herself. She stood there, reading to herself before finally closing the book.

"That's _right..." _she said, flabbergasted.

"In'nt though?" the blonde said, folding his arms across his chest in triumph.

"Have you read Shakespeare before, Alois?"

"Yeah, but I got that from _Catherine Tate."_ he said. "Y'know, the one where _Lauren_ meets _Doctor Who?"_ The children laughed, getting the reference. This included Ciel, who did so with his hand over his mouth.

"And here I thought you were smarter than you appeared, Trancy." said_ Missus Chang_, rolling her eyes. "On with the assignment. You no longer have much time to work on it in class, thanks to Trancy, but I want you all to write a sonnet, and turn it in by Monday."

The class groaned. Ciel, however, didn't particularly care. He could probably dig up on of his old ones from a previous school and reuse it, anyway. What he was focusing on was the girl outside. He gazed out the window to find none other than _August_ walking about outside.

What could the girl be up to? Class wasn't over yet and she wasn't generally the type to skip, yet there she was, plain as day. She noticed him glaring and waved with a smile. The bluenette just tried to shoot an "ice-beam" at her through the window. He didn't like the girl.

Suffering a defeat by her hands didn't sit well with the boy. Ciel was humiliated by it. Not only did Alois witness it, but so did a classmate. He couldn't bear it. He too would never forgive the girl for what she did.

Whatever she was up to now certainly wasn't any good either. Why did she even bother to come back to school? She got what she wanted, so why did she linger? Something wasn't right at all about this. There was something _else_, wasn't there? She couldn't have been done here,_ there had to be something else she was after_.

The bluenette watched her enter another building, breaking him from his trance. He turned to his other side to see the blonde staring at him, leaning in his chair.

"What?" Ciel asked.

"Something's wrong. I can see it on your face." the other boy replied.

"I'll tell you later. _It's about August_."

"Is it?" the blonde asked. He paused for a moment. Alois was trying to think of a funny remark. "'Bout her and Cassandra_ kissing?"_ he asked, causing the bluenette to jump a bit.

"No! _Why the hell would I care about that?_ It was just a _Demon's kiss_, and there are more important things to think about."

"She's pretty cute though, isn't she? For an_ agent of evil straight from Satan's anus, _that is."

"What the _hell, _Alois?!"

Alois just looked over at the other boy with a big grin on his face. It was obvious at this point that the blonde was simply messing with the lad. "Don't be_ jealous_, Ciel. I love only _you!" _he said, earning a punch to the arm.

"_Wanker._ I'm _not_ 'jealous' in the slightest." the bluenette said defensively, making an attempt to hide the blush on his face.

"Good, so_ don't go starin' at evil chicks."_

A slight smile now tugged at the corners of Ciel's lips. "Oh, so _you're_ the jealous one?" he asked.

"What? I am not!"

"In the words of a certain blonde i know: _'I love you to, muffin'_."

"You're supposed to be the _serious_ one!" the blonde objected.

"Yes, but I'm also the '_pitcher'."_

_ "Piss off!"_

* * *

**_A/N:_ Le gasp! What is this?  
**

**Sorry, I missed you yesterday. I got home and felt sick, so I just went to bed. Forgive me~!**

**I was obviously distracted by _The Catherine Tate_ show while writing this. Oops... I kinda stole the "Shakespeare" bit. I couldn't help it... I AM SO ASHAMED! SWEET MERCIFUL MOTHER MARY, JUST IGNORE THAT BIT PLEASE!**

**Augh... Lately I don't feel like I know what I'm doing anymore. I don't know if I can keep updating everyday, but I will do what I can! If I can, I will, but if I can't meh...**

**This weekend though, I won't feel so stressed for time, therefore I should be able to put out some good chapters again. Huzzah! I don't like putting out filler, you know...**

**August, gurl, wat r u doin'?**

**I WILL make this work somehow. Just bear with me!**

**Oh, and never be afraid to ramble in your reviews. Those are actually some of the most truly helpful reviews I get! They give me ideas, advice on things I need to develop more, and inspiration!**

**Also: Warwick is a real place. Several, actually. The reason I named the school "Warwick" was because I heard that there's a lot of British schools named after castles, and "Warwick" is a supposedly haunted castle in Warwickshire, England. (I think?) That, and it sounded super-cool.**

**Until the next chapter, duckies!**


	108. I Don't Trust you

Ciel was waiting outside the library in his usual reading spot, for Alois to finish up his usual duties there. The blonde was in trouble this time for loudly telling a girl to "_invest in a longer skirt, because no one wants to see her vagina_." Honestly, the blonde could be so _brash and crude _at times. Still, he was right, and the girl did get in trouble for not following the dress code and Alois got in trouble as well for obvious reasons, but that is neither here nor there.

The bluenette sat under the same tree he always did while waiting on Alois. The reason he didn't go into the library and wait was for the simple fact that Alois would never get anything done if Ciel was there. He would be too busy teasing the bluenette, to the lad decided it was best to wait outside. Here, he would listen to music or read. Today he was reading _The Hunger Games_ since it was recommended to him by the majority of his classmates. As he read, he came to the conclusion that living in that would would be reasonably easy for him. He was pretty sure he could win the game and take down _the Capitol_.

This train of thought was brought to a screeching halt, however, when a shadow blocked his reading light. He didn't even have to look up to see who it was. "Can I help you, _Remy?"_ he said calling the girl by her surname, acknowledging her existence.

"Oh, Ciel, '_Remy'_ is so _impersonal._ Just call me '_August'."_ the she-demon said, taking a seat next to the lad. "After all, it isn't as though I have any _secrets_ from you at this point."

"Is that so?" the boy remarked. He didn't look at her, nor did he even believe a word she had just said. At this point he had resolved to not play any games with the she-demon. The difference between truth and lies was blurred when she spoke. She could tell the truth as though they were lies, and lies as though they were truths. Oh, how the bluenette wanted to see that blonde walk through the Library doors so that he may escape.

"It is." the girl said back. "What about_ you? _What are_ you hiding_, Ciel?"

"Nothing is hidden, it just isn't placed in plain sight." the boy said. He could feel the girl staring at him with her large, yet sharp garnet eyes. They were like a cat's, almost.

She leaned closer to the boy. "You and I both know that's a _lie,_ Ciel." August said with a smirk. "I don't need to see _both_ of your eyes to be able to see that there is something hidden inside them. Something dark. Tell me. I'm simply _dying _to know."

"Literally, or _only _figuratively?"

_ "Ouch._ That's harsh._ Is your heart this closed off to Alois, too?"_

_ "Alois has nothing to do with it."_ Ciel said angrily. Somehow when the girl said his companion's name, he felt as though she would corrupt it.

"How stingy! I was hoping we could get to know each other better!"

"If this is how you get to know people, you must not have that many friends."

"Well, _neither do you."_

"I _like_ it that way."

August pouted for a moment. "Well, _you're_ no _fun."_ she said. That's what Alois usually says, and she knew it. she leaned against the tree for a moment before laughing. "_I just remember the conversation you had this morning with Daniel and them."_

_ "_It's_ rude _to_ eavesdrop, _you know." the boy said, his face slightly pinkening at remembering the six's conversation.

"It's not '_eavesdropping' _if you can be heard all the way in _Scotland."_ the she-demon remarked. Ciel couldn't come up with a retort, so he just pretended to be reading. "You haven't _turned the page_ in awhile. Am I _distracting_ you?"

Ciel closed the book and set it on the ground next to him and turned to the girl. "Let's skip all of this nonsense and get straight to the point." he said, "What do you _really_ want?"

"I get _lonely,_ sometimes. I thought it would be nice to have a _friend_."

"_Punching and kicking me didn't give you any points_."

"Sorry. You were in my way. It wasn't anything personal, I assure you." the girl said, looking at the boy. "Isn't it nice having someone else knowing your secret, though? Being a demon, I mean. I think so. It feels like I can finally_ be myself_." She smiled.

The lad wasn't sure how he apparently_ wasn't _"being himself." Yes, having Alois in on the secret helped him immensely, but he didn't know about August. The girl was a _true devil. _Cunning, manipulative, remorseless, certainly not someone you would want to be alone with. She might just kill you for the fun of it.

The bluenette stood up, wiping the dirt from his trousers, and started to walk into the Library building. He didn't look back at the girl nor did he say any parting words. It was as though she didn't exist. She smiled a crooked smile at his back as he walked away from her.

"Running back to blondie, huh?" she said to herself. "_How disappointing_."

* * *

**A/N: This seemed much longer when I was typing it...  
**

**"August Remy"**

**"Remy", as in "Nicholas Remy", who was a french magistrate who hunted witches. The idea for using that name actually came from Sebastian's character being named after "Sebastian Michaelis", who was a french inquisitor who was famous for writing _"Admirable History_", a classification of demons.**

**"August" came from the month. I just picked it because it sounded cool. However, when I looked at the Kuroshitsuji wiki again, Ciel supposedly "died" in the month of _August._ That was unintentional, but kind of cool...**

**It has just occurred to me that "Audrey" is a girl's name. Oops. I thought it was unisex, but I was wrong. Still, I can't even imagine anothter name for that totally chill dude. It suits him somehow.**

**Speaking of names:**

**Kristopherson was named after one of the foxes in _The Fantastic Mr. Fox,_ which was my all-time favourite book in elementary school. That, and I thought it sounded pretentious. It suits him.**

**Preston is named after the "bad dog" in _Wallace and Gromit in: A Close Shave. I picked it partially because it sounded really British to my silly American self..._**

**"Travis" is a character on _MySims_, who actually is resembles Daniel more. Daniel was just picked because it sounded "ordinary". he was going to be "the ordinary one", originally. **

**There are so many others, that I'm just not willing to type out here. Maybe next time...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**


	109. Bad News, Good, And Bad Again

'Twas a new day at Warwick Academy. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and children were laughing. All was well at Warwick on this day.

That is, before science class came about. Lo, that the children will be forced to complete a project of some sort. They had to design, perform, and record an experiment in only a few weeks. All were unhappy at this turn of events. Moreover, they wouldn't get to choose their own partners. Unhappiness became despair as the instructor passed around a hat for the children to draw names from.

Alois, for one, was terrified at who he might get. He could be stuck in a group with Daniel and get nothing done, or he could be in a group with that annoying Lawrence guy, or worse, he could be _grouped with August._ At last the hat made it to him, and he drew a piece of paper. Looking at the name on it made him give a sigh of relief.

"_Audrey Baines"_ it said. The blonde would rather be with Ciel, but could live with that.

Then a truly terrifying thought came to mind. "What if _Ciel_ got August?" He looked over at the girl, who noticed him and gave him a smirk. The evil that could be _seen_ on the girl's visage made him shudder. He looked to his friend who was in the middle of drawing one of the many slips of paper in the hat before hearing the small _snap _of someone snapping their fingers once. He looked in the direction of August once more, and she smiled, and gestured over to Ciel. Back again to the bluenette the focus of the blonde's icy blue eyes went, and the boy had already drawn his paper, and opened it.

It said: "_August Remy."_

"I'm telling you, she used _magic! _There is _no way _you could have possibly gotten her otherwise!" said the blonde after the class had ended. They walked down the hallway together, Alois held on to the other lad's arm so he would accidentally get lost in the massive sea of people the flooded the path. He had to raise his voice a bit to be heard in the hallway, but fortunately, everyone else was too focused on their own affairs to notice.

"I'm not even sure if demons can_ do _that, Alois." the bluenette said. He paced himself a bit so the blonde wouldn't lose his grip. "Besides, I'm not sure why she would even want to do something like that in the first place."

"Who cares _why?!_ She obviously has it out for you!" The flaxen-haired teen stopped walking, bringing the other boy to a halt as well. He waited for the bluenette to look at him before continuing. "_Be careful_." The boy's face was completely serious with a shred of concern, a characteristic usually absent from the blonde.

Ciel was surprised by this. He expected the bot to go on about how the she-demon was an_ "agent of evil straight from Satan's anus" _or something, but no, not now. Now Alois was truly worried for him. All he could think about was how_ cute _the blonde was at that moment, but soon he wriggled his arm out of the blonde's grasp and grabbed onto his hand instead, intertwining their fingers.

"I will." the bluenette said with a slight smile.

"Promise?" the blonde asked.

_"Yes, your Highness."_

The teen's little "moment" was interrupted by the ringing of the bluenette's cell-phone. With his free hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the device to answer it. Fortunately, the hallway had by now, cleared enough so that he could hear the person on the other end.

"Hello?" he said into the small device. The smile that was on his face faded entirely at what he had heard on the other end. "_What?"_ he asked, his grip on the blonde's hand tightened, and his visible eye widened. Now the blonde was _very_ concerned.

"They can't do that!" the boy shouted into the phone. "_He hasn't done anything!"_ He glanced at the blonde before looking at the floor. "Right... I'll talk to you later, Sebastian." and with that, he hung up.

"What was that about?" the blonde asked.

"This is bad..." the bluenette said. "_They_ found out about you. The Round-Table knows about you, and they want to know if you are a threat." He looked at the blonde.  
The Round-Table conference is the most powerful assembly in all of Britain. If they know, there is no doubt that _H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G_. knows, and_ they will kill you _if they feel that it's necessary."

"Who's '_H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'?"_

"It stands for '_Her royal England Legions of Legitimate Supernatural and Immortal Night Gaurd'_. They like to take care of supernatural pests. You are supernatural, and if they see you as a 'pest'..." the bluenette trailed off. Alois' face went pale.

"What about you then?" he asked.

"They'll probably be after me for summoning you in the first place." Ciel's eye went from worried to determined. "I won't let them harm you." he said. "You can prove you're worthy of serving her Majesty as a demon just as I have. I _know_ you can."

_ "Are you out of your mind?! _There's no way!"

"Alois, you can. If you want it bad enough, I know you can obtain their trust." Ciel smiled at the other boy. "You are _Alois Trancy,_ after all. _Alois Trancy_ doesn't give up. _Alois Trancy_ doesn't simply stand back and wait for defeat. _Alois Trancy _fights tooth and nail to get what he desires, and does nothing less._ That _is the Blonde Menace _I_ know and love."

Now it was Alois' turn to smile. Was that really how Ciel saw him. His eyes went from frightened to determined.

_"Damn straight." _he said. "Bring on the Round-Table, bring on H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., bring on _agents of evil straight from Satan's anus! _ I'll show them all!" After those words left his mouth, he smirked.

"What is it?" asked Ciel. He knew that look.

"I have an _idea."_

* * *

**A/N: Alright, now I'm crossing over a bit.**

**The HELLSING orginization and the Round-Table Conference are both from the anime Hellsing, but I will reference nothing else. No characters, no in-universe rules, nothing else from Hellsing.**

**I've had this idea of making Alois "The Queen's Spider" once again for awhile, now. August will tie-in too, so don't worry about that. SHE'S IMPORTANT.**

**I feel like this is off somehow, though. I probably should have done some foreshadowing on this before making this pop up out of the blue. Alas, it wasn't meant to be...**

**But, this is how, in my mind, Ciel got his house and position back, by first confronting the round-table. (which doesn't really exist.) He had to get the badge SOMEWHERE, didn't he?**

**THE SHADOW ORGINIZATIONS OF BRITAIN, YA'LL.**

**Also the "agent of evil" thing? That was something I said a long time ago to this girl in my class who was just bashing LADY GAGA for whatever reason, saying how she's evil, and a man, and whatever else. Now, I'm fine with her having her own opinion, but the way she was forcing that opinion onto everyone else didn't sit well with me. I hate being told what to do, especially by douchey people. What I said was out of sarcasm:**

**"I agree! That _thing_ is a bad influence! Shouldn't parents be a bit more concerned about their kids worshipping this- this _agent of evil straight from Satan's anus_?! This is just a sign that society as we know it is doomed!"**

**Let it be noted, that I somehow managed to say this with a straight face. I got a laugh from the other kids, but the girl who was hatin' never talked to me again after that.**

**I'm cool with that.**


	110. A Meeting With Monster Hunters

A certain blonde was sitting in a strange office in a strange manor in the London area on this day in order to be "evaluated" by some "supernatural expert". It was requested that he come without either Ciel or Sebastian, and while the conditions made both lads nervous, they couldn't afford to refuse. Yes, Alois was at Hellsing Manor, the headquarters of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization, which has the_ sole _purpose of hunting down and eradicating supernatural beings, _all by himself_. Certainly you can imagine his restlessness at this point.

He sat on the sofa in the office, which was oddly more comfortable than the one in the Phantomhive boy's office, trying to calm his nerves. If he messes up even _once_, he could be shot on sight. He was busily playing with items on the coffee table in front of him. He found things like pens and pencils, and wanted to somehow find a way to stack them, often failing when he tried. he found a magnifying glass, and wished that he found an anthill nearby. He found a _box of cigars_, but didn't play with those. He went back to trying to balance a pencil on the point of another before a woman came in with a clipboard.

She was a rather pretty young woman with sort, pale, blonde hair similar to Alois', with red eyes. She was somewhat muscular, and judging by the uniform she was wearing, she was a soldier. The uniform was a dark red with the sleeves rolled up, and had the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. crest on it. The crest itself was red and black with the words "We Are On A Mission From GOD" in one corner, and the word "Hellsing" at the top in yellow. For some reason, her skirt was impractically short, and her black, thigh-high stockings looked ripped. However, her most distinguishing feature, other than her _massive breasts_, was her left arm which was entirely black with what looked like strands of some sort of _dark energy_ coming off of it. Obviously, she wasn't human either, so why was she working for H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.?

"_Good morning." _the woman said pleasantly, giving the boy a comforting smile.

"Mornin'..." the boy said back, fidgeting in his seat a bit. Even though she seemed nice enough, she was still with the shadow organization.

"Right," said the woman, taking a seat across from the boy. She had a clipboard with her, so she was obviously going to be evaluating him today. She looked up at the boy. "Don't worry, I won't_ bite! _My name is _Seras Victoria_, but you can call me 'Seras', alright?" she smiled again.

"A-alright." He looked up at the woman, who was apparently known as Seras. "What do you need from me?"

"Well, today, I'm just going to ask you a few questions, if that's alright with you." She noticed the boy staring at her arm. "Oh, this? I bet you're wondering about it, huh?"

"You could say that."

"I lost it a a few years back._ It transforms when I want it to_."

"So you aren't _'human' _either, are you?" the boy asked.

"No, I'm actually H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s favourite target, a_ vampire_." she said, jokingly putting her hands up like claws.

"Why do you work here, then?"

"One of our philosophies here, is that_ the best weapon against a monster is another monster_." Seras picked her clipboard back up. "Wait, aren't _I_ supposed to be asking _you_ questions?"

"Oh, sorry." Alois looked down.

"It's fine. I can understand why you'd be wanting to know all of this, us being '_Big, Bad, Monster-Killers',_ and all. My guess is_ Ciel _told you all of that, huh?"

"How'd you know?"

"Ciel and_ my _master don't get along that well. I think it may be because they're_ too alike!" _the Draculina said with a giggle. "Oh, and Ciel has also notified us of _your past_, Alois, so we don't need to go over that."

"Why, that little-!" Alois felt as though the bluenette had just played a prank on him. Here he was, terrified of being here, and and the reality was that the people of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. were actually quite courteous. _That damn blue midget cyclops_.

Seras laughed. "Alright, first question: '_How do you feel about your country?'"_

_ "'The sun never sets on the British Empire'."_ Alois replied. Seras smiled and wrote down his answer.

"'_Have you ever served the public before, either locally, or nationally?'"_

_ "_In the 1800s, I was known as _'The Queen's Spider',_ a position I inherited from the previous Earl Trancy. As such, I would do a similar job as '_The Watchdog'_ as one of her majesty's evil nobles. As of recent, I've been assisting Ciel in his duties."

"You mean the _Sudoku Killer _and the _Boogeyman_ cases?"

"Yup!"

"Impressive. The next question is obvious. '_Have you ever been in serious contact with the super-natural?'"_ asked Seras, looking up from her clipboard.

"_Hell_ yeah!" Alois said, folding his arms. "I've seen_ Demons, Angels, Grim Reapers_, and the list just keeps growing!" He smiled._ "'Vampire' _has just been added to it."

"That sounds crazy!" the young woman commented. "I've only seen _vampires, werewolves, ghouls_, and a_ cat-boy_. You're seeing all the big ones!"

"Isn't it, though? _One in particular _has been giving us trouble, lately. She's a _demon _named_ August_." the lad clarified. This was part of his plan. Showing H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. that they are willing to kill their own kind, maybe receive help dealing with the she-demon in the process.

"How has she been giving you trouble?" Seras asked.

The blonde boy explained. "She came to school with her contract holder, but the contract holder wanted out of her deal with August. She asked us to help her, but when we tried to save her..." the blonde's face turned solemn. _"...August killed her_."

He saw the woman's face grow solemn too, as opposed to her cheerful self from earlier. Seras didn't even know the girl, and yet felt empathy. Alois wasn't sure how such a person could be a _vampire_. Sure, her arm appeared to be made from some sort of dark matter, her eyes were red, and all of the curtains on the room's windows were closed, blocking the sun's rays, yet the girl seemed to be _very_ human. The boy couldn't quite understand this. She was more "human" now than he was when he really _was _human.

"She won't leave, either, which is odd." Alois continued. "Usually, when demons finish a contract, they move on, but August is lingering around for some reason. We suspect she may be up to something." he said. The fidgety frightened boy from earlier appeared to be gone for the moment. Seras was busily writing all of this down.

"Thank you for the information." she said. "I think things are looking good for you, so far. I just need to get this back to my Master, and she will discuss this with _The Council of Twelve."_ Seras smiled at the boy.

"Really?!" he said, relieved. _He was going to have to talk to Ciel about making him worry so much. _

Seras stood up, and offered him her hand, which he shook. "It was nice meeting you, Alois. I'm sure everything will be perfectly fine." she said with a warm smile.

"You too, _Seras,_ and I hope you're right!"

He bidded the Draculina farewell, and exited the large manor. For the one in her Majesty's apparently _ever-expanding _arsenal of shadow organizations, this was was surprisingly friendly. He walked up to a black Rolls Royce parked in the driveway, opened the door, and climbed in the backseat. A familiar man dressed in black was behind the wheel of the vehicle, and a bluenette boy wearing an eye-patch was sitting next to the blonde in the backseat. The boy turned his gaze from the window to the blonde.

"How did it go?" Ciel asked.

"Surprisingly well, I think. _Seras _says that everything will be fine. She just needs to turn in her information to her 'master'." the blonde replied.

"_Miss Victoria?" _the bluenette asked. "I'm glad she was the one asking the questions. Had her '_master'_ done so herself, you might've been less fortunate."

"Why?"

"Sir Hellsing is a _stubborn woman_. She's very serious, and very_ powerful_. You still have to get past her in order to be in the clear." the bluenette replied. "I'm pretty sure _she's _a the biggest_ monster _at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G..." he added.

"W-what? Wait, '_Sir_ Hellsing?' I thought she was a _woman!"_ the blonde said nervously.

"She _is_ a woman. She's just always been called a _'Sir'_ . It's apparent;y been that way since before I met her. No one really knows _why_ she's a '_Sir_' and not a _'Dame'_, most people just think it's due to her _commanding presence."_

_ "I am so screwed..."_ Alois said with his head in his hands. Then he remembered something. "Wait, but Seras said you were both '_alike'_. So shouldn't I have a chance?"

Ciel stiffened at the suggestion. "I am _nothing_ like that _monster-collecting woman!"_ he said defensively.

"Seras also said you don't get along because of it."

"We aren't alike at all! _Sir Hellsing is a cigar-chewing beast!"_

_ "She called you 'short' once, didn't she?"_

_ "Shut up!"_ the bluenette commanded.

"...Or was it '_little kid'?"_

_ "ALOIS!"_

* * *

**A/N: Ok, I lied when I said I wasn't going to use any characters from _Hellsing._ My bad...  
**

**It's a pretty badass show, though. I can't find anything like it aside from _D__rifters,_ by the same author. **

**Ah, _Hellsing_ spoilers in this chapter... Nothing M_ajor,_ though. (get it? _Hellsing_ joke.)**

**If you wanna watch _Hellsing,_ watch the OVAs, not the TV series. _TV series sucks, yo_. The OVAs are like frame-by-frame copies of the books, with all of the violence, badassery, and nazi-vampire killin' that the original manga had.**

**Seriously, if you saw Seras, you'd think that she and Alois look _related, _almost.**

**I didn't want to use too much_ Hellsing_ in here, because this isn't really a crossover fic, y'see, but everything moves faster if I just use the actual characters!**

**I'll be sure to make it so you DON'T have to watch the other series before reading. That would be DOUCHEY.**

**IT'S A FANFICTION, I CAN DO THAT.**

**I love dat shit, yo.**

**IT'S RELEVANT, PEOPLE. (maybe.)**

**You know, I always type these and expect terrible reactions... I probably need to have a bit more faith in myself...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**


	111. Tell Me Something

Phantomhive Manor: one of the oldest manors in Britain that is still in service to it's original family, of which there is only one living member. The residents of the house keep all of it's secrets safe, locked away tightly under locks, keys, and deception, thus further maintaining the illusion of normalcy about the house. Yes, this house has many secrets, some lay in the past, while some lay in the present with the current head and his servants, such as the fact that _none of them are human_.

Today, the manor has guests arriving sometime in the afternoon, a human boy and a devil girl, there for the specific purpose of completing a science project that is due the following Monday. The girl, however, has other plans. She is quite keen on meeting with her lab partner and head of the Phantomhive house, Ciel Phantomhive.

When she makes it through the front door, she is lead by the finest butler the house has ever known, now the only butler it knows, Sebastian Michaelis, to the office of the eye-patch-wearing gentleman. Upon walking through the door, she sees the boy sitting behind his desk conversing with two other boys, both of which she is familiar with. The Trancy and the Baines boy appear to be asking the bluenette for some supplies for their own project.

"Like I would know where to get _PVC pipe.._." the bluenette said to the blonde boy disapprovingly.

"But Ciel! We can make a_ potato cannon _without it!" the blonde said back.

"Why a_ potato cannon? _Why can't you just make a _baking soda volcano_, or something?"

"The _explosion _of baking soda and vinegar volcanoes is _inadequate to our tastes_." said the Baines lad, looking down at the seated boy through his long bangs.

The bluenette sighed in exasperation. "I should have known..." he said. "Look, why don't you focus on gathering the rest of your materials until you can get Sebastian to take you to the hardware store?" He looked past the pair of boys in front of him at his own lab-partner. He was _not_ looking forward to this.

Alois knew the girl was standing there from the moment she walked in, but chose to ignore her. Audrey, on the other hand, noticed the bluenette's gesture and froze in fear upon realizing that the she-demon was right behind him. The girl in question, however, simply took a seat on the couch and smiled in a friendly manner at the boys.

"_Fine_." the blonde said finally. "C'mon, Audrey! We have_ potatoes _to find!" Alois dragged the nearly petrified boy in the skull beanie out of the room, making sure to glare at August on his way out. She ignored it.

The door closed behind him, and with that, it was just the bluenette, and the she-demon. "Hello, Ciel." she said.

_ "Remy." _the boy said in order to acknowledge her existence.

"How cold! Didn't I say you could call me _'August'?" _the girl said in mock-hurt.

"You said I _could,_ not that I _had_ to." the boy remarked. "Anyway, do you have any ideas about this project?"

"None at all. To tell you the truth, I couldn't care _less_ about it."

"If you say at school, you should do schoolwork."

"I _should_, but I don't _have _to." August said mockingly. She giggled when she saw the lad's eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

"If you aren't going to _help_, then you might as well _leave. _I'll just do it myself."

"Oh, you're no fun at all, Mr. _'ordinary human boy'! _Don't you ever get _tired_ of being a _goody-goody two-shoes _ all the time? You aren't_ human_, after all, you're a _demon_."

"I'm not _'good'._ I can't remember a time that I ever was. Being a demon has nothing to do with it. _Maybe_ I just like getting through life as simply as possible?" the bluenette replied.

"By fitting into a mold?" the girl questioned. She crossed her legs and folded her hands. "Tell me, how exactly is that _easy?"_

"Simple. I keep the_ monster hunters _away by acting civil." the boy said with a slight smirk. He slouched his shoulders and rested his chin on his palm.

"Monster hunters? Come now, we aren't weak little bugs that can be squished so easily."

"Neither are _they. They _are monsters in their own right. Some _figuratively_, some _literally_. Killing creatures of darkness is what they do best."

August looked at the boy in a patronizing manner. "Really?" she said. "And who exactly are '_they'?"_

_ "Her royal England Legions of Legitimate Supernatural and Immortal Night Guard,_ otherwise known as H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G._"_ the boy said. "If I don't behave, they could make it very difficult for me, you know? There isn't a place in the entire United Kingdom that I could hide."

The girl legitimately laughed at that. "Hah! You-you're afraid of a little organization? _You?_ That's hilarious!" she said, catching her breath.

"If they tamed _Dracula_, who knows what else they could do?"

"You _have_ to be _joking_."

"I'm told I have a very _dry _sense of humour."

"How big of a threat are they _really?_ Certainly you aren't talking about the book by _Bram Stoker_."

"They _killed_ a man wielding the _Divine Nail of Helena_."

Now _this _was interesting. The "Nail" had many names, you see._ "The Lance of Longinus", "The Holy Grail", "The Holy Shroud", "The Tang of Miracle". _This "Nail", was said to originate from the true cross that Christ himself was crucified on. The wielder of the "Nail" is said to become a "monster of god", driving the nail into one's heart and becoming what can neither be described as_ life _or _death_. The wielder of the nail cannot simply be "killed". No matter how many time you shoot, stab, maul, maim, decapitate, eviscerate or otherwise attack the wielder of that nail, they will not die. They will only regenerate their appendages and heal their wounds instantaneously without so much as wincing. Whoever kills them, is a true _monster._

"You've _got_ to be kidding." said August. Her playful smile faded.

"If I was, I wouldn't be here, now would I?" the boy said with a smirk. "Since I've been such a _'goody-goody two-shoes', _and pledged my allegiance to her majesty, they don't see me as a _threat. _I can_ introduce _you, if you'd like."

"Is that a _threat?"_

_ "Now, why would I do a thing like that?"_

"Well, now this may just be my _imagination_, but I'm _starting _to get the _impression _that _you don't like me very much_." the she-demon said with sarcasm.

"_Really? Whatever gave you that impression?"_ said the boy, flashing a fake smile.

The girl stood up and slammed her hands on the desk in front of of the boy, causing his usual face to appear. "_That,_ Ciel, is exactly _why."_ she said, leaning over the desk. Her long black hair crawling down her shoulder and back, dangling less than centimetres above it. "You're so _fake_. What are you _really_ hiding inside that head of yours? What is _really _in that _heart _that you so desperately try to shield? You, Ciel, are like no other demon I have encountered. Demons_ seldom _keep secrets. We lie, but we don't keep _secrets_. We're open books, you know? Except for _you_, who is obviously _hiding_ something behind that disguise you wear _so well_. How do you do it? _Why_ do you do it? I don't _want_ to know, I _have_ to know, Ciel."

Ciel sat there silently and let the girl finish her rant. He hardly blinked. His faux-smile returned and he said: "Well then, as _Alois_ would put it, '_I guess that means you're royally screwed'."_

"Yes, _Alois."_ the girl echoed. Somehow the way the blonde's name rolled off her tongue was disturbing. "You're quite fond of him, hm? That's a bit unusual as well. What pray tell, is the reason?"

"You sure like to ask questions, don't you_, Remy?" _The Phantomhive boy looked the intruding girl in the eye. "Did you know? _Alois is an even better faker than I am."_ August furrowed her brow at the boy's words. "We have many things in common, Alois and I. _His_ secrets are quite similar to_ mine_."

"And _that's_ why you _love_ him? Tell me something_, is he fully capable of loving you back?"_ the girl asked with a smirk. Ciel's visible eye widened, and his brow furrowed.

August just seemed _amused_ by this, and continued. "He just screams _'sexual abuse victim', _you know. He obviously has _Borderline Personality Disorder_, made obvious by his_ impulsiveness, fear of abandonment_, and _dramatic mood swings_. He is also very_ dissociative _on certain levels, can you see it? He also obviously has_ Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder_ as well. I see him _'re-expeiriance' _it whenever he seemingly fades into a near zombie-like state on seemingly random occasions. You know what another symptom is? _Avoidance_. While he may be rather bizarrely promiscuous on the outside, has he every really _tried anything_ with y-"

"_Shut up."_ the boy ordered through clenched teeth. This girl had said _enough._ She acts as though she could know what Alois was thinking, what was _feeling._ She knew _nothing_ about the blonde. Nothing, yet she had the audacity to say these things as though she knew the boy's heart inside and out. This girl was a _demon_ in _every _sense of the word.

And what does she do? What. Does. She. Do? She _laughed._ She was _amused_ by this.

"Oh, Ciel, you're so_ cute _when you're _angry_." she said _mockingly._ Ciel glared at her. Sapphire against garnet.

_ "Eternity_ is so _boring_, Ciel." she said. "It's so monotonous, repeating the cycle of taking souls, over and over again. How many hundreds_, tens of hundreds _of people have had their despair devoured by me? I feel it. All of it. I have nothing but this ever-expanding _despair _to my_ name- _in fact_, I haven't even that_. I have _forgotten_ it while trapped in this Limbo that is 'Immortality'." Her voice was now calm, sincere, _hushed._ "You're lucky to have someone to spend it with, just so you can escape the 'normalcy' of eating souls. But tell me something:" She paused.

"Could _Alois love _you the way _I could?"_

* * *

**A/N: Oh.  
**

**I tried to really take my time on this one, you guys/gals/Grells(?) I wanted it to have a certain amount of... I dunno... "oomph" that the latest chapters seemed to be lacking to me.**

**August kind of makes me think of a Fem!Maxwell, only more demon-y.**

**Oh God, people hate her... I'm not really sure what to do with her at this point because a some of you hate her, some of you love her. What's a girl to do?**

**EVERYBODY DIES. THE END. (bitches)**

**No way, that's a TERRIBLE ending! (THAT WAS A TERRIBLE JOKE!) I loves these guys too much to kill them... Seriously...**

**I've sort of got plans. Very vague plans, granted, but plans, to say the least.**

**Blame the Hate Weasels. (Not this one, though.)**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	112. Who Is August?

"What kind of question is _that?"_ asked the bluenette behind the desk in the office of Phantomhive Manor.

"I thought it was a pretty straightforward one." said the she demon leaning on said desk in front of him. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"I suppose, but I'm still going to answer you with a_ 'no'_." the boy said firmly.

"Aw, you aren't even going to consider it?" the girl asked. "You could be making a mistake, you know; picking _'damaged goods' _and all."

"Maybe so, but even goods that have been _damaged_ can still fair better as long as they are_ high-quality_, and treated with care as opposed to those that are _cheap_." the boy said with a smirk.

_ "Ouch_, that_ stings_..." the girl said in mock-hurt.

_ "Good."_

"Me? _Cheap? _Tell me, what makes you believe that?"

"The fact that you so willing to lie, cheat, and twist the knife on other people's insecurities, for one." the boy answered.

"_Fair enough_." August said with a shrug. "Anything else?"

Ciel leaned back in his chair and looked at the girl. "You're _boring."_ he said plainly.

To the lad, part of Alois' very _appeal_ is that common ground they have with their horrid pasts from their human lives. It brought them closer together. It endeared them to one another. Part of the fun was pushing forward in spite of all of that, and doing so together. August had nothing to her. She said that she, herself was bored of her everyday life, so what is the fun to be had with that? Does she honestly think that being_ female _makes up for that? It would appear that way.

August stopped leaning over the desk, and flipped a stray lock of hair over her shoulder. "I see." she said. "So you're still willing to play with a _damaged_ person over a '_complete'_ one?"

"He may be a _damaged _person, but he's also my _favourite_ person." the boy said with a slight smile.

The girl frowned, and he continued. "By the way, you aren't_ that '_complete', you know." His smile faded. "You have nothing that seems to make you who you are. You're just 'August'. You don't seem to have a _past. _You only have a _present_. You say you've forgotten it. What makes you 'you'? You're name isn't yours._ Cassandra _gave it to you. This form isn't even yours. This is just the form you took because it was what _Cassandra_ needed from you. _ Is there anything you have at all? What makes you interesting? It isn't a hard decision, you know."_

Things flew off the desk and hit the floor with a clatter as the girl suddenly stretched her arm across the desk and picked up the boy by the collar of his shirt. Her teeth were clenched, eyebrows furrowed, eyes glowing crimson as the rest of her face was warped into a snarl. Ciel had done it. He had really done it. He didn't experience this because he was human once, but he had just put out _every demons insecurity _out in the open.

Demons don't have an_ identity _without a _human_ to give them one. They devour souls because they have a _void_ to fill. Demons have no_ identity. _They aren't_ people_, and as such, they can't really_ love_. They can only rely on _instinct_ because they have no _preferences_ or _opinions_ without_ someone else_. August isn't "August". August is "nobody". August is a just nameless demonic apparition who lost their sense of self long ago.

Ciel and Alois have a sense of self because they were human. Sebastian has a sense of self because _Ciel gave him his identity._ But what did August have? August was no longer "August" because she doesn't have _Cassandra_ make her that anymore. Who is "August"? _Who is "August"? __**Who is "August"?!**_

The girl shouted the question over and over again in her mind. "Who is 'August';" she had no idea. She had no one who could_ tell _her. In the end, she was just another demon who could do nothing without having someone to _tell_ her. One of the very things that drew her to Ciel was his overwhelming sense of self, his _pride_. The blonde was weaker in this department in comparison to the bluenette, that is _why Ciel_. The Phantomhive boy _commanded demons_, which was something _uncommon_ for the race. You can't _command_ without being "_somebody". _Those who are "nobody" _take_ orders, and those who are "somebody" _give _orders, it's as simple as that.

"Well?" the bluenette boy said. He hardly flinched. "Are you going to _say_ something, _August?"_

_ Who is "August"?_ The she-demon couldn't respond. _She was not August_. She was no longer "_August"_ now that _Cassandra_ was gone. She knew she felt _angry_, but she was not "_August". _She knew she felt _uncertain_, but she was not "_August_". _She knew she had been asked a question, but she was not "August"._ She could not answer because she was not _"August"._

"_Let go of me." _the boy ordered. Because she had no idea what else to do, she simply did as she was told and released the boy. He dusted himself off and fixed his attire. "I think it's about time you went home. I'll see you tomorrow at school."

The she-demon clicked her tongue in annoyance, and turned. She walked out the door without argument. She couldn't argue, she knew not what else to do. She couldn't think of anything on her own.

Demons don't serve a high-devil, or ruler of hell of any sort. They each work independently to sustain their own meaningless existences. There is none of such a title, yet if there was one, _the bluenette boy with the eye-patch would be him._

* * *

**A/N: Oh shit...  
**

**"He may be a _damaged_ person, but he's also my _favourite_ person."**

_**Oh, Ciel, you sweet little Satan, you~!**_

**This is based off of something I've observed with the demons in the series. They can't seemed to do anything on their own unless a tastier soul is involved. **

**Sebastian can only do as he's told. His cinematic record holds nothing that isn't part of his "Sebastian" identity.**

**Claude fails on his own, and even after he didn't have Alois, he still did the things he did_ for_ _Ciel._**

**Hannah wouldn't have done any of the stuff she did without _Luka's_ influence.**

**The Triplets are just Hannah's familiars/bitches, therefore _LUKA's_ bitches.**

**And we thought _Ciel_ was pimp...**

**When I think about it, do any of the demons have ANYTHING BEYOND what someone else has dubbed them? Who were any of them before? No one knows, not even _cinematic records_ know.**

**Although, Sebastian did claim to have caused the black plague, and dance in some ballroom (that I can't rememeber the name of right now) before becoming "Sebastian".**

** He says that demons only take the shape of what their master needs them to be (Anyone think it's weird that Sebastian looks a lot like _Ciel's dad? _Just throwing that out there.) and their name is only what their master calls them.**

**My little "theory" is based off of this idea that in the afterlife in many religions, that you forget everything. Who you are, your life, why you're even there, everything. If demons are apparitions from Hell, wouldn't they suffer from this as well? If that's the case, then they wouldn't have a sense of self at all, therefore need humans to tell them. Demons don't _have _to make contracts, you know. According to William, they can just "feast" on souls if that is what they wanted to do. If they can do that, why go through with the contract at all?  
**

**That's the only reason I can think of.**

**I ponder about the mechanisms behind TV shows a bit too deeply, I believe...**

**Also: August apparently thinks Ciel will like her simply because she has _lady bits_. _Lovely_. That's the impression I got after reading it again! Oh God, I didn't mean to do that... I'm probably going to get comments like "AUGUST, YOU WHORE!"**

**But she isn't a "whore"...**

**Whores get PAID.**

**It looks like August has no fans anymore! Ah, I feel a little bad about that. Have you noticed that I like making douchey characters who you hate at first but love latter, and cool characters that you love at first but hate later? I think that makes them a little more _believable_ in doing so. Don't judge a book by it's cover, or a character by their introduction!  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	113. Pity The Poor Deer

The sound of feet making contact withe the earth could be heard as he ran. The sound of heavy breathing could be heard as he ran. Air seethed into the cracks of his dry throat as he ran, yet he did not stop running. If he did, the creature behind him would most certainly catch him.

_Audrey_ was just going home, minding his own business, when he saw the she-devil kill. Two strangers, to be precise. He didn't know them, and he was certain that she didn't either. They were just victims of a random act of murder. She looked up and spotted him, he could see the crimson glow of her eyes stand out against the darkness. He ran. He didn't dare stop running. While he knew she could most likely catch him if she wanted to, he didn't dare stop running.

Finally, the boy in the skull-beenie took refuge in a church, in hopes that it would dissuade the she-demon from following him. His legs fell from underneath him and he collapsed on the hard floor, gasping for air in hopes of soothing his burning lungs. He didn't dwell on this action for too long, however, as he knew that he didn't have much time.

Quickly he scrambled to reach into the pocket of his jeans in order to pull out his cell phone. He scrolled through the contacts list and mashed the green "call" button when he saw the name that he desired. It rang. He held his breath as it did. It was like he was afraid that the sound of his breathing would scare the ringing noise away. Finally, a voice sounded from the other end.

_ "Hello?"_ it said.

"_Trancy!_ It'e_ Baines! _You gotta come quick! She's gonna kill me!" the boy sounded off quickly.

"Whoa, Baines, calm down, mate." said the blonde on the other end. "_Who _is going to kill you?"

_ "August!"_

The phone was silent for a moment. The only thing that could be heard was Audrey's irratic breathing as he waited for a reply. Finally, Alois replied.

_ "I'll get Ciel and Sebastian. Where are you, Audrey?"_ he asked.

Audrey coughed as he tried to speak. "Sou-_Southwark Cathedral_..." he said.

"Stay hidden. We'll be there as soon as we can."

_ "Hurry..."_

With that, the call ended. A small "beep" sounded as the boy hung up. He was alone in the cathedral. It was only him, and the divine, and the dead. That was the real reason why he didn't go with the six when he was invited last year to visit the haunted Trancy manor. While he loved the supernatural, it sometimes became to be too much for him. _Seeing them_. His eyes scared him, so he kept them hidden by his long bangs over his face. He wanted to know more about his eyes, but he didn't.

Now he could see nothing. His eyes were shut tight. He didn't want to see anymore. He wanted no more of this. Audrey Baines, lover of all that was supernatural, wanted no more. He had nearly died by the hands of a demon once; _twice_ was _two times too many_, for his tastes. Being right all along about the existence of the paranormal was meaningless if he could not live to revel in couldn't even tell anyone about it. It was just a secret that was shared between he, and those _two devils._

_ "Hello Audrey."_

This time it wasn't his eyes that scared him, it was his ears. That sickeningly sweet voice that sounded from behind him was the voice of a teenaged girl. He knew that voice. That voice made him quake with fear. Instinctively, his eyes snapped open, but he didn't turn around. No, he didn't need to turn around. He didn't _dare_ turn around.

It was August.

She was in her demonic form, her onyx antlers reaching towards the sky, and her forked tail wriggling as if it were wagging with glee. Her silhouette was unmistakable in the doorway framing the moonlight outside, stray strands of her hair rode the wind, seemingly giving them life. Her glowing red eyes trying to stare into the boy's very being.

Audrey could _imagine_ all of this. He didn't need to turn around.

"Audrey~!" she said in a sing-song voice. "_What's wrong, Audrey~? Why are you so frightened?"_

The boy could only whimper at the girl's inquiry. His eyes snapped shut again. He couldn't respond, he couldn't look. All he could do was quake in fear as he heard the clicking of her heels against the hard floor of the cathedral, echoing as they got closer. The boy's quaking stopped as he heard this, his muscles finally locking up.

Cool hair hit his sclap as his signature skull hat was gently tugged off of his head_. "Are you alright, Audrey?" _the girl said. She ran her fingers through his hair before resting her palm on the back of his neck, snaking her clawed slender fingers around his throat. _"Speak up now."_

A single gunshot was heard, echoing throughout the building. August's eyes widened, and she released the human boy. The she-demon turned her attention to her shoulder. Steam wafted from her wound, and it burned, the exposed meat sizzling and throbbing from the bullet. She looked into the direction the shot came from to see two other demons in the shadows of the rafters above.

_"Cool gun, Ciel_." said the blonde one with the forwards pointing horns, exposed abdomen, and short-shorts.

"_Thanks. I 'liberated' it from Sir Hellsing."_ said the bluenette one with the weapon. His horns bent backwards like those of a ram, and he was covered much better than his companion.

The Phantomhive lad was pretty handy with guns. When he was younger, he went hunting, and even slept with a pistol underneath his pillow. He usually carried one on his person at all times out of habit. His revolver, dubbed "_The Zamiel_", was a little "retro" when compared to the "antifreak technology" that H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. has come out with recently, but it was still powerful, weighing in at a over a kilogram, and firing point four-hundred and fifty-two calibre bullets was one of the lad's favourite toys. Naturally, the bullets it fired were _blessed,_ and it required strong arms for any human to wield, as they would when working for H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. this was no problem for the demon-boy, who could easily handle the recoil with just one hand. Yes, the Hellsings did make excellent toys. Toys that were designed for the sole purpose of killing monsters and demons. He often found it somewhat disappointing that _Funtom _didn't make _this_ kind of _toy_.

"Did that _hurt,_ _August?" _the bluenette said, leaping down from the rafters and landing on his feet. The blonde did the same.

_ "August"._ The name echoed in the girl's mind once more. Now it just made her angry. Her frown warped into a grin; a twisted, demented grin.

_ "Now, now, that was rather rude of you, Ciel." _When she spoke, it didn't sound like her voice. It sounded like a conglomerate of voices speaking together in unison. Like she was talking with the voices of all the lives she had devoured. "_You didn't even say 'hello'!"_

"What's_ wrong _with her?" Alois asked, looking to the bluenette. "It's like... she's _broken._"

"_Broken? Me?!"_ the girl asked. Her grin was now warping and shifting to that which was not humanly possible without tearing facial tissues. _"You're the only broken one here, Trancy!"_

_ "You're mistaken."_ the bluenette interrupted. "Alois has a sense of self. Since you've realized that you yourself lack this, you're reverting to nothing more than a _beast_." The she-demon's grin changed to a snarl.

"Oh, so is _that _what you were talking about in your office earlier?" the blonde said, placing his hands on his hips. "It was so hard to hear! You talk quietly, Ciel."

"That's because I know certain blonde blokes like to eavesdrop outside my door!"

"Yes, but am I still your '_favourite person'?"_

The bluenette specifically ignored the question while trying to hide his blush. Of all the things for Alois to overhear, why did it have to be _that?_ He turned his attention to the human boy, who was hiding under one of the churches peiws. "Audrey! You get out of here. _We'll handle August_." The frightened human boy nodded, and forced his legs to move, and headed towards the door.

"_Ooh!_ Rematch time,_ sucka!"_ Why was Alois so _excited_ about this?

August snarled. Her face was warped, and her body began to follow suit. Her neck elongated and grew in mass, she fell onto all fours, her hand contorting into ghastly shapes. Her mouth was large, her frown seemed to crawl down her neck, revealing rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth. The she-demon's skin peeled off, revealing some mysterious black matter underneath. Her onyx antlers grew in size as well, and began to resemble arms reaching upwards to drag whatever it is they end up grabbing straight down into hell. Cloven hooves were on the ugly creatures hind legs, and bird-like talons in the front. If you stood back and looked at it as a whole, August now resembled a _deer_; a_ deer _from _hell's forests._

This is what she had become. Ciel was right. Without some sort of identity to tie herself to, she was nothing more but a beast. The demonic duo prepared for battle as the creature reared up on it's hind legs and roared. It's roar was almost a screech, and it echoed throughout the supposedly "_holy_" place. Is this what a demon was? An ugly, horrible, _pitiful_ beast with no sense of self whatsoever? It relies on humans in order to keep up it's farce, but when that is stripped away and the truth is made bare for all to see, demons really were _pitiful_.

Be that as it may, this "pitiful" creature was angry, and it wanted nothing more than to destroy everything in it's wake. It got back down on all fours and charged at the duo. Demon against demons.

* * *

**A/N: MUA-HA-HA-HA! CLIFFHANGER!  
**

**I'm sorry... Please don't gut me with a spoon...**

**If I wrote it all at once, it would've become like, a five-thousand-some-odd word chapter, and I just didn't really like that idear, m'kay?**

**I'll finish it later... I won't leave you hanging!**

**SERIOUSLY, PUT DOWN THE SPOON!**

**Ciel's_ Zamiel_ pistol? _Psh_, _I made it up_. I used data based on the _Webley & Scott MK 6_, from one of my guns reference book. (I don't really know shit about guns.) Zamiel is the name of the messenger of the devil from _Der Freichutz_. I saw that shit. It was lovely~!**

**The character is actually mentioned in Hellsing, by a character who looks disturbingly similar to myself. (Long hair, glasses, freckles, a thing for suit-ish clothing? Dafuq? Am I getting paid for this?) I however, am not a Nazi-Vampire...**

**Hurr, August's a durr~!**

**Gonna type the next chapter of MIAAU, then I'll get right back to this. I like to take a break and cycle through them a bit. Post one, then the other, post one, then the other... **

**That way, it just doesn't get old. I don't get stuck with one set of in-universe rules, and that helps generate ideas. I come up with ideas for this while working on MIAAU all the time and vice versa. It's weird. They aren't always GOOD ideas, but hey, get while the getting is good, no?**

**Until the continuation of this chapter, my duckies! **

**(Seriously, for the love of all that is good, _PUT DOWN THE SPOON_!)**


	114. That Blonde, Repairable

"See Ciel? Some girls look pretty at first, but underneath all of that makeup, they're a _demonic deer thingy!"_ a certain blonde demon said jokingly, wagging his tail. He jumped into the air to avoid being gored by the antlers of said "_demonic deer thingy"._

"I just don't _get_ girls." the bluenette remarked back. He fired off several rounds into the beast's side, causing it to leak some mysterious black liquid onto the floor of the church.

"Is that why you went _gay~?" _the other boy asked. He came back down from his place in the sky and swiftly kicked the deer in the face while it was weakened by his companion's bullets.

"_Shut up."_

_ "I love you too, muffin!"_

While the two were playfully argueing, the creature formerly known as August unhinged it's massive jaws, revealing it's sets of razor-sharp teeth. With one swift movement, it tried to swallow the blonde up, hindered only by the blonde himself.

Alois had his feet on the creature's bottom jaw, and his hands on the top, preventing the demon-deer from closing it's mouth. It's teeth cut into the poor lad's palms, but there was nothing he could do about it, seeing it was either that or being eaten.

_ "Ciel! I could use some help, please!" _he shouted to the bluenette. His arms an legs straining against the force of the deer's jaws. Meanwhile, the bluenette in question was reloading his gun.

"Well, _since you asked nicely_." he said back aiming straight at the creature's face. Bullets whizzed by the blonde as they made their way into the female demon's throat. The creature gagged, and released Alois. He fell to the floor with a thud, getting covered by the black mystery-goo his foe had coughed up in the process.

"Hey! You almost shot me!" the blonde shouted. "...Eeeeew! What is this stuff?!" He got up, and tried to shake the substance off of him. His efforts were in vain. "On second thought, _don't_ tell me_. I don't want to know_."

"As you wish, _your highness_." Ciel ran up to the she-demon, and hopped on her back, grabbing her by the antlers. He pointed the pistol at her head at point-blank range in order to get the most out of the force.

Just as the lad was about to pull the trigger, the beast's _long, black mane_ grew in length and wrapped around his wrist. He tried to pry himself free, but the beast trapped him even more, with the locks of hair proceeding to wrap around his legs, waist, and even his neck, causing him to accidentally _drop_ his weapon.

"Dammit!" cursed the bluenette as he tried to free himself. "Alois! Help me!"

The blonde hesitated. Last time he wasn't much help, but this time, he wanted to make sure he was useful. But how? He didn't have any "anti-freak weaponry", and all he could do was that "flower trick" that he did last time. He weighed his options, and decided that the plants were the way to go. If he tried to initiate a direct attack, he would just end up getting trapped too, now wouldn't he?

Frantically, he looked around. The floor was hard, they weren't outdoors, and there were no plants in sight. It isn't as though he can simply conjure them from thin air. Finally, in the corner of the room, he saw a small potted tree. He made a mad dash towards the object, and picked it up, hurling it at the beast with his demonic strength. Rather than it simply hitting the creature over the head, it opened it's jaws and swallowed it. _"Well, there goes that plan."_ the blonde thought.

_"What the bloody hell was that, you idiot?!"_ his friend demanded, now more tangled in the mane then he was mere minutes ago.

"It's a plan in progress!" Alois shouted back, doubtful that the other lad was convinced with that answer.

Then, he had an _idea_. The creature _ate_ the plant right? It was still inside of it, right_? What if he could use his power and tear it apart from the insides, outwards?_

He knew he would need to get closer, so with his speed, he ran up beside the creature, and punched it in the side with his full force. It howled in pain, but he paid it no mind as he tried to locate that tree.

When he did, he grabbed onto the beasts side with his hand, and did the same with the other, and focused all of his energy on that one spot. He grit his teeth, his eyes glowed, sweat trickled down his forehead and he furrowed his brow in concentration. He did his best to avoid getting shaken off by the demonic deer, as it tried with all of it's might. It howled and it roared from the sensation of having that tree inside of it, and it just kept growing. Soon branches were coming out of the beast's mouth, and it fell to the ground as it could no longer stand. It groaned and it howled, but could do nothing.

It's mane released the bluenette, and the blonde fell over himself, worn out from using the plant ability. It appears as though he has been getting better at it tough, as he could still stand back up and walk over to the recovering bluenette.

"You alright, Ciel?" he asked his companion. He sat on his knees and put his arm around the boy's shoulders.

"I'm_ perfectly fine, Alois_." answered Ciel. "You should be more worried about yourself. That plant ability takes a massive toll on your body."

"I'm good._ I didn't use it that long. _Still we better wrap this up." Alois looked over at the angry creature. It coughed up more blackness and it wheezed, it's sides rising and falling with every breath. It glared up at the two with blazing eyes.

"Wait, _where's my gun?"_ the bluenette asked, looking around, trying to find out where he had dropped it.

Slowly, shakily, the beast, formerly known as "August", propped up one of it's front legs, and tried to pull herself back up with it. It roared again, a screeching, angry, pained, and frightened roar that shook the entire building.

A single gunshot was heard.

_August stood_, wide-eyed as more of the black substance mixed with crimson trickled down her face, starting from her forehead. Finally, the she-demon's knees buckled and she fell to the ground with a mighty thud in a pool of black and crimson. The beast had been silenced, never to roar it's terrible roar.

Who fired the shot? Ciel didn't. The lad dropped his weapon. Alois didn't. He had no experience with firearms. He wasn't even sure how to hold one. The boys whipped their heads around to face the direction from whence the bullet came, finding the silhouette of Audrey, standing in the doorway.

He stood there holding the gun in both hands, steadily, as he grit his teeth. His bangs were swept to the side somewhat, revealing his right eye. It was the first time either of the demonic duo had actually _seen _his eyes. While it was widened with fear, it still had a determined look to it, that took away from his otherwise youthful appearance. His brow was furrowed in concentration. The most striking feature of these eyes, however, was the irises. They had a ring of yellow pigmentation, enveloping a smaller green sphere that held the pupil. _The bluenette has seen eyes like that before, but never in a human._ In fact, _a human _shouldn't have even been able to wield that gun so easily.

The boy sighed and sat down on the floor, placing the gun to the side of him. "That was close..." he said with a small laugh at the end.

"I thought you left? _Wait, when did you get my gun?!"_ the bluenette asked accusingly.

"Relax, mate._ I never left."_ said Audrey, putting his hands up in surrender. "I grabbed your gun while you two had your hands full. _Chill."_

"Nice shot, _cowboy." _said Alois, who gave the boy a thumbs up. "_Demon hunting John Wayne?"_

"Nah, I don't think_ I'm quite there just yet_."

"What do you mean _'yet'?"_ asked the bluenette.

"I've been thinkin'..." said the Baines boy, leaning back and laying on the floor. "...this H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. thing you guys were talkin' about? I might wanna sign up someday."

"You _wanker!_ You'd sell us out!?" asked the bluenette. He wasn't really angry or anything. Just surprised, and a little shaken from the battle.

"No way, you guys are cool. It's just that I can see shit like this for as long as I can remember. I wanna know more about it, y'know?" Audrey smiled.

"I say go for it. Don't let mister grumpy trousers over here boss you around." said the blonde boy while poking his bluenette companion's cheek.

Ciel stood up and dusted himself off. "Do what you want. It's _your funeral_..." he said.

"Huh?" the boy with the multi-coloured eyes said, sitting back up.

"As you can see_, employee death-rates _at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. are rather _high_. I hear the _pay's good,_ though."

"Works for me!"

After their battle and the little exchange with Audrey at the church, the demonic duo decided to go home, having Sebastian drive Audrey home, since he was too shaken to go by himself. The blonde and the bluenette walked down the street. They were a bit tired, but it was a nice night.

"Hey Ciel," Alois spoke up suddenly. "what happens to _demons_ when _they die?"_ The blonde turned to his companion for an answer. "Do they go to_ Hell_, or are they just erased from existence?"

"I don't know." said the bluenette. "Either one, is possible."

"I hope it's _Hell_." Alois smiled. "I bet we could_ take over the place _without much trouble."

"Keep dreaming, Trancy." said Ciel with a slight smile. He looked over to the blonde before immediately averting his eyes with a blush. _"Is it really necessary that you stay in that form?"_

"Why? Does it _bother_ you?"

"_Very much so..."_

"Then _yes,_ yes it is_ entirely necessary_." Alois smiled as his companion furrowed his brow and frowned. "Is it really necessary that you_ stare at me _like that?" He giggled when Ciel realized what he was doing and looked away. Silence lingered with them for a while after that.

Then the blonde spoke again. "Hey, Ciel," he said again. "_are 'damaged goods' still good enough for you?"_

Now this, caught the bluenette's attention. _Just how much of that conversation with August did he overhear? _He stopped walking, causing the blonde to do the same, and look at his companion questioningly. He suddenly felt the bluenette's lips on his for a brief moment. His confusion melted when he blushed, and looked at the other boy with surprise.

"Even if_ high-quality _goods are _damaged_, they're still better than _cheap things_." the bluenette said with a slight smile. "Besides, given enough time and care,_ they can be repaired_, and work even better than ever." Now it was the eye-patch-wearing teen's turn to be surprised as the blonde's arms made their way around his neck, and Alois hid his face in his shoulder.

_"I love you, Ciel."_

_"I love you too, Alois."_

* * *

**A/N: Thought the battle was kind of lame, so I threw in some fluff at the end to kind of... do... something. I dunno. Just 'cause, maybe?  
**

**Oh GOD, I have this song stuck in my head and it won't leave, so I have to play it on loop until it gets out... It's called "_World Domination: How-To_" or something like that, and it's by dem _Kagamine twin Vocaloids,_ mm-hm. That song just makes me feel happy for whatever bizzare reason.**

**It's been on loop for... a few hours, now? Nope. Nothin'. Still there. How do you guys deal with this? I don't evennnnn!**

**Anyways, Audrey has no idea why his eyes are like that. _He thinks it's Heterochromia, or something._..**

**Also, I'll MISS Audrey. I liked her. I like all my OCs, but I like her a lot. I also liked Maxwell, and I'm a bit sad that they both had to go. I LOVE HOW THEY WERE SO HATED OHMAGAW. They're some of my favourites, actually. You look at my notes in class, and it's just covered with those two.**

**OH GOD! _MaxwellXAugust?!_ OHMAHGAWDSWEETMERCIFULMOTHER MARYOFJESUSCHRISTONASTICK!**

**That is a DEADLY pairing...**

_**How fast would you like that shipped, sir/ma'am?**_

**I also had an idea for a male version of August named "October". Dunno if I'll use him, though. Probably won't. **

**I draw him a lot too. He always ends up looking like Young!Walter (the character on my icon, actually.) from Hellsing. _I have a knack for drawing disturbed, violent children, apparently..._**

**I draw Audrey a lot too. I like drawing him with his hair out of his face. First it's like, "Oh, it's that weird kid who sits alone and plays on his DS", then it's like, "Ohmagaw! Bishounen shotas?!"  
**

**I don't know how the hell I come up with these characters... They just pop into my head uninvited, and I seldom do anything with them. It saddens me that they remain idle...**

**Anyways, see ya next chapter, duckies!**

**YES, I AM THE QUEEN OF DUCKS.**

**(apparently)**


	115. The Sensational Seven

Warwick Academy: the creme de la creme of sophistication in private schools. Here, the offspring of the upper-class come to receive an education. Today, our demonic duo recovers from their epic battle with the she-demon formerly known as "August", and welcome a new member to the _Sensational Six._

_ "_Hey, _Romeo and Juliet_, why's Audrey hangin' out with you guys?" asked a familiar face; a lad who goes by the name of _Daniel Westley._

"One_: Stop calling us that_, and two: he's pretty cool, that's why." replied the bluenette cyclops, seated casually at his desk. "_Problem, Westley?"_

_ "_Wait, _since I'm a boy_, wouldn't that make it _'Romeo and Julian'?"_ inquired a certain blonde lad.

_"Alois, you aren't helping_..."

The son of a politician shrugged. "Nope. Just thought it was kinda weird. Welcome to the _Sensational Six_, Baines."

Audrey nodded in response. He wasn't sure what to say. Another member of the six, a boy in a pink tie, sat down and crossed his arms. "Wouldn't that make _us 'The Sensational __**Seven'?**_" Kristopherson asked.

_** "The Magnificent Seven!?"**_ Alois asked excitedly. He leaned forward and slammed his hands down on his desk when he did.

Of course it was Daniel who replied. _"Oh my god, yes!" _

"Oh yeah! _Audrey is 'John Wayne'! _Remember Ciel?"

_ "John Wayne wasn't even in that movie, moron_." the bluenette replied. He was somewhat relieved to see things going back to normal so easily. It seemed as though it's been awhile since the group talked like this.

_ "Details!"_

"Why is Audrey_ John Wayne_?" asked Preston.

Ciel furrowed his brow. What were they going to say? "_Audrey shot a demonic deer in the face, that makes him John Wayne?"_ Of course not! The bluenette looked at the blonde, narrowing his eye. His look just dared the blonde to make up a story to cover for them.

His blonde companion propped his feet up on the desk and smiled. _Of course_ he could pull an excuse out of thin air.

"Well, me and Audrey were testing out the potato cannon we made for science, right? Well, Audrey could position the cannon every time so it would hit it's target. We hit bottles, and a stop sign, easy. _It made me think of a cowboy, and who's the most famous cowboy ever?" _he smiled. "_John Wayne."_

A bullshit story, but there were strand of truth in it. Audrey almost laughed when he heard it. Ciel rolled his eye. Daniel, however, turned pale upon remembering something he had forgotten.

"Shit!_ That project was due today_, wasn't it!?" he asked, putting his hands on his head.

_ "No. __**Next **__week."_ Travis corrected.

"Damn_, give me a heart attack, will ya?"_ the politician's son said with relief. "So Audrey is '_John Wayne' _from now on. Any objections?" he asked.

"I would think _'Bones' _would be a better name for him." suggested Preston. "His mom owns a big _medical supply company_, and he always has that_ hat on with a skull on it_."

"Like _doctor McCoy _on _Star Trek?"_ asked the bluenette. He was partial to science fiction, of course. Ciel also found the name appropriate since the lad has the eyes of a _Grim Reaper_.

"That's what I was thinking!" replied the Indian boy with a grin.

"_Geeks!"_ Kristopherson declared.

"_Geeks!"_ Daniel agreed and pointed at the two.

Finally, after his long silence, Audrey finally spoke his voice kind of startled the politician's son and the boy in the pink tie for a moment. They had never actually heard the lad's _voice _before. "You watch the one with _William Shatner _in it too?"

"Of course. The _original _one is the _best _one." Preston said, earning a nod from the bluenette. Audrey smiled a bit. He was afriad he would fit in with the others at all.

Kristopherson put his hands on his head. "Oh no! _Triple geeks!_"

"I agree with the homo!_ Triple geeks all the way across the sky!"_ shouted Daniel.

_ "I have a name, you know!"_

"Is being a geek a_ deal-breaker _for you, Kris?" Alois asked jokingly. "That's too bad, I bet there's a lot of guys that would let you play with their_ 'lightsaber'_." The blonde earned laughter from the group, and a punch to the arm from an embarrassed boy in a pink tie.

"Does _Ciel _let you play with his?" the faux-blonde snapped. He retreated, however, when the bluenette in question glared at him, chilling him to the bone.

"Oooh~!" said Daniel. "Though, judging by his short stature, I bet it's more like a '_sonic screwdriver'_, huh?"

"Daniel," the blonde began. "If you don't want to wake up in a gutter with both of your legs broken, _if you wake up at all that is_, I suggest you _drop it_." Alois didn't dare look at Ciel's face at that moment. He could feel the anger radiating from the boy, and it wasn't warm. The entire room was getting colder by the second.

"Good call..." the brown-haired boy agreed.

"Now, to get off the_ totally not-gay _subject of_ dicks _for a moment: What's all of this about a _Halloween Fair_, I keep hearing about?" asked the blonde.

"Oh yeah, _you transferred last year in November_, so you missed it..." Preston began, "Basically, it's a little_ festival that the students put together every year around Halloween_. There's games, snacks, haunted houses and _costumes_."

"We're gonna help work on the haunted house. Wanna join, Trancy?" asked Daniel.

The blonde paused for a moment, and looked to Ciel, silently asking if it was alright. The bluenette folded his arms before flicking his wrist at the blonde, telling him to "go ahead."

_ "Hell_ yeah!" Alois finally replied.

Daniel snorted. "He has to _ask for permission _first..."

"That's the sign of a somewhat abusive relationship, Alois." Kristopherson pointed out jokingly.

"Yeah Alois,_ Kristopherson will love you right_." The brown-haired boy simply burst into laughter, even while Kristopherson was attempting to beat him. The sheer amount and viciousness of the Westley boy's harrassment was starting to give the Phantomhive boy a headache.

"What about you, Audrey?" asked Preston, turning his attention to the lad in the skull-beanie. "Are you going to sign up too? I bet you'd be really good at this sort of thing."

"I, uh, I dunno..." the other boy replied. He wasn't really good with people, as he's always just been "The Boy In The 'Big Chair'." Preston seemed nice, though, and the demonic duo would be there. _"My mum doesn't really like Halloween_. She says all the candy and stuff is bad for me, but I'll _try _to make it."

While the others were busy discussing their own plans, Alois took the opportunity to lean over to Ciel and ask a question that was sort of bothering him about him about the entire thing.

"So, uh_, what do people do for Halloween nowadays anyway?"_ he asked, whispering into the bluenette's ear.

The question surprised him for a moment, but that could also be contributed to the feeling of having the blonde boy whispering in his ear. "Put up 'scary' decorations, pull pranks, dress up in costumes and go to parties and stuff. Younger kids dress up and go door to door asking fo candy. It's called _'Trick-or-Treating'."_ Ciel said, summing up modern traditions in as few words as possible.

"That sounds _dangerous as hell, _not to mention _rude_." the blonde said.

"Yes, and you know_ all about _'rude', don't you?" the bluenette remarked.

"_Damn straight_."

"You're also going to want to _dress up_, aren't you?"

"_Naturally_."

"And I assume it also involves _cross-dressing_, am I right?"

"_You know me so well!"_

The bluenette sighed and rubbed his temples, fighting off both a headache, and_ every memory he has of Alois in a dress._ "Why is it that every time you do something with a costume, it involves _cross-dressing?"_

"'Cause it's_ fun_." said the blonde with a giggle, earning a blush from the other boy. "Remember when we first met? I was wearing Hannah's uniform and wearing a wig?"

"How could I _forget?" _Ciel replied. He touched his left ear at the memory and furrowed his brow. His blush went all the way up to his ears, causing his blue earring's to stand out even more.

"Did you _really_ know I was a guy _all along_ or were you _bluffing?"_ asked Alois with a grin, noticing the lad's gesture. He knew the_ exact memory _Ciel was thinking about. He giggled at the glare he received.

It was a funny thought, really. If Ciel _really did _know the blonde's true identity upon meeting him, why did he allow the lad to _whisper in his ear, and even lick it?_ Perhaps Ciel's personal preferences were not the result of becoming a demon after all. The thought just tickled the blonde, and brought embarrassment to the bluenette.

"_Shut up."_ said the latter of which.

"_Yes, my_ _master_." the blonde teased.

"Ooh~! _Kinky!_" remarked the Westley boy.

"YOU ARE NOT PART OF THIS CONVERSATION, DANIEL."

* * *

**A/N: Mind your own business, Daniel...  
**

**Yet another example of bending the laws of time... For the same person who requested it last time, actually!**

**As per request from_ Rasu,_ there will be a school festival, but since culture fests are a Japanese thing, I made it a Halloween fest. (Well, I dunno if they do something like that in Britain. I just know that my school did for a while.)**

**I believe time is actually flowing normally in this universe again, since the school year had only started "a few months ago".**

**Should I keep the group's name "The Sensational Seven", or change it to "The Magnificent Seven?"**

**That was kind of a joke to myself about how Cowboys seem to be everyone's image of America in foreign countries. When my dad was travelling, everyone called him "John Wayne" if they forgot his name, because he's American. I dunno how accurate that is, though. **

**You tell me, internet.**

**I don't even know if_ Star Trek_ or how known _Star Wars_ is in the U.K...**

**I like keeping that shit accurate, y'know? I send a lot of time trying to keep it so.**

**I think I've become a bit_ too_ fasinated with British culture. It all started I think, from a random thought about a random observation I made while watching BBC America. I was thinking about how American and British shows are very similar, yet have differences in how they approach the story that set them apart. (American humour seemingly being based on "_wow-factor_", and British humour being seemingly based on actual_ wit._"**

**There were also cultural differences I noticed, that made the "universe" of the show seem somehow "off", and that's when I came up with this INSANE theory that I came up with when I was like, thirteen:**

**WHAT IF America rests on a rift in this universe, making it a sort of "_pocket dimension_" from the rest of the world? It is only accessible through that rift, which is why we're different. And because the rift is AROUND America, other countries are also able of accessing it just by crossing the Atlantic ocean, causing the dimension to change contsantly and mix cultures in very well, causing even MORE differences, but it is for this reason that we are able to take ideas from anywhere and make them ours, thus "Americanizing" them. **

**America is a pocket universe parallel to Britain. **

**Wait, does that mean that _everyone in America is just an alternate version person in Britain?!_ We do have American versions of British TV shows...**

_**Hi, AU me!**_

**Long story short: I'm fascinated in it because it is an alternate universe, at least according to my old thirteen-year-old self (Senior in High school now, btw). Oh god, my head hurts... Trying to explain my thoughts isn't too easy either...**

**AND THIS IS WHY I WILL NEVER BE A HISTORY TEACHER. (I'd probably end up just showing the kids episodes of_ Hetalia_ out of laziness...) Maybe if_ Doctor Who_ ever comes back to the U.S., I can write for it...**

**I always thought an interesting episode of _Doctor Who_ would be him coming to our universe and discovering that he's a TV show.**

**Oh god, my old habit of rambling has returned! I'M SO SORRY! *ashamed***

**Laters, duckies...**


	116. Put The Drill Down

Warwick Academy. Ah, what a fine establishment. Truly, it is the top-school in all of Britain. It's students are well-read, and capable, being both educated and cultured. Today is a fine example of this as the students prepare for the school's annual Halloween Festival. Some will handle catering, and some will schedule event, while others prepare booths and games for the public to participate in. It just so happens that all of the members of the Sensational Seven are signed up to participate in the haunted house. The project was led by a mister _Lawrence Rose_, since he was supposedly the "most knowledgeable of disturbed characters" due to his role as _Cecil Hauntington _in the movie _Devil Butler._

The boy had dark, straight hair with a sort of greenish tint that ended in small curls at the wore no tie with his uniform, but distracted from this by wearing a green sweater-vest under his blazer. He held sort of a regal appearance that made the girls swoon, having a sort of "Prince Charming" aspect to him. Sometimes it even appeared that he could make roses bloom behind him.

"Alright, let's think of a plan, yeah?" he said. When he spoke, his words were smooth and sweet. "Who has any ideas for this thing?"

"Why don't we just make something that looks like a haunted mansion or something and put some scary stuff in it?" asked Daniel.

"Ugh! That's so... _unoriginal!" _Lawrence said. "Give me something I can work with!"

Next a certain blonde boy spoke. "Why don't we make it a _maze?" _suggested the Trancy. " We'll rig it with traps and stuff to scare the guests, and just let them navigate it."

"Yes. The _feeling of being lost _will add to the atmosphere." added the lad's bluenette companion.

Lawrence's face lit up at the idea. "Magnifique! I like it! I like it a lot! Quickly! Someone draw up some plans!" Ciel is disturbed by this boy. He couldn't believe Rose played a character so similar to himself. He shuddered at the thought. Daniel, however was _fascinated _by the lad.

"Lawrence! You should totally dress up as _Cecil _for the event!" he said. "It'll be good for business."

The lad stopped his incessant rambling for a moment and stood silently for a moment. Then his face went dark, and he covered up his left eye with his hand, getting into character.

_"What for?" _he said finally. "To lead others down the same path of despair that I have been forced to wander? No, that is something that they, themselves should decide. This fate of mine is something I wouldn't wish upon another person. No, that is reserved for _one_ person,_ the one who has bismircthed the name Hauntington! _I will have my revenge!_ I will! _And don't any of you dare get in my way!" he snapped, before letting out a deep breath and uncovering his eye. "Aaaand, _scene."_ The others applauded. All but the demonic duo.

Ciel was disgusted. This boy had just unknowingly thrown his former self right back in his face. He hid his displeasure with a mask of indifference. Both he and the blonde were unamused by the performance. The bluenette looked over to Audrey, who was already doodling in his notebook possible ideas for the event. It was odd to see him so lively.

He was pulled from his thoughts, however, by a pair of arms being wrapped around his neck. "Hey Ciel," said Alois with a grin. "What are _you_ gonna do? I bet we could give them a good scare!"

"We are not_ mentally scarring _children." Ciel replied.

"But _we're_ mentally scarred, and we scarred Daniel and the rest at my old house, remember?"

"Scaring your friends is _different_."

"Aw, so you admit to being their friend! How_ sweet!"_ the blond teased. He was aware of the bluenette's inability to feel especially fond of most people.

"I admit to being _your boyfriend_, don't I?"

"Ah-hah! But that's _different_."

The Phantomhive boy shook his head and rolled his eye. "So what are _you_ going to do?" he asked.

"Dunno. I might just stick to staying behind the scenes this time."

"What? _Alois Trancy_ _not _in the _limelight?" _Sarcasm dripped from the bluenette's words."That's just _wrong."_

"Hardy-harr-harr, Phantomhive. I'll have you know, that I'm not too sure about this entire operation." the blonde replied.

"Why not?"

"Did you _see_ the kid running it? He _disturbs_ me."

"Same here, but you shouldn't let that stop you."

"Hm, I guess... Oh! Maybe I can get Kristopherson to show up with me in a dress!"

_ "Again _with the _cross-dressing?"_ Ciel asked. "Tell, me is there a secret desire of yours that I don't know about?"

"To be a woman? _Hell_ no." the blonde replied, sticking out his tongue. "Cross-dressing is just _fun _on occassion. Too much, however, and I'd imagine it would get boring. Besides, I don't need to give you any more reason to call me a _'girl' _more than you already do."

"I will stop calling you a girl when you stop acting like one." the other boy said with a a smirk.

"I'm _perfectly_ masculine!" Alois leaned in to whisper in the bluenette's ear. "I could _show_ you when it's just _the two of us, _if you'd like." He giggled when the boy flushed a deep scarlet at the implication. Was it just him, or had Alois become a bit more perverse, lately?

Suddenly a crash was heard, and both boys turned their attention to the source. They saw Audrey trying to pick up some building materials on his own, while Lawrence was yelling at him.

"What are you doing? No one told you to move that stuff!" the actor said to the boy in the skull beenie.

"Yeah... but... it looked like it was in the way, so... I..." the shorter boy began.

"So you just thought you'd try and move it by yourself? There's no way you can carry all of that on your own!"

"Whoa, Lawrence, relax, man." said Daniel.

"He was just trying to help." Preston added.

"It doesn't matter. Just don't try to move stuff on your own! You might break it, or hurt somebody!" Lawrence wasn't trying to be mean, he was just being forceful to get his point across. His only real friend for a while was Walter Hackett, his costar, and we know how that lad was. In a way, Lawrence was like Audrey in that he was unsure how to interact with people properly. The only thing that the lad could do was act, thus _pretend _that he _did _know. He looked to the others, and took their reactions as a Que that he should in fact, _relax._

_ "Just be careful, okay?"_ he asked the boy in the skull beanie finally. "Have some of the others help you next time, alright?"

"Alright..." Audrey said back, looking to the ground. He didn't quite know how to respond other than that. He listened as he heard the sound of the actor walking away, his shoes making noise against the school floor.

"Right! Let's pick this stuff up! Phantomhive! Trancy! _Quit snogging for a minute _and _help!"_ shouted Daniel, calling out the demonic duo.

"We were_ not snogging!" _the bluenette shouted back, getting up out of his chair. His protest made his blonde companion giggle his usual girlish giggle.

They joined the others in picking up cans of paint and pieces of wood on the floor that Audrey had tried to move and dropped, along with other things that needed moved outdoors to the area that they were supposed to be setting the event up at. While they were moving thing, something finally popped into the bluenette's head.

"Hey, _Bones_, was that thing you were drawing on_ plans _for building?" he asked the slightly shorter boy.

"_'Bones'?"_ the lad echoed. He had forgotten that he had been assigned a nickname. "Oh, _yeah_. Just some doodles." he answered.

"_You holdin' out on us, punk?" _Daniel asked jokingly.

_ "What?"_

"I think he means that _if you have some ideas, you should share them_." clarified Preston.

"_Oh."_

"If you can design the sets, I can design the costumes." offered Kristopherson after a long silence. He wasn't used to the new boy just yet.

"I am _not_ wearing a_ dress, _Miles!" shouted the Westley boy.

"Like hell I'd make you wear a dress!" the faux-blonde snapped back. "_Nobody_ wants to see that!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right_. I don't shave my legs like you and Trancy."_

_ "I don't shave my legs..." _said Alois, answering upon hearing his name. Everyone starred at him for a moment, even Audrey, who's eyes were only slightly visible. That was absolutely impossible._ Those legs with those shorts? _How could he_ not _shave them?

"You're _kidding..."_ Kristopherson said.

"_Nope." _the Trancy boy replied. "Hey, where does this _thingy_ go?" he asked, holding the object up to eye-level so he could better look at it.

_"Put the drill down, Trancy!" _shouted the faux-blonde.

_"Whoa! Watch where you're pointing that thing_!" shouted Daniel.

_ "Is that thing plugged in?!" _asked Preston.

"_Alois. Stop." _said Travis.

The blonde boy just tilted his head in confusion as the bluenette gently took the power-drill from him. "Don't do that." Ciel said. "_You'll put an eye out_." He pointed to his eye-patch.

"Whoa! Did _Ciel _just make a_ joke!?"_

_ "Shut it."_

* * *

**A/N: This is yet another chapter where I felt like I knew what I was doing at the start, and then my A.D.D. just took it away... **

**UGH! IT'S FRIDAY. MY SPRING BREAK IS ALMOST OVER. I won't be able to update as often, probably. Perhaps every other day. I'LL POST WHEN I CAN STARTING MONDAY, OKAAAAAAY?**

**Is it just me, or did Lawrence seem kind of douchey? That wasn't on purpose, he's not supposed to be like that. But whatev's. **

**I keep finding Kristopherson's and Daniel's little exchanges to be funny. I could almost ship them, but Daniel isn't gay...**

**What OCs from DLTD do YOU ship? We know about the demonic duo's little romance, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?! I honestly don't know. I haven't thought about it until now...**

**I'm trying to make this note quick in comparison to last chapters. GOD THAT WAS AWFUL! I'm sorry for making it so long! **

**Speaking of last chapter's A/N, I talk a lot about foreign affairs a lot, don't I? Probably 'cause I'm a TERRIBLE American. In fact, I have something to confess to you guys...**

**Guys, I... I-I just... I DON'T LIKE HAMBURGERS! *cries*  
**

**Seriously, I say that, and people seriously look at me like I've just sucker-punched a baby, or something. I don't know what the deal is! I'VE BEEN CALLED A NAZI FOR THIS.**

I just don't like beef... It tastes like IRON...

**The internationality of the internet makes me think about this crap a lot. Sorry. I just think it's SO DAMN COOL that the internet can do that... DLTD has readers form all around the world, AND IT MAKES ME WANT TO SING THE HETALIA THEME.**

**Oh! One more thing! Artwork of the major OCs in this story is on my deviantart. The username's "wimpyninja". There's a picture of Kris in a maid uniform.**

**...Because I love you all that much.**

**Well, I'll see ya'll duckies later! *Rides off into the sunset on a giant duck-creature***


	117. Gentlemen

"Put that over there." said a certain child-actor as he was directing his fellow students. He stood there looking at the plans drawn by Audrey fo r the haunted house, and was liking the direction this was going.

"This is perfect!" he said. "I'm glad you did this, Audrey." Lawrence said to the rather shy boy in the skull beenie.

"O-oh. Thanks." the lad replied, looking at the ground. He wasn't used to people talking to him that much. He did, however, start to speak up with the rest of the Sensational Seven more.

He, Preston, and Ciel would talk about their favourite science fiction programes and books and such, while he would talk about supernatural stuff with Daniel and Alois. He would also talk about certain aesthetics with Travis and Kristopherson, and crack jokes and such on occasion. he was starting to really like this. Maybe his eyes weren't so bad after all. They had helped him find such good friends!

But today, his eyes were bothering him. They were starting to ache a bit, and he rubbed them. Finally, he gave up and reached into his bag, pulling out two palm-sized cases. Alois watched him curiously.

"What are you doing?" he asked, tilting his head slightly like a puppy.

Audrey say down and opened one of the cases, unscrewing the cap off of half of one. "My contacts are bothering me." he said. "I'm gonna take them out and wear my glasses."

"_'Contacts'?"_ the other boy echoed.

"Yeah, as in, '_contact lenses'?_" the boy in the skull beenie replied, brushing his bangs out of his way, revealing his tired eyes underneath. "Oh yeah, sorry. They didn't have them in the _Victorian era_, did they?_ Just watch."_

With one hand, the lad held open his eyelids, using his middle-finger to prop open his upper lid. Now what he did with his _other_ hand, truly _frightened_ the blonde boy. With that hand, with his index finger and his thumb, it looked as though he was trying to _pinch his eyeball._ Was the lad_ trying to pluck his own eye from the socket?!_

"Whoa! What the-!? Are you bloody _insane?! _What are you doing?! Ugh! _STOP IT!"_ Alois started to shout. He looked away from the other boy as he was touching his eye. He was immensely disturbed by this scene.

"What? You got a_ problem_, Trancy?" Audrey teased, while continuing in his attempt to remove the offending lens. He stopped for a only for moment to look at the blonde before continuing to bother him.

"That's _disgusting! Ugh!_ How are you_ doing _that?!" the blonde asked, shielding his own eyes from the image.

"_Got it."_ Audrey said finally. He held out the lens to the other boy. "See? You put this in and it helps you see better."

Alois stared at the strange object before him. How could some flimsy little thing _help _you see, especially when you had to put it _into _your eye? "Only in one eye?" he asked finally, as the other boy put the lens into the case after filling it with saline solution.

_ "Nope._ _There's one in the other eye too."_ Thus the boy repeated the same process on his other eye, irking the blonde lad to no end.

_ "STOP IT!"_

Naturally, the others found this quite amusing. Nothing bothered Alois. Nothing. Yet the "new kid" was able to do so simply by completing a mundane task. Even Ciel Phantomhive, the least likely of the group ever to utter a sound even resembling laughter, was amused. He looked at his blonde companion being pestered and grossed out, and simply found it hilarious.

"Audrey, _be nice."_ he said finally after about five minutes. Five minutes is far too long to keep harassing the blonde with one thing. He may become desensitized, or something.

"Fine." the boy with the peculiar eyes said, taking out his contact lens at last. After putting it back in it's case, he then retrieved the other small case he had retrieved from his bag, and pulled out his glasses. They weren't especially stylish or anything, but they made the lad look like an entirely different person.

"About_ damn _time!" the blonde boy said. "Ever think that _maybe if you didn't poke your eyes, your eyesight would be better?"_

"Nope. I'm just really nearsighted." the Baines boy replied.

"Hey, Trancy! Phantomhive! Where's Bones?" asked a voice, calling the attention of all three boys. It was Daniel, talking as he walked over to the others. "We need him to tell us how this wall should look."

"He's right here?" said the Phantomhive boy as he pointed out the lad.

"Whoa!" said Daniel, taking a step back. "I didn't even recognize you, man! Hey, hey! Kristopherson!"

"_What?"_ asked the boy in the pink tie with a very cross tone. He was busily doodling in his own sketchbook designs for the costumes.

"Look here!" the brown hair boy said, tugging on Audrey's arm and whisking him away to the area where Kristopherson was sitting. "Look at Audrey for a sec!"

In a huff, the faux-blonde closed his sketchbook and looked at the boy, brow furrowed and a frown prominent on his face. That is, until he got a good look at the lad's face. His eyes widened as he got a good look at that face. The lad's _eyes_ in particular stood out.

"Well?" Daniel asked. "_Is he your type?" _He smirked.

"So that's what this was about." Kristopherson said, turning his attention back to his sketch. "No, he isn't."

"Oh come on! I saw how your face lit up when you saw 'im!"

"Yes, but _that isn't why."_

Now both the politician's son and the boy in the skull beenie looked confused. "Then _why?" _Daniel asked finally.

"Inspiration. You'll have to wait and find out." the faux-blonde said cryptically, and with that, he ignored the others.

Back over in the realm of Phantomhive and Trancy, the duo conversed about the lad's eyes. How they were so odd-looking. Was it some sort of genetic mutation?

"No, he's _not_ a _mutant." _said the bluenette, shooting down the proposition.

"Then shat is it, _'mister knows everything cyclops of wisdom'?"_ That remark earned the blonde lad a look. Not a cross look, or a glare, but rather that of confusion, as though the bluenette was asking him what was wrong with him telepathically.

Ciel waved off the nickname after dwelling on it for a moment, deciding that it wasn't worth it. "Those are the eyes of a _grim reaper."_ he said. "The weird thing is,_ Bones _doesn't seem to _notice_ it."

"Maybe nobody _told_ him?" suggested Alois.

"Are you suggesting his parents _lied_ to him?"

_ "Precisely that._ Oh! What if he's not even a full reaper! That would make sense!_"_

_ "How,_ pray tell, would that _'make sense'?" _ inquired the Phantomhive boy.

The blonde shrugged. "Maybe he's a halfer. Maybe his human parent just got remarried and _never told him? _That could also be why you _couldn't sense _it right away."

"You're twisted _un-logic _is _astounding.._."

_ "I try_." said Alois with a grin. He turned his attention back to the set he was painting before turning back to the bluenette. "Hey Ciel, are you gonna dress up too?"

"What? No! Why would I?" the other boy said inisstantly with a blush. There was no way in _hell _that he would wear a costume.

"'Cause it'd be _fun."_ Alois said while painting his wall absentmindedly. When he opened his mouth to speak, the other lad who was painting with him inturrupted him.

_ "No,_ I will _not _wear a_ dress _with you." said Ciel, receiving a pout from his companion.

"Fine..." and with that more silence ensued. It hung around like an unwelcome guest, lingering around after a party. Who broke it? Which of the duo wasw it who made the silence leave? Shockingly, it was _Ciel. _

"Hey, Alois..." he said, waiting for the blonde to look over at him.

"What?" asked the blonde, doing just as he wanted. Instinctively, his eyes snapped shut when he saw an object flying towards him. When he opened them again, he felt something wet on his nose. Looking over at the bluenette, he saw that the lad was holding up a small paintbrush with grey paint for the castle wall set.

"_There's paint on your face." _he said wearing a smirk across his face. The look on Alois' face made him chortle a bit.

The blonde one touched the tip of his nose, and it registered just what the Phantomhive boy had done. He pouted for a moment before smirking himself. He set his brush down and walked closer to the other boy, putting his palms on both sides of the bluenette's head.

He leaned in closer, closing his eyes, and in turn, the bluenette closed his in anticipation. However, he didn't receive what he expected. No, Alois had simply given him an Eskimo kiss, briefly touching the tip of his nose to the bluenette's, thus contaminating it with the same grey. With that, he simply returned to his duties, walking back over to the section of the wall he was painting without another word, leaving Ciel very confused.

"Hey, Ciel..." he said finally, glancing in the other's direction. "..._There's paint on your face."_

The other boy furrowed his brow at having been made a fool of. He grabbed his paintbrush yet again, and walked over to the blonde. Alois looked up to see the boy, before instinctively closing his eyes again, and feeling the wet bristles brush against the area just underneath his nose.

With two simple flicks of his wrists, Ciel looked at his companion triumphantly and admired his handiwork. "_Nice Mustache." _he said.

Now it was Alois who furrowed his brow at the indignity that he had suffered. "How _very_ dare you?!" he said, picking up his own brush. "_En garde, Phantomhive!"_

Hours passed, and the end of the day came, signifying the end of work until morning came. The students had done good work that day, and the "haunted house" was off to a very good start, with the basic structure built and painted. Now all that was left was to decorate it further and rig it with traps. A certain boy of Indian descent stretched as he got up from the crouching position he had been in as he tried to reach the bottom of the walls, making sure they were not bare.

He looked over to a certain pair of boy who were also assigned to be painting, to see how much work they had done, only to see that not only did they paint the wall, but they painted _each other_. He laughed at the ridiculous sight.

Alois had a grey dot on his nose, a grey handlebar mustache, the word _"GIT"_ written across his forehead, and his dress shirt was ruined beyond all recognition. Fortunately, he had removed his tie and blazer to avoid getting paint on them, as was suggested at the beginning of the day by the Phantomhive boy, who was certainly not any better off. Ciel had been adorned with a "little" mustache by the blonde, a style that had been made famous by actor _Charlie Chaplin _and dictator _Adolf Hitler_. He also had cat whiskers and the word _"TWAT" _scrawled across his forehead, and his shirt wasn't any better off than that of the blonde.

"What the _hell _happened to you?" Preston finally asked.

Alois replied: "We had a bit of an _'accident'..."_

"_'Accident'_ is a bit of an _understatement_, actually." added Ciel.

"You two are _hopeless_." the Indian boy said with a sigh.

"_'Gentlemen, it has often been said that I like war...'"_

_ "What the hell, Alois?"_

* * *

**A/N: Alois is quoting _Hellsing_ at the end for some reason... There is no reason...  
**

**I've been asked several times if Audrey wears glasses, and now you know~! **

**CONTACTS. (bitches)**

**I actually had to put my contacts in as I wrote that in order to figure out how to describe it... I don't think it worked...**

**PAINT FIGHTS ARE ENTIRELY NECESSARY.**

**I would've uploaded this much sooner, but I had superheroes on the brain from working on "Meanwhile In An Alternate Universe", and I can't go from something _extremely_ silly to something only _moderately_ silly. It just doesn't WORK.**

**_(Kuroshitsuji Justice League_... REALLY, BRAIN?)**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**


	118. What Kind Of Cafe?

"No, we can't_ tar and feather _the guests." said a certain child actor to a certain blonde demon.

"Why not?! It would be wicked!" Alois said back, hoping to make the lad budge on this.

"_No." _So much for making him budge. Lawrence folded his arms in defiance. "We can't hurt, humiliate, or emotionally scar the guests."

"If that's all it takes to _'emotionally scar' _them, then they were pansies to begin with, and shouldn't have come at all." the blonde argued.

They were trying to come up with traps and surprises to hide in their now-fully built "haunted castle". So far, the only one spitting ideas was _Alois Trancy, _and all of his ideas were awful. (Some of them could get the school in _legal _trouble.) This was the final step they needed, and then they were done after some additional decorating, however, they were getting absolutely nowhere.

"Bucket full of spiders on a small catapult?" he asked.

"Make them _fake_ spiders, and it _may_ be possible." said Lawrence.

_ "Fine..."_

"Finally, we're getting somewhere..."

"Oh! _Oh!_ What about We pull a random person out of a large group through a secret passage in the wall?! That would _really_ freak them out!"

"_Alright. That's it_. Look, why don't you go and check on the others or something." Lawarence said, rubbing his temples. This blonde boy was really a handful. They weren't going to get anywhere with ideas if Alois keeps spouting random nonsense.

"Oh! Can I take _Ciel _with me?" asked the blonde lad in question.

"Yes, fine, whatever._ As long as he keeps you out of trouble_." That was probably a good idea, actually. With all the excitement buzzing throughout the campus, Alois was sure to get himself into something sooner or later.

Thus the bluenette was dragged into the mix. Everyone knew that wasn't the _real _reason why the blonde called for him. Alois just wanted to play with him, that's all. Still, the bluenette had to admit, that seems far more interesting than listening to a bunch of children argue. So with a swift yank of his arm, the bluenette was dragged behind the blonde as he went to go survey the area.

Since they were busy working, they hadn't had time to see how the other groups were progressing. Some were already done, even. Those were mostly food stands and game booths, though. None of the big shows were ready, which was a shame. There were musical performances by local bands and the Warwick orchestra. There were magic shows, and theatre performances, and the boys would be missing all of this while working on at the haunted house. It can be assumed that it's just one of the downsides of performing.

They walked the grounds, checking out the upcoming attractions and talking to random people. Alois didn't let go of Ciel's wrist the entire time, not that the bluenette particularly minded. In fact, being able to display out in the open that Alois was his was kind of nice.

"Hey! Trancy! Phantomhive!" a voice called out.

Turning around to face the direction of the source, the lad's found that they knew the person somewhat. She was dressed in a Warwick uniform, minus the blazer and the tie, since she was working. She had brown eyes and blonde hair that was obviously bleached, as you could see the dark brown roots peeking through the faux-flaxen locks. The girl was named Anastasia Miles; sister to Kristopherson Miles. The lass looked at the boys from the food stall that her crew was setting up, and motioned for them to come over, and with great reluctance, they did.

This particular stall was very crisp and clean, with semi-intricate detailing on the sign, and the napkins on the table folded just _so_. It was brightly coloured- well, as brightly coloured as a stand around Halloween could be, with purples and oranges, and greens, with a touch of black here and there. It had a completely different atmosphere from the other stalls, almost, but then again, looking carefully, you would also notice that this was the only stall that had only _girls_ working at it.

"_Like it?" _the Miles girl asked in a friendly manner, smiling at the two lads. It was almost completely different than how she had acted the last few times they had saw her. It was almost _disturbing._

"It looks cool." Alois said as a half-hearted compliment. The stall was impressive, but he wasn't quite sure what to say about it, as was the Phantomihive boy.

"What are you all doing here?" asked the bluenette, curious as to the odd atmosphere about the shop.

"It's kind of like one of those _Japanese maid cafe's_." Anastasia explained, only to receive confused looks from the two boys. "We got the idea from this cafe' in town, right? It's called the _Hellanic Restaurant_, and it's awesome! I haven't been anywhere like it! Anyway, waitresses in a maid cafe' all wear French-style maid outfits and serve you, attempting to recreate the feeling of being served by a maid."

"So it's a _fetish _shop?" the blonde lad asked, only to be jabbed in the ribs by his bluenette compatriot, who then added in his own thoughts.

"Why would you want to bring that here? _Most people here have maids at home_."

"Yes, but we aren't just having maids. We're also going to have witches serving and other monsters and stuff." the girl said, attempting to justify the silly concept.

"Again, a_ fetish shop?"_ Alois asked again.

"Don't be stupid! There's no way the administration would let us do something like that!" Yes, she obviously was related to her brother.

"So what you're saying is, if they would let you, _you would?!"_

The girl rubbed her forehead, realizing the hole she had just trapped herself in. With a sigh, she looked to Ciel and said: "Honestly, I will_ never _understand what either_ you, or Kris _sees in this guy..."

The bluenette shrugged. "Sometimes,_ I don't either_."

"_My stunning good looks and charming personality?" _the Trancy suggested.

_"Whatever keeps the tears away at night, Trancy_." Anastasia said, before something occurred to her. "Oh! You were really popular at the talent show last year, right?"

"Yeah, and I would've _won_ if the headmaster weren't such a_ humourless twat_."Alois said with a sneer.

"Well, why don't you work at the cafe' for a bit? I'm sure you'd drum up some business."

"Boy or girl, I'm still _well fit!" _Alois said. "Right, Ciel?" he smirked in the bluenette's direction, causing the boy to groan and look away. The blonde giggled at his response and said. "If I'm not busy with the Haunted House, I'll give it a try."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." the girl said. "Kris has been going mad trying to design costumes for _both that and the cafe'_. "

"Can he really do it_ all? " _Asked the bluenette. "What about_ after _he gets the designs done?"

"No problem. The girls agreed to make them after he gave us the designs and patterns. We're also supposed to be making the costumes for the haunted house." Anastasia said. "C'mon, Alois, I bet he'd _love _to design you a dress!"

"Only if he agrees to keep me covered." the blonde boy said. "My _vital regions _must remain protected."

"I'll be sure to tell him!" said the girl with a grin.

Another voice called. "Hey, Anna, who're you talking to?" asked another girl, busily putting up lights.

"Just Alois and Ciel!" the girl called back, turning away from the duo for a moment.

"No way! For real?" another girl asked, as more girls flocked to get a look at the two boys. All of them smiled and giggled at the sight of the pair, much to their confusion.

They weren't at all sure how to respond to all of this attention. The lads didn't even know why they were receiving it. All that they knew, is that all of these girls flocked to them after hearing their names. As to why, was a complete mystery- that is, until one girl said _it_.

_"Aw! They're so cute together!"_

_ What on earth?_ The bluenette blushed at this. Ciel's hand worked it's way into Alos', as he prepared to make a run for it. His leg muscles began to tense, and his grip on the other boy's hand tightened as the girls continued to gawk at them and mention how "cute" they were. Finally the girls apparently said it one too many times, as he suddenly yanked on the blonde's arm and led him away, which made them giggle even more.

The bluenette flet as though his face was on fire as he guided the other boy to another part of campus and away from those girls. He couldn't_ remember _the last time he had been so embarrassed. He was embarrassed when Alois would perform his usual hijinks, but that, he was now usually prepared for. At last, he stopped after they were a satisfactory amount of distance away from the strange female creatures. Perhaps that was part of the reason why he didn't choose to go out with a _girl_. He just didn't understand them at all.

"What was _that_ about?" he finally asked aloud. He was partially asking Alois, himself, and really, no one in particular.

"Dunno." the blonde replied. "Maybe those were just some of those... oh what are they called? _'Fag-hags'?"_

"_'Fag-hags'?"_ the bluenette echoed while looking at the boy questioningly.

"You know, female 'gay lovers', or something of the sort?" Alois _attempted_ to explain.

"I thought you weren't_ 'gay'?" _Ciel asked jokingly. "What ever happened to being _'bisexual'?"_

"I'm _'Ciel-sexual'."_

"I feel so_ honoured."_

"You _should._ But are you sure you just wasn't using 'getting away' as an excuse to hold my hand?" Alois teased, pointing out the fact that the bluienette still had his fingers firmly intertwined with the blonde's. Ciel really wasn't the kind to initiate such contact so casually.

As such, he flushed once more at the statement. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Isn't it perfectly _normal_ to want to hold my _boyfriend's_ hand?" the lad justified.

Alois blinked for a moment before smiling his usually silly grin. He latched onto the bluenette's arm. "Of course it is! You're usually just so hesitant in doing so."

"Well, you could start sometime too, you know." Ciel stated.

"Yeah, but since you're so _insistent_ that you're the _'man'_ in this relationship, I thought I'd let _you_ do it." the blonde replied, as they began to walk. "Unless of course, you want_ me _to..."

"_No."_ the bluenette said forcefully.

"Oh, _come on!"_

"I _refuse_ to be the _'girl', _Alois."

"Your _pride _is shoved_ way too far up your ass, _you know that?" the blonde pouted.

The bluenette answered with a smirk. "At least that's the_ only _thing I have up my ass."

"I'll have you know, that in _this_ body, I'm a complete_ virgin!" _Alois said defensively. He paused for a moment, processing his afterthought. "_Unless, of course, you're willing to_..."

Alois didn't even have to finish his sentence. He giggled as he saw the other boy's face change red, as he nearly choked on his own spit. Oh, if_ those girls _had heard that, they would be throwing a fit...

* * *

**A/N: Oh my~!  
**

**...And THAT'S how you treat a BURN.**

**"Fag-hags"... Well, obviously since they aren't exactly "anime-experts", they wouldn't get the term "Fujiyoshi", so I westernized it. Seems really rude... I'm so sorry...**

**I missed you yesterday! Sorry!**

**I meant to upload this yesterday, but I have to also be getting ready for my anime club's trip to the Arkansas Anime Festival. (Whoo! My cosplay's done. 'Murica!)**

**I had to draw the cover for our magazine-thingy that we'll (hopefully!) be selling. If you were there last year, we were selling mustaches on a stick. We'll be doing that again too. (We made enough to buy lunch! Thumbs up, everyone!) I'm also helping other members with their last-minute cosplay... I've been digging in my costume box and in my closet. I have lovingly dubbed this method "_Closplay_", as it is_ cosplay_ of the _closet._..**

**Ugh, and don't get me STARTED on this _transportation_ mess.!**

**I hope we have enough money to get in the door... *facedesk***

**Eh, so I got this done late...**

**It's a pain, but it's SO WORTH IT.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	119. My Beloved Foe

The students working on the haunted house were buzzing at what the boy in the pink tie had brought. The lad's hair was a mess, he had bags under his eyes, and he couldn't stop yawning. Obviously, Kristopherson had lost sleep working on these costumes. Still, the results were fantastic. Every costume was very high-quality, every stitch and every detail being perfect. Even the clothes that were supposedly "torn" and "mangled" were perfect in their imperfection. "Son of a fashion goddess" is _right_, he was.

Those who were working on the front lines eagerly tried on their costumes while those who were supposed to be working behind the scenes stopped for a moment and watched in curiosity. Kristopherson had a giant clothes-rack with him that was fully stocked, each costume being tagged with the name of the actor who was supposed to wear it. He stood by it and called the names of the actors, who would approach and take their costume and all of the accessories that went with it before leaving again to try it on.

The faux-blonde paused for a moment and rubbed at his eyes in an attempt to keep himself awake. He grabbed a random costume off the rack and shouted: "_Daniel! _Get your suit!" before grabbing the accessories that went with it off a nearby table.

It was a suit of armour, correlating to the castle theme, with authentic chain-mail that no doubt took ages to put together. The tunic was black with a crimson cross on it, and fake blood carefully, and strategically splattered arcoss it that made it seem like the wearer had just returned from war. It had gauntlets, shoulder gaurds and of course a sword, all fashioned from cheap, flimsy metal, but still, it looked far better than plastic ever could. What completed it, however, was the helmet of the costume. It was a standard helmet, but Kristopherson had somehow managed to make the face-gaurd look like _a skull_. This was no mere costume. This was a _masterpiece_.

Daniel seemed more than thrilled with the wardrobe, seeing as though he _immediately_ "got into character" and started swinging the not-a-weapon around like a maniac. Ordinarily, this kind of behaviour would have resulted in immediate scolding from Kristopherson, but the boy in the pink tie was focusing all of the energy had had on distributing the rest of the costumes, leaving the scolding to Lawrence.

"_Audrey!" _shouted the faux-blonde, costume and accessories in hand. The lad in the skull beenie retrieved the garb before disappearing into the dressing area.

When he came out, no one could recognize him. For starters, his hair wasn't in his face, revealing his mulitcoloured eyes, which was entirely intentional. Kristopherson made the hat he was wearing, which strongly resembled the skull of some large canine, forced his hair out of his face, as it was his eyes that sold the costume. It was a double-breasted, almost military uniform-style coat, the colour of night and trimmed with orange, with what appeared to be a ribcage wrapping around it, painted to resemble authentic bones. Audrey was now living up to his nickname, as bones appeared all over the costume. On his right shoulder was the skull of yet another unknown animal, smaller than the one on his head, and on his left shoulder rested a dueling cape, made to resemble spiderwebs, with orange-gold rope securing it to his person. While the lad didn't fit in with the knights, he looked like the master of the castle, a sort of _prince of death, _if you will. While the costume was impressive, the one wearing it didn't seem at all _confident _in it.

"Are you sure I can _really _pull this off?" he asked a certain blonde lad. Alois smiled at him and patted him on the back.

"Don't worry about it! Just_ let the character possess you_, and everything will be perfect!" he said.

_ "'Possess'?" _Audrey echoed. "So... Just imagine I'm really the person who would really wear this, mean?"

"Precisely, my skeletal friend_. You can't be scared if your character isn't_." the blonde lad elaborated. He looked up when he heard the tired boy in the pink tie call for him. He looked back at the other boy, flashing him a quick thumbs-up before walking over to retrieve his own costume.

Quickly the garb was shoved in his face, and immediately, he_ recognized _it.

"This is..." he trailed off, stunned out how this had gotten here.

"Huh? Yeah._ I based it around that ghost from the Haunted mansion we went to_. I couldn't think of anything else." Kristopherson said, busily rummaging through the clothes-rack.

Alois ran his hand against the fabric, which had "careful" blood-splatters on it as well, before stopping at a particularly big splotch on the abdomen, on the right side. "Hey... Kris..." he began.

"What?"

"Do you... know anything about that boy?" Alois asked hesitantly, suspicious at the markings on the suit. "The boy in that painting?"

Kristopherson paused for a moment before answering. "Yeah." he said. "He's got _quite _the story. _I read about it in a diary that Preston took from a desk in the mansion."_

_A diary? _What diary? "Where is it? I..." the blonde trailed off, thinking up some excuse. "...I want to know more about him, _so I can get into character_."

"Gimme a minute." the other boy said, handing out several more costumes as he did. "_It's in my bag._ Go get changed, and I'll get it for you."

Well, that was easier than the blonde thought. Usually Kristopherson would have been either suspicious, or reluctant, saying something along the lines of_ "can't you just make something up?"_ But no, today he was cooperative, probably due to the fact that he was so tired.

Alois did as he was intructed, putting on the costume and looking in the mirror. _Oh God_, that was something he_ didn't want to see again._ He wore a purple coat that stopped past the buttocks and fanned out as it did, a white dress shirt and a black bow around his neck. The vest was double-breasted and green, with black lines running vertically up and down it and a black collar, the vest itself being stained in faux-blood from a faux-stomach-wound. He didn't wear _shorts_, however. He wore dark-grey pants that tucked into his brown boots with purple bows on them. Just like on_ that _day.

That day, not a day before, or a day after, but that day, the day were his arch-rival, his foe, his nemesis, his_ now boyfriend _mortally wounded him. It was the day before that _other_ day, where he had actually_ died by the hands of his own butler_. Then that was yet another day after that, where he had possessed his former-foe's body and sought revenge on both his, and the Phantomhive lad's butler, signing another Faustian contract with his maid. It was that day that the blonde had supposedly vanished from this mortal world for good, only to wake up again in the Phantomhive boy's basement,_ nearly one hundred years later_.

All of these memories flooded into his mind as he looked at the boy in the mirror, who in turned, stared back at him, almost _mockingly_. He hated that_ face_. He hated that _boy and all that he was_.That was not him- not anymore, and yet here he was, turning up out of the blue, uninvited. Alois grew even more furious as the boy began to _cry_.

Tears silently streamed down his face, as he stared at the boy. His brow furrowed and he grit his teeth menacingly at the boy in the mirror, his face of shock and speechlessness morphing into that of resentment. The boy in the mirror, in turn, did so as well, imitating the blonde boy. Finally, Alois felt something warm and wet on his face. Putting his hand to his cheek, he realized that _he_ was crying. He_ was _the boy in the mirror.

His firey anger froze in seconds and his heart dropped. Doesn't the boy in the mirror live in the _past?_ He doesn't exist here, yet here he was. Why? Why couldn't he just stay in the past where he belonged, and leave the poor blonde alone? It was as though the boy in the mirror simply refused to die, just as Alois does now.

"Hey, Alois? You in there?" called a familiar voice, pulling him from his thoughts. It was the sound of his _beloved foe_, Ciel Phantomhive.

"Y-yeah. I was just about to come out." said the blonde shakily as he began to exit the small tent-like structure that served as a dressing room. He pulled back the curtain and came face to face with the lad, who looked just as surprised as he did.

Ciel had apparently gotten dressed in a different booth, and he too, was dressed in an outfit similar to one he would have worn in _the old days._ He wore a double-breasted, dark blue jacket with a black collar, and a black peice of fabric holding together the costume in the front and black cuffs on the wrists. He had a white dress-shirt underneath it and a blue ribbon around his neck, fashioned in a small bow. He wore pants the stopped at his ankles, and black shoes with spats. He had faux-blood splattered across his chest as though he had been in battle, and red around the cuff of his left sleeve. All of this looked_ so familiar_.

Both boys simply stopped and gawked at each other for a moment, taking all of this in. No longer, did they appear before each other as Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy: students of Warwick and couple. Now they stood as Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy: _Arch-nemeses._Were they _really,_ though? Neither of them_ wanted _to be, but that is what was seen by their memory, etched into it so carefully.

They stared at each other, taking every detail, noting what had changed, and what had not, eyes darting to various locations on the other, before both finally stopped at the other's face, whuch had only changed _slightly._ For some reason, they seemed _older_ than they had remembered.

"Alois, your eyes." Ciel said finally, noting the red puffiness around the blonde's eyes. He knew that the boy had cried at seeing himself in that get-up. He was slightly angry at Kristopherson, even though the lad had_ absolutely no way of even knowing_. Alois touched the area around his eye, feeling the slight puffiness and dampness of it before wiping it.

"_I'm fine_." he said, wiping his face with his sleeve. "I just_... I just..."_ He couldn't find it. His golden excuse that he could usually fabricate out of thin-air didn't come to him, and he stumbled over what he was going to say, only to feel a pair of arms snake their way around his waist and pull him in closer to the bluenette.

"It's alright." Ciel said in a hushed tone, as the blonde hid his face in his shoulder. "We _aren't _enemies anymore, so stop crying." He pulled back for a moment in order to look at the Alois for a moment. "You know..." he said, "While your crying face is cute too, I think you're even cuter when you _smile_."

The other boy wiped his eyes with his sleeve again, ridding the area surrounding them of water. _"That was such a sappy line.._." he said finally, looking at the bluenette and placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"I know._ See what you make me do? _You make me get all _soft _and stuff."

Alois giggled at the thought. _Ciel Phantomhive? _Getting all _lovey-dovey?_ Now _that_ was an accomplishment in itself. It was this that made it entirely obvious to the flaxen-haired teen that they couldn't still be enemies.

"So? Are we alright?" asked the bluenette finally, and a tad uncharacteristically awkwardly.

"Yeah." Alois replied. "I like you better like this, anyway. You were a_ great enemy, _but you're an _even better boyfriend_." His hands moved from the boy's shoulders to the sides of his head, pulling the bluenette in for a kiss, but as soon as their lips brushed together, they heard a _terrifying_ sound. _It was the excited squeal of a teenage girl._

They separated, looking over to see Anastasia. The girl's eyes were wide, her face red, with her hand over her mouth. "_Sorry."_ she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt_... Do you know were Kris is?"_

The bluenette furrowed his brow and cleared his throat in order to compose himself. "He was asleep inside, last time I saw him." he said.

"That _moron_. I _told _him to go to sleep and stop fussing over all the details." the girl said, with an exasperated sigh. "Thanks." she said. "Oh, and aren't _Public Displays of Affection _against the rules?" she teased, causing the bluenette's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance. Thus, she escaped into the haunted house in search of her brother.

Ciel let out an exasperated sigh as the girl left. _Why did she have to interrupt? Just when it was getting good, too._

He was pulled away from these thoughts as his blonde companion pecked him on the lips and smiled at him. Alois grabbed his companion's wrist and dragged him into the haunted house in order to make the final preparations for this evening. Warwick's Halloween Festival was only a few hours away.

* * *

**A/N: "Beloved Foe" is such a cool-sounding oxymoron, isn't it? I love that shit.  
**

**The party begins in the next chapter!**

**I'm sleepy, my duckies! **

**Like, Kristopherson sleepy...**


	120. A Battle Of Honour

_CLANG!_

The sound of metal striking against metal rang throughout the castle as the guest ventured through it. Students and guests alike screamed at the sudden surprises inside, such as the arms coming out of a painting that secretly connected to the area by the set, as actors would reach out at them with out warning. Characters would pop up out of seemingly nowhere, shouting and screaming in faux-aggression or agony as they frightened the guests.

There were also more subtle scares, such as removing the hard floor of the structure after a while, and replacing it with soft mats, concealed by fog. The foriegn and unknown texture gave off a creepy feeling. In the especially gorey sets, they hadn't replaced the floors at all, but simply made them _sticky_ for the sole purpose of disturbing people, further putting them on edge. Other "subtle-scares" involved playing with the sound, being silent in some areas, while horribly noisey in others. The latter was especially effective when guests couldn't see the source of the noises. Some rooms would be empty, yet horrible moans and groans seemed to leak out of the walls, as though the ghosts where trying to communicate indirectly.

_CLANG!_

The sound of metal striking metal was heard as the guests ventured closer to a particular room. "_Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!" _was heard over and over again, as the shadows of two "ghosts" danced along the wall as they swung their blades, trapped in eternal conflict.

When they finally entered the room, the guests who were students at Warwick gave off a sigh of relief as they recognized the two combatants, a boy in blue and a boy in violet, _Ciel Phantomhive_ and _Alois Trancy._ They certainly looked the part as they were dressed in authentic period clothing with patches of blood in realistic locations, including in the make-up on their faces. This "blood leaked from the blonde's mouth and from the bluenette's eye-patch, and they were both pale with dark circles under their eyes. The same fake blood that covered their clothes covered the floor, but there was a reason for this, which will be explained_ later._

_ CLANG!_

The sound rang out as the boys dueled with their _faux-swords_, each lad trying to best the other. They were in good spirits, choosing to think of this venture as a battle similar to the "Nerf Battles To The Death" that the lads had at home, rather than a direct enactment of what Kristopherson had read in the diary that was snatched from the Trancy manor.

Yes, _the diary-_ It supposedly belonged to a mister _Claude Faustus _who had once served the Trancy household back in the late 1800s. It described the daily life of the butler and the horrid past that the young master had faced including bits and pieces about the boy summoning a demon, leading up to the duel between the young master of Trancy and the young master of Phantomhive, the butler's betrayal of the boy, and a few days after, before abruptly stopping. The rest of the small book was left blank after those few days. The fate of mister _Faustus_ was never specified, but the young Trancy's, or rather, _Jim Macken's _seemed rather _clear._

Jim Macken had been mortally wounded by the Phantomhive boy, nearly ending his life there, but no. The boy instead forced his failing body into a carriage in order to go see his foe for some unknown reason, before it crashed, sending the boy into the woods, where his head was then crushed by _Claude Faustus_. Yes, all of this was in the diary. _Claude Faustus _was clearly a_ madman_ who _thought himself a demon, and murdered his master before being caught by police a few days later_, and is perhaps the reason that the ghost of _Jim Macken_ still haunts the grounds to this day. At least, that what _Kristopherson_ believes based on his loose knowledge of the events and concept of reality.

Nay, the poor boy in the story was _alive and well, and right underneath the faux-blonde's nose _as he reenacted his descent _back_ into the pits of _Hell_. His sword clashed against that of his adversary in a playful quarrel_ loosely based _on the account of that day. Instead this time, "Alois Trancy" would _"die" _in front of the guests as they were lulled into a false sense of security by the sight of the familiar faces playing.

The boys fought for a few minutes, watching the guests' faces in the corner of their eye. When they seemed relaxed, Alois faltered, allowing the bluenette to get the upper hand and stab the boy in the stomach. The guests gasped at the sight, watching _blood _drip onto the blade. The Phantomhive retrieved the blade from the abdomen of his foe and the blonde fell,_ clutching his wound and groaning on the floor in pain_. Ciel smiled as he delivered the final blow, stabbing the other boy in the back as he squirmed. Alois stopped moving, and Ciel turned to the guests, grinning with ominous glee. His very face emitted a sort of evil that seemed to be able to appear only in the most horrible of nightmares. He walked towards them, raising the blade and preparing to strike, when they _ran._

He chuckled a bit when they left, before turning to his companion. "_Okay, Alois. They're gone_." he said with a slight smile. He offered his hand to the other boy in case he required assistance getting up.

"_Finally."_ said Alois as he took the other's hand and stood. He removed_ a small plastic bag covered in red _before throwing it away in a nearby trash can. He reached behind a bookcase and replaced the bag with a new one, full of the fake-blood so that when he was stabbed again, _the fake-sword would pop it, giving the illusion of injury_. The floor was covered in the stuff by this point, as_ they hadn't had the time to mop up between performances._

"You're going to be covered with that stuff by the time we're done." said the bluenette.

"I already _am!_ It's probably going to turn me pink for awhile..." said the blonde with a sigh. He didn't want to be pink. Pink was _Kristopherson's _thing. Moreover, the bluenette was going to be teasing him about it without mercy.

"It'll wash off eventually, and besides, if you didn't wear those_ booty-shorts_, no one would even_ know_." said Ciel, pointing out the massive amount of the red liquid on the lad's pants.

"They aren't _'booty-shorts'! _They go down to my _mid-thigh!"_

"And that makes them_ not '_booty-shorts'?"

"_Naturally._ And don't even_ pretend _that you don't like my _legs."_

Ciel rolled his visible eye at the blonde and his silliness, and blushed at the latter half of the lad's comment. "_Whatever." _he said. "What time do we get done here, anyway?"

"I think it was like,_ eleven _or something." This news made both boys groan. They had been doing this for _hours_ now, and both boys wanted to have a look around the festival themselves. That was perhaps the _worst_ part of working on this whole project; _missing the festival._

"This is getting overly _repetitive_." said the bluenette, rubbing his forehead.

"You mean _'boring'?_ Yeah, pretty much." said Alois back. "Still, these _play-fights _are kind of _fun, _ain't they?"

"A little, I guess. Though as much as I like _winning, _ it's not really _fun_ when it's _scripted."_

"So is it a _defeat _you want?" Alois asked with a smirk.

"No, but a _challenge _would be nice." Ciel answered with a smirk of his own.

"_Right! _No holdin' back, then! _En garde!" _shouted the blonde as he advanced toward his opponent.

"_Allez!"_ the bluenette shouted back, blocking the blonde initial attack with his own sword, before swinging at him.

The blonde menace dodged the assault before swinging in the bluenette's now open-to-attack side, only to miss. Now _he_ was open to attack. Ciel took the opportunity to adjust his footing and initiate a lunging attack at the blonde, who jumped to avoid it. It seemed as though he had underestimated the lad _again._

The last time they fought with blades in a serious sense, Ciel had the _knowledge and training in the art of dueling, _while Alois simply '_winged it' _as he was doing now. Last time, the lad had his superior strength gained from his many years of hardship on the street to land strong attacks against his physically weaker opponent, but now he didn't even have _this_, as he was up against a _demon_. Now it is _the blonde_ who is the weaker one, being the "_younger_" demon of the two. That, along with his training, Ciel was a difficult adversary.

He swung the faux-blade erratically, hoping to land a hit by some bizarre stroke of luck. Maybe if he could keep up this speedy series of attacks, he could simply overwhelm the bluenette. He lunged, he attacked, he guarded, all in a very unorganized manner. In the past, unpredictable attacks like this had almost always worked when it came to both battles of might and wits. Whenever you lack either, being unpredictable can lead you to victory. Your opponent can't gain the upper hand if he can't predict your moves, right?

Finally, it seemed like he had the bluenette. The lad had allowed himself to get distracted by the guests walking into the room and unintentionally lowered his guard. Alois, however, _didn't notice them at all_, and used this moment of weakness in the other boy and went to land a touche' on the lad's chest _when Ciel ducked_. He avoided the attack and sprang forward,_ headbutting the blonde's chest and knocking him backwards_, emitting a hearty _"oof"._

When he hit the ground, the Trancy boy furrowed his brow and went for the blade that he had dropped when the bluenette struck him with his uncharacteristically silly attack. He stopped when he saw the audience watching. _How long had they been there?_

His confusion was cut off when he felt a familiar jab to his side as Ciel took advantage of the blonde's distraction, puncturing the bag of blood hidden in the lad's clothes. At the moment, he realized that they still needed to finish the show. He groaned and gurgled, grabbing the blade in his feigned-agony and "dying" when the bluenette removed it. Ciel then went through the usual routine of scaring away the guests, chasing them with his bloody blade.

When it was clear, the blonde scoffed at his companion's supposed victory. _"You only won because we needed to put on the show." _he said to Ciel, getting up and straightening his costume.

_ "Sure, _that is it _entirely_." the bluenette said. _"You could have definitely grabbed the sword that nearly flew across the room, get up, and stab me_."

_ "Sarcasm_ is _unbecoming_ of you." the blonde said, furrowing his brow.

"Sorry." Ciel said, not even bothering to tone down the gloating expression on his face. "So what time is it now?"

Alois pulled out the pocket watch that was stored safely in his costume pocket and glanced at it. "_Ten-fifty."_ he answered, dropping his sword. Ciel in turn dropped his own and walked over to the blonde.

"I'd say that's _close enough_. How about we go get changed?" he asked, pulling out a handkerchief and beginning to wipe at the unsightly make-up on his face.

"_Agreed_. Besides, this thing is _cold and wet_." replied the blonde, referring to the faux-blood that had soaked through his clothes over the past several performances. "It's bloody _freezing!"_

"That's _too bad_. And the only other thing you have ot wear is your _booty-shorts_."

"Do I need to explain again that they aren't _'booty' _shorts? _**Mid. Thigh**__."_

"Whichever makes you _feel better_."

_ "Piss off."_

_"I love you too, muffin."_ said Ciel mockingly, as he began to walk away to the backstage area. He earned a flustered look from the blonde. Not only had he been defeated in battle, but the bluenette had also _mocked_ him! He stomped after the other lad and shouted:

_ "FUCK YOU!"_

* * *

**A/N: Ciel be trollin'...  
**

**I actually think Alois feels a little inadequate in comparison to Ciel. I'd kinda like to explore that a bit...**

**Audrey, Audrey, Audrey, _Audrey!_ You guys sure are so excited about Audrey being at least part-reaper. Most reviews lately talk about _Bones._ I like that. I'm personally stoked that you're so excited about an OC, of all things.  
**

** Anyway, I have NO IDEA when I'm going to be including the _actual cannon reapers_ yet. I've been asked, and it's been requested, but I really just don't have an answer. It isn't as though I don't_ want_ them to be in here. Heavens, no! I do, but it's just that I haven't been able to_ think_ of anything for them. I have to think about how they have changed over the years, both physically and mentally, and even more importantly, a _situation _for them to appear in. I don't want them to just show up out of nowhere in a half-assed way that makes no sense. _That ain't how I roll._  
**

**If you have any ideas about this, feel free to tell me about them. It would be _so_ helpful. Just don't expect me to act on them right away. It may be a chapter, or maybe even an arc or so. Because I WRITE WHAT I WANT! Hurr durr!  
**

**As for who Audrey's _father_ is, _I don't know that either_. I don't know if it's a cannon-reaper, a random-reaper, and if the latter,_ if they'll show up at all._**

**My friends and I were talking about it, and one of them said that it's _GRELL._ He said it was _GRELL._ My immediate reaction was as follows:  
**

_**"How DRUNK was he?"**_

**It's NOT Grell... There's no way... That can't be right...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies...**


	121. An Ass-Ton Of Games

It seemed as though the festival was starting to close for the evening, but the lads still had a little over an hour to play around. Quickly, they changed from their costumes and into their regular clothes, so they wouldn't miss another moment. Upon doing so, the blonde frowned as his concern had been realized._ The red dye from the faux-blood had stained him pink._

_ Pink._ Pink was _Kristopherson's_ thing. His "wound" had "bled" profusely throughout the evening, running down not only his abdomen, but down into his lap, as well, changing the skin that was visible through the gap in between his knee-socks and his short-shorts from a pale ivory to a horrid shade of _pink._ However, the T-shirt he had chosen to wear distracted from this, with it's_ wonderful slogan_.

"_'Slutty Badass'?"_ the bluenette said aloud. He arched his brow at the phrase.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. _Daniel_ gave it to me." the blonde replied, in a bit of a sheepish manner. He thought the shirt was _funny_ when he saw it, but actually wearing it was a tad _embarrassing;_ not that he would _ever_ admit to that.

_ "Figures."_ Ciel rolled his visible eye. It seemed like something the son of a politician would do as a quick joke. "Why'd he give it to you, anyway? Was his father _'unimpressed' _with it?"

"We were talking about birthdays, and I said mine was _next month_, so he got me this so he _'wouldn't forget'."_ Alois said, grabbing onto the other's hand as they walked away from the haunted house in search of something better to do. The blonde's explanation, however, took Ciel by surprise.

_ "Your birthday's next month?" _he asked, hoping the other boy wouldn't be upset that he honestly didn't know. The subject simply never came up, so he had never thought to ask.

"Yeah. _It's on the fifth_." the blonde answered. His feelings weren't hurt at all. In fact, the subject didn't seem to interest him very much. He was busy taking in the scenery. _"I'm a scorpiooooo!" _he added, pinching the bluenette's arm with his free hand in order to playfully "sting" him.

"Ow..." the bluenette said. "I never knew that..."

"It's fine. I dunno_ yours_ either, so we're even." Suddenly, the blonde's eyes lit up as something grabbed his attention. "Ciel! Ciel! What's _that?"_ he asked, tugging at the boy's arm to get his attention and pointing.

It was a small game booth with prizes on display. Halloween-themed plush animals and such lined the walls of the inside of the booth, except for the back wall, which had a table set up against it with bottles stacked on top of each other in the back. Yes, the "milk-bottle" game. A classic. This game was obviously _rigged,_ as most of the games at festivals and carnivals and the like are. The "milk-bottles" aren't really milk-bottles. They aren't made of glass, they're usually made of some sort of resin or something so that they're too heavy to knock over, but Alois didn't know this, and immediately ran up to the booth before Ciel could convey a word of this. Either he would learn the hard way, or have to be dragged away from the booth, swearing at the top of his lungs._ The bluenette hoped that it wouldn't be the latter_.

"Hey there!" said the boy working the booth. He appeared to be an upperclassman, and he spoke nicely so that the lad would want to play. "_Three balls for a fiver, knock over the bottles, and win a prize_. What do you say?" he asked in a seemingly overly friendly manner.

The blonde looked over to the bluenette, his eyes almost _sparkling_ as he silently asked. Ciel has the money, after all. With great reluctance, his companion rolled his visible eye and reached for his wallet, pulling out the money to pay the scamming boy. You could tell just by _looking _at this guy that he was up to no good.

Alois received his ammunition and picked up one of the spheres before cocking his arm back and throwing it, only nudging on of the bottles slightly. He wasn't too pleased with this outcome. He could hear the vendor snickering a bit, and smirked.

The bluenette knew that look._ Alois had figured it out_. The blonde still had two throws left, and he was going to use them well. In fact, he only really needed _one._ Ciel smirked a bit himself, realizing what the boy was going to do. It was such an abuse of power, but it might be funny to see the scamming upperclassman's response.

Once more, Alois cocked back his arm, and released the ball, sending it hurling towards the bottles at a ridiculous speed. You couldn't see it. All that could be seen were the bottles falling over and the dent in the wood behind them that the ball had left. The blonde's smirk changed into a triumphant grin, as the vendor's cocky grin turned into a look of surprise.

"See, Ciel?" the blonde said to his companion. "I could be a pretty good _pitcher!"_

"You _wish!"_ the other boy said, taking the final ball from the blonde lad, and giving it a good toss at another stack of bottles, knocking them over in a similar fashion. He gave the blonde a smug look before turning to the vendor. "'_Three balls for a fiver, knock over the bottles and win a prize!'"_ he quoted.

"Yeah, we knocked over_ two stacks of bottles within the three-ball limit_, so doesn't that mean we _both_ win a prize?" the blonde asked innocently.

The upperclassman rubbed his forehead and nodded, allowing both boys to pick a prize. While ordinarily, one would think Alois would pick a stuffed animal, but no. He didn't after Ciel picked his prize. The bluenette had chosen a _yo-yo_, and fascinated by the device, the blonde had to have one as well.

While Ciel was able to grasp the use of the toy's rotational energy, but alas, the blonde was not. He simply couldn't fathom how the new-fangled invention of the 1920s worked! He tried to copy the bluenette's flick of the wrist, but failed every time._ What a stupid toy_.

Either way, he had his chance at the next booth, as they both continuously won. They weren't _cheating_ though. No, games have a certain amount of _skill, _involved, right? The boys simply had the "natural skill" to play the games, and the had one _hell_ of a time doing it.

By the time the festival ended for the day, their arms were full with prizes. They could hardly carry them all. While the bluenette would ordinarily not waste money on such "ridiculous" or "useless" entertainment, it was worth it. The blonde somehow had a way of bringing out the _kid _in Ciel.

When they walked to the car, the man behind the wheel looked thoroughly surprised, but that quickly changed to amusement. "Did you have a good time, My lord?" asked Sebastian, smiling as he managed to somehow fit all of the items in the vehicle.

Ciel immediately tried to straighten himself. He was funny about that. It was as though he was afraid of being mocked for being childish by the man or something. He cleared his throat and said a simple "_I suppose so."_

His companion couldn't help but giggle at that. The bluenette's over-whelming sense of pride was almost _humourous_, sometimes.

"We_ scared children_, ate_ unhealthy foods_, and _played an ass-ton of games_, I'd say that was pretty fun." said Alois, giving the man clad in black a thumbs-up.

Sebastian looked in the rear-view mirror at the blonde and asked "Exactly _how much _is an _'ass-ton', _Alois?"

"Well, I guess that all depends on _the size of the ass_, Sebastian." the blonde replied quite seriously, which caused the bluenette beside him to snort while trying to hold in his laughter. Sebastian chuckled at them both as he turned his attention back to the road.

The first day of the festival was now over, and two more days remain...


	122. Provocative Attire

_ "Nngh_!" The blonde cried out. He filled the room with similar cries, and grunts, and other noises as he panted hard. This hurt a lot more then he thought it would.

"This would _hurt_ a lot less if you would just _relax _and _stop squirming_." the bluenette replied, his face dyed with a deep blush from the _sounds the blonde was emitting_ and from the _very sight of him like this._ This was_ Alois' idea _in the first place, wasn't it? He just _got caught up in the moment _and went with it. There certainly wasn't _any holding back now_.

"_Could you at least try and be a little more gentle?!"_ the blonde asked, briefly pausing to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"No. I want to get this over with as quickly as possible _before anyone else hears us _and gets the_ wrong idea_..."

"It's no_ my _fault_ Kristopherson designed this dress _with a bloody _bodice!"_ the blonde said with another grunt as the bluenette pulled the strings again to tighten it.

A _bodice,_ for those who may not know, looks much like a_ backwards corset _in that it's strings tie in the _front_ rather than in the _back._ While they were in a more convenient location, the blonde lad still needed help tightening them, and the bluenette was automatically volunteered for the task. The noises that came from the dressing room gave many of the girls at the so-called "Maid Cafe'"_ a lot to think about_, even though they _knew_ what was _really _happening.

It was too early for the Haunted house to be open at the moment. It usually opened during the evening around sunset, so in the mean time, the lad's had promised to help the girls at the cafe', and Alois had a maid uniform of his very own to don.

It had a white shirt with a neckline, and a black vest like thing that hung at the blonde's shoulder's and connected to his short, black skirt. The vest-like thing was covered by the white bodice that the two boys had been trying to force on the blonde for the past few minutes, allowing only a bit of the black on his shoulders and chest to show, and had his apron coming out from underneath it. He wore a blonde wig with long, twin pig-tails and the standard maid head-piece, and black pantyhose. This maid uniform was a bit more... _provocative_ than the one Ciel had seen him wearing when they first met face-to-face.

Finally, he tied the string and released the blonde before leaving the dressing room. He jumped when he saw the girls smiling at him and staring with a slight pink hue in their cheeks.

"_Girls can be such perverts..."_ he thought, contrary to his previous notion that he was raised with_: "Girls_ being _delicate little flowers _who are_ pure _and _innocent _while_ boys _were _rough, rowdy_, and straight up _brutes_ that no girl was _safe _against." With time, he has come to realise that this is absolute _rubbish_, and _girls could be every bit as perverse _as any _boy_ could. It made him question what lurked within the mind of his cousin _Elizabeth _when he was human.

He was pulled from his thoughts when the sound of the door opened and Alois walked through in his outfit. The air seemed to disappear from the room as the girls all gasped at the sight, thoroughly pleased, nonetheless.

Alois stuck his hip out in a effeminate manner and placed his hand on it. "Hi! I'm _Eloise Trancy!" _he said in a high-pitched voice, causing the "other" girls to giggle at his silly antics. Ciel crossed his arms across his chest and looked away, feigning disinterested, much to the blonde's amusement.

While he found the bluenette's shyness to be quite adorable, he couldn't help but feel _uncomfortable_ in the clothes. It certainly wasn't because cross-dressing suddenly embarrassed him. No, the problem wasn't the _cross-dressing_ part of it. It was the _over-sexualized nature _of the costume that unsettled him. While the idea of dressing up in a maid's outfit and parading around in it was funny to him, the fact that the point of this was to be _eye-candy for a bunch of men _unnerved him. He shuddered a bit at the unpleasant memories.

Noticing this, Ciel looked up and cleared his throat. "_No way."_ he said in an assertive voice. "There is absolutely _no way _you're going out there in _that."_

The blonde's eyes widened in surprize at the statment, and the girls surrounding the scene whined in protest. "Oh _come on_, Phantomhive!" said one of the girls. "He's already wearing it!"

"Yeah, and everybody worked really hard on that dress!" said another.

_ "I don't care. It's not happening_." the bluenette said plainly, not giving them a single inch to work with. If he didn't care about what they had to say, there was no argument. It was as simple as that. He smiled slightly at the blonde to reassure him a bit. It was so slight that you would only know it was there if you looked for it. Alois immediately caught on and thanked the boy internally as he fidgeted with the edges of his apron.

"Ladies, calm down." Anastasia spoke up. "_If Ciel doesn't want to share his boyfriend with other guys, that's their business, and we have no right to interfere_." Oddly, she was the voice of _reason- _that is, until she opened her mouth again and made Ciel wish she had just kept it shut. _"He has first dibs on Alois' body_, after all."

The eyebrow of the bluenette twitched in irritation at that last remark as the flush on his face came back as he heard the girls giggle. "Fag-hags" was _right. _He took a deep breath in order to compose himself before speaking.

"_That's not it_." he said. "I simply don't want him to go out there and _embarrass himself."_

"It's okay to be _jealous,_ Ciel. We were just_ messing _with you." the Miles girl said to the boy in the eye-patch with a grin. The bluenette opened his mouth to dismiss the claim, but the girl just continued talking. "We have a spare_ butler uniform _if you'd like. It was made for someone else, but they never showed up._ Kris _can probably make a few adjustments if he needs to."

"I can deal with that." said the blonde lad. "That is, if my master agrees to it." He curtsied in the direction of the bluenette giggling at his response. The boy simply waved his hand at Alois in a way that seemed to say "_That'll do."_

"It's settled then. Sarah, go get the butler costume." Anastasia said to one of the girls, before placing her hands on her hips and looking around for a moment. "_Where is Kris, anyway?"_

Ciel and Alois looked at each other questioningly. They had no idea that Kristopherson was supposed to be there. The faux-blonde's sister looked amongst the group of girls clad in maid uniforms, before grabbing the arm of a girl with long blonde hair.

"Ah-_hah!"_ she declared. "Thought you could _hide,_ huh?!"

"Y-y-you didn't tell me_ they _were going to be here!" the girl replied in a somewhat _low,_ and panicky voice as she attempted to escape the grasp of the Miles girl.

"I didn't think it was important information. C'mon, we need your help!"

"_Anna! Let go!"_

_ "Quit being such a baby!"_

The demonic duo tilted their heads in confusion at the scene. Finally, is dawned on them. The blonde spoke up.

"_Krisopherson?" _he asked, and the "girl's" face turned dark red and "she" looked away, confirming the lad's suspicion. It_ was _the faux-blonde himself, _Kristopherson Miles_. He was wearing a french-maid outfit and a wig._ He had completely disappeared into the group of girls_.

_ "Y-yes?" _he answered back, trying to remain calm, but failing miserably. Alois inhaled.

"Dude looks like a lady~!" he sang, trying to break through the absolute awkwardness of the situation.

_ "You're_ one to talk! _Look what you've got on_, you bloody pillock!" the other boy dressed in drag shouted while pointing at the other accusingly.

"Yes, but _I'm_ going to change into a_ butler _outfit."

"Only because_ Phantomhive made you!"_

_ "Not true!_ I don't feel comfortable wearing this! _It's too much!"_

"_Bullshit!"_

_ "Ladies, _please, break it _up." _said the bluenette, clapping his hands to get their attention. It had taken him a moment to recover from the shock of seeing Kristopherson like this. He knew the lad was _gay_, but _this _was entirely new and unexpected. He had thought the lad had a bit more shame than that. While some of his Victorian values had changed, as I mentioned earlier, some things never do. "You're giving me a_ headache_."

"I'm surprised you don't get one_ everyday _because of Alois." said the boy who usually wore a pink tie.

"Are you just going to ignore the fact that he called you a 'lady'?" asked Alois. "Or do you prefer being referred to as such?" he added teasingly.

Kristopherson furrowed his brow. "I do _not!_ What about _you? _Why are _you_ always in drag!?"

"It's _fun_ on occasion. _You?"_

_ "I like clothes._" he said. "Clothes don't have a gender, so I just wear what I_ like_."

"It's true!" butted in the faux-blonde's sister. "Sometimes, he takes stuff from_ my _closet!"

_"ANNA!"_

"Fair enough." Alois said with a shrug. "I'm going to get changed. This thing is bloody _freezing!"_

"If you need any help, I'm sure _Ciel_ will be_ glad _to help~!" the girl called after the boy, ignoring the glare from the bluenette.

"You're such a _fag-hag_, Anna..." Kristopherson muttered. He couldn't believe his sister would do all of this. Invite the demonic duo over to help, not tell him, then proceed to embarrass him.

"I blame_ you_." the girl said with a grin.

Her interest was peaked when the lad had first confessed that he was in fact, gay. She has been fascinated by the LGBT community ever since; a fascination, that has since spread to her friends, and then their friends. The idea of two men together was considered "taboo" in society, thus making it_ even more _interesting. These were only _some _of the factors that contributed to this. Kristopherson rubbed his temples to fight off his inevitable headache. He really didn't understand why it was so_ interesting _to these girls. To him, it was simply "_normal"._

Finally, the curtain to the dressing room was pushed to the side, revealing the blonde lad fully dressed in a three-peice butler suit very similar to that of Sebastian. But then again, _aren't most butler uniforms similar? _He was currently attempting to tie the tie as he exited the changing booth, but failing miserably. He wore a tie with his school uniform every day, but his usual purple tie was a _zipper tie, _which only gave the_ illusion _of being an _actual_ tie.

Kristopherson rolled his eyes and walked over to the boy before shoving his hands out of the way and tying the thing, getting it perfect on the first try. He ignored the ice-beam that Ciel was currently firing at the back of his head; a thing that amused his sister rather muchly. The faux blonde turned and looked at the bluenette before putting his hands up in a surrendering position, and backed away from the blonde lad. He wasn't going to step on another of the blluenette's _possessive nerves_.

Alois tucked the black tie into his vest. "You'd make a good_ wife _one day, Kristopherson!" he remarked teasingly before walking over to the bluenette.

"What!? I will be no one's _wife!" _the boy in the maid uniform said objectively. "I'm not like _you,_ Trancy!"

"I do believe that is a lie! You just scream _'catcher'!"_ the girls in the room emitted a series of "oohs" before erupting into a fit of giggles as Kristopherson's face turned red again for one of the many uncountable times that day. Wait, why do those girl's even know what that _means?!_

He furrow his brow and nearly snarled at the comment. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Ciel. The bluenette looked to the blonde.

"Alois, you're supposed to be a _butler,_ right?" he asked.

The blonde tilted his head in response. "Yeah?" he said.

"Then I _orde_r you to_ stop picking fights with Kristopherson_." Ciel said in an authoritative manner, almost as if he were trying to command_ everyone _in the room and not just Alois.

With his right hand over his chest, the blonde gave a slight bow. "_Yes, my master." _he said with a smirk.

"_Bow chika wow-wow!" _called one of the many girls, causing the rest of them to giggle. The lad wearing the eye-patch frowned deeply at the this.

"I _also_ order you to _stop calling me that in public!" _he said at the other boy, pointing his finger at the boy.

But it was only taken in the blonde's hands, held tightly so it couldn't escape. "Only in _private_ then?_ Understood_." Alois said. His attempt of saying that with a straight face was foiled by the smile that was so mercilessly tugged at the corners of his lips.

Now it was the bluenette's turn to turn red. The blonde's words held an embarrassing implication that made the boy also have to internally fight off his own_ thoughts_. He couldn't help but finally allow it to register how good Alois looked in his suit. He was appealing in his maid uniform as well, very much so, but now he was appealing in a_ different _way. Unlike with the maid uniform, the bluenette had accidentally lowered his guard since it was semi-ordinary men's clothes, and allowed his mind to wander- Something he dared not to do with the maid uniform. In fact, he didn't even dare to_ look _at the boy while dressed like that. Not while Alois was showing so much _skin._ He had nearly _lost it _while helping the blonde boy put the garb on.

Alois in this outfit held a certain amount of masculinity to him that was usually absent from the lad, with hm almost always wearing a pair of "booty-shorts" and such. Now he was all dressed up and eager to please. If Alois was going to act like a butler and take orders, Ciel wondered what _else _he could order the blonde to do.

He nearly had to smack himself to escape from going there. The palm of his hand met his forehead, causing the other lad to smirk a bit. "_You moron_..." the bluenette muttered.

"If you'll excuse me, _sir,_ customers are starting to come in, and I am needed." the blonde said, copying Sebastian's demeanor to some extent. He let go of the other boy's hand and went to the front of the cafe' with a few of the girls, leaving the bluenette with his thoughts.

Ciel was still inwardly kicking himself for allowing himself to think like that. Some values don't change, and the lad from the Victorian era had a hard time letting some of them go. He sat in a chair against the wall and continued to think this way until he realized he was being stared at.

Anastasia snorted while trying to contain herself. She nearly lost it about how flustered the boy was. She too had allowed her mind to wander to parts unknown.

The bluenette boy furrowed his brow and tried to straighten himself up. These girls were so strange. Never before had he encountered women like these before.

_These fag-hags..._

* * *

**A/N: Oh my~!  
**

**Make ALL the Yaoi jokes!**

**Ciel has a dirty mind, apparently. _A teenager? Thinking dirty thoughts?! WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!_**

**Just another reminder: There will be no smut in this fic. _If_ anything happens_ at all,_ I'll cut to a different scene... **

**A smut-writer, I am not... I just don't have it in me... Fill that shit in with your imagination... Like Ciel does now...**

**And THAT'S the Phantomhive way~!**

**We good?_ Just checkin'. _I don't want anybody goin' like: "_Where's the porn?!_" or something...**

**C'mon! You're on fanfiction and have NEVER peeked at an M-rated fic at least ONCE?**

**You_ liar..._**

**C'mon, guys, we're _buddies._ We can be _honest_ with each other...**

**_Because I love you... _(in a completely platonic way)**

**Next chapter will either be Alois waiting tables, or the last day of the festival. I haven't decided yet...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	123. One Hell Of A Butler, You Are Not

It was noon on the second day of Warwick Academy's annual Halloween Festival. The booths that served food were completely packed, as such. Especially for a certain "maid cafe'." People were curious as to what that was, so they flocked to it to see it for themselves. There was even a line to get inside!

It was all hands on deck as every maid (and butler) on staff were scrambling to get customers seated, served, and sent on their merry way so that they could repeat the process again and again. It didn't help that there were many large parties of guests all seated at one table, for several tables. Large groups like that like to sit for awhile after eating to chat, making it difficult to get the next party seated. The person who stayed the longest though, was a petite boy wearing an eye-patch seated at a table for one.

He had been there for a few hours, reading, chatting with a certain blonde butler when the boy wasn't busy, and occasionally pausing to drink his tea. He was on his third or fourth cup and was getting bored, so he entertained himself by watching the crowd. This was somehow fascinating in a way similar to that of the feeling you get when watching fish swim around in an aquarium. His visible eye occasionally focused itself on the blonde butler that he was so fond of, only to avert it's gaze when the other boy noticed him watching.

However, this activity could be very _annoying _sometimes. He wasn't too fond of watching girls flirt with Alois- _his_ Alois. He watched as the blonde chatted with them while taking their order, treating them nicely, only to be pulled back into the conversation when he tried to leave to give the order to the kitchen.

It was odd how the blonde talked to them. It was very_ fake _to the bluenette's ears. For starters, his very _accent_ was different. Ciel was used to hearing the blonde speak with an odd sort of blend between Northern and Southern English as of late, but now he was speaking as he did when they first met, sounding like an aristocrat. He had completely forgotten about that. The blonde must have had some sort of training to be able to do that, in order to pass himself off as the _legitimate_ Alois Trancy. Bits and pieces of their conversation could be heard by the bluenette with his superior hearing, and he was annoyed at how often the blonde was asked_ what he was doing later _or_ when did he got off work_. When the question came up of _whether or not he was single_, however, the bluenette found the girls' reactions to be amusing when the blonde answered, "No, I have a_ boyfriend_." A smirk appeared on the bluenette's face at those words. He could also tell by the look in the boy's eyes, that he had thought it was funny too.

At last, Alois made his way over to Ciel's table. He dodged being pulled into yet another long-winded and pointless conversation by the other customers. He placed his hand on the table's surface and leaned against it with a prominent, and somewhat _comical_ frown on his face.

_ "I dunno how much more of this I can take_." he said with his usual demeanor. It was somehow _nice_ to see the real Alois again.

_"Whatever do you mean?" _asked the bluenette with obvious sarcasm. He took another sip of his tea as he did so.

"I _mean _these damn girls! If I get asked '_what are you doing later' _one more time, I might _throw up_." Alois said, imitating the girls' voices while quoting them.

"_Try not to do it on the customers_." said Ciel. "I thought you _liked_ attention?"

"Not _all_ attention is_ good _attention."

"Getting in trouble all the time counts as _'good' _attention?"

"Ciel, you should be fully aware by now that we both have very _flexible_ definitions of _'good'."_

"Well, I can't argue there." said the bluenette taking another sip of his tea. "_Refill?"_ he asked, holding out the teacup with a slight smirk.

With a roll of his eyes, the blonde took the cup and saucer and uttered a quick, playful "_Yes, my master_" before disappearing once again into the crowd.

Then, all that Ciel had to do again was watch the ocean of people once again. His eye would occasionally find something of mild interest and focus onto it for awhile before that got boring to him and he scanned the crowd again for something new. Finally, his eye focused on Kristopherson in_ his _maid outfit, and he had to admit, the faux-blonde made a _surprisingly convincing_ girl- that is, until you remembered _what he was packing underneath his skirt._

The lad even spoke in a higher pitch than normal, and the customers seemed to _actually believe _it. _One man_ in particular seemed to by convinced. When Kristopherson walked by, he slapped the lad on the rear, causing him to squeak in surprise and drop the tray he was carrying. He looked up and the _now laughing _man and his friend, brow furrowed and face red. How dare that guy do that to him?! Never before had Kristopherson been so humiliated and felt so violated in all of his life.

It was his turn to laugh however, when the man's eye's widened in surprise and he jumped, grabbing his now_ burning _scalp, covered in hot tea. Standing behind his chair, was Alois, and in his hand was an_ empty teacup_. The blonde smirked.

"Oh, I'm _so sorry!" _he said in fake innocence, placing the cup back on it's saucer. "_My hand slipped."_ Ciel even chortled at that. "I'll get you a towel right after I give this customer his tea."

Alois went back and got a new cup of tea, new cup and everything, as the man sat fuming in his wet clothes. The blonde then casually brought the tea to the bluenette's table. "Sorry 'bout that. _Your tea was a victim in my petty revenge_." he said to the eye-patch-wearing boy, setting the cup down.

"I don't think it was _'revenge', _per se. I think it was more along the lines of _'defending a friend_'." Ciel replied.

"Ew, you make me sound _nice!"_ Alois said, making a disgusted face.

"You _are_ 'nice' when you _want_ to be."

"I guess I'm simply _not trying hard enough!"_

"You don't have to _try_, Alois..."

"So you _admit_ I have _skills?"_

"I _admit _that you're an _idiot_." said the bluenette, taking a sip of his tea. Alois watched him do this for a moment before it began to confuse the bluenette. "_What?"_

"I was just wondering..." Alois began, "...Demons don't need to_ pee_, right? And you just drank several cups of tea, _so where does it all go?"_

Ciel almost did a spit-take at the ridiculous question. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "What kind of question is that?!" he asked.

"The kind that keep me up at night..."

"Demons don't need sleep, either..."

"But _why?"_

The bluenette rubbed his temples. He had no idea why. It was just that way. He looked up at the boy and said: _"I will inform you when we learn about it in demonic biology class."_

"Oh, now you're just being a_ smartass_." the blonde said with a pout.

_"Don't you have to give that man a towel after dumping tea on him or something?"_

"Nah. I was just going to '_forget_'." Alois replied, putting air quotations around the word, "forget". He never had any intention of doing so from the very start. "I'd rather stand here and talk to you."

"Shouldn't you be _working?"_

"What are they going to do, _fire me? _I'm _so_ scared, Ciel. I'm a bloody_ volunteer_."

With a sigh, the bluenette had run out of arguments. There really wasn't any point in arguing with the blonde. He slouched in his chair, and just let the boy do as he pleased. He was getting bored with sitting alone anyway, and Alois had already pulled up a chair and sat in it.

"I'm _bored." _he whined.

"Then go back to work." said Ciel.

"I don't wanna! Talking to_ random whores _is _boring!"_

"They aren't_ whores_, Alois..."

"Oh yeah..." the blonde said, as though he had gotten the other lad's point. "_Whores_ get _paid_. I guess they're just_ sluts, _then."

Ciel covered his mouth with his hand and tried to hold in his laughter at that. Why was this blonde boy able to make him laugh so easily? He had somehow crept his way between the cracks in the bluenette's heart, made him fall in love with him, and now Alois was making him laugh, and laugh often. The blonde grinned at this reaction he had forced from the other lad.

"Why do you always hold in your laugh? You should laugh more often!" Alois said, leaning across the table to touch the other boy's arm.

"I don't know anymore. I just _do_." replied the bluenette. Before, he would say that "he has forgotten how to smile properly", but apparently, Alois had reminded him. It was most likely remnants of this philosophy and his overwhelming sense of pride that rendered him incapable of laughing with his hand away from his face, if he failed to keep it from escaping his throat at all, or admit to having fun.

"Well, cut the crap, Phatomhive! The hell is _wrong _with you?" the blonde said jokingly, putting his hands up in the air.

"You know _exactly _what's _wrong_ with me." he said with a slight smile. He looked up, past the blonde boy and raised an eyebrow at what he saw.

Behind Alois was Anastasia, fully dressed in a maid costume, with her arms folded and a nasty look on her face, that was so exaggerated that it was almost comical. She directed her irritation at the back of the blonde's head, it was surprising that it hadn't_ burned _him put a hand on his shoulder.

"Alois, what are you _doing!?" _she asked. "_GET BACK TO WORK!"_ She pinched the blonde by his ear and forced him to stand up.

"Ow, ow, ow, OW!" the blonde said as he was being dragged away by his ear. _"Wait for me, my loooooooooove!" _he shouted to the bluenette at the table.

This time, Ciel was laughing with his hand _away _from his face. Yes, _progress is good._

* * *

**A/N: Damn dirty spell-check! It keeps saying words I _know_ are words aren't words, and words I _know_ are spelled correctly aren't.  
**

**"Colour" is correct, you piece of shit! **

**I keep have to click "learn spelling" in order to make the red lines go away! It's hard to do a spelling and grammar check when the misspelled words are mixed in with the correctly spelled ones! BLARGH! TECHNOLOGY!**

**Speaking of words, I get tired of typing the words "the", "blonde", and "bluenette" over and over again, as well as another long list of words,, but listing them all off would be a chapter within itself! I also don't like beginning every paragraph with a name, or a description of a character in order to refer to that character in order to describe what they're doing, then cycling to _another_ character and describing what _they _are doing, repeating this over and over again. It's a little pet-peeve in writing to see that. "Ciel *insert action here* Alois *insert action here* Ciel *insert action here* The blonde *insert action here*". I'm not sure why that bugs me so much, but it just _does._  
**

**Meh, anyway, until the next chapter, my dear sweet little duckies...**


	124. Masters Of Monsters

It was the evening of October the thirty-first, and Warwick Academy's annual Halloween Festival was in full-swing, as it was every evening thus far. Tonight, however, the place was packed, as children dressed in costumes ran about, collecting candy that the vendors would hand out just for the night. It was probably to worst night to be there, as everyone was there. One woman in particular was annoyed.

She looked to be in her early thirties, with tanned skin that didn't seem to go with her flaxen hair, and she wore a black pants-suit with a red ascot, round spectacles, and an eye-patch on her left eye, just as a certain bluenette does on his right. Unlike the boy, however, she was simply missing her left eye, not covering up a contract, let me just clear that up right now. The woman had an air of authority about her, and with her was a_ certain draculina _that we had met before. Yes, her name was_ Sir Inegtra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing_, the head of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization.

She lit up a cigar, even though they were in a semi-crowded area, not caring about that fact because she was annoyed. Why did she have to be_ busy _the first two nights of the festival? Why couldn't she have moved her work to today, so she could have gone on one of the previous nights when it wasn't so crowded? It was too late for that now, and she pressed onward. The woman didn't have even the slightest interest in the festival itself. What she was instead interested in was _two specific demons _who were said to be working at the haunted house this evening. She was going to use the festival as an excuse to speak with the two since the Phantomhive boy was always _"busy"_ when she tried to schedule an appointment with him. The _coward_.

"It's really crowded tonight, huh?" asked the draculina, also known as _Seras Victoria_. Usually, she wasn't one to point out the obvious, but she felt as though she should say _something_.

"_Don't remind me_." said the older woman. She could just _feel _a headache slowly trying to grow inside of her skull. "I'm honestly surprised that Phantomhive would participate in something like _this_." Remembering the boy, she knew the lad to have always been rather _serious._ It was odd that he would involve himself in a _festival _of all things.

As they walked to the haunted house, the crowd seemed to part in from of Sir Hellsing, allowing her room to walk. She had that sort of prescence, you see. Although he would never admit it, even Ciel felt a bit intimidated by her aura. Perhaps _that _is why he didn't like her very much.

They paid the boy with the strange, multicoloured eyes at the front of the house and went inside. Odd, how it was the _draculina_ who jumped at the small scares the house had to offer, while her "master" didn't even flinch. While Seras was enjoying herself, the older woman was there spcifically on business. Finally, they neared a certain room from which the sounds of metal striking metal could be heard echoing throughout the twisting hallways that seemed to creat a maze. Upon entering that room, they were greeted with the sight of two boys, one in blue, and one in violet, fighting with blades.

At the exact moment the two women entered the room, Ciel froze, and his face went pale. He didn't have to look, he could sense the other two. His "foe" furrowed his brow in confusion at the bluenette's sudden actions, and looked over and saw them in the corner of his eye.

"_Seras!"_ he said, greeting the older-looking blonde woman with a big smile. Miss Victoria smiled back and waved, while the woman next to her puffed on her cigar with a disinterested face.

"Well, it appears that the show is ruined, now that you've_ broken character_, Alois." said the bluenette boy with a sigh, lowering his weapon.

"Oh, _sorry..." _the other lad said with a slight giggle.

"I never expected I would see_ you here _of all places, _Sir Hellsing_." said Ciel, turning his attention to the other eye-patch-wearing aristocrat in the room, causing the blonde to follow his eye and turn pale upon realizing who the woman was. She was the one who Ciel claimed to be "The biggest monster at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G."

"Neither did_ I." _the woman replied to the bluenette. "But I couldn't get hold of you when you weren't_ 'busy'_, so I thought I would simply stop by and pay you a visit at work. Am I not allowed to participate in a _public_ event?" The manner with which she spoke to the boy made his eyebrow twitch.

"Not at all, however, I am a bit surprised that they let you in while _smoking_." the boy replied. It was as though they were trying to out-authoritate each other.

"Really? No one said anything about it."

"Perhaps they were_ too afraid _that you would _shoot _them_. Concealled weapons _on a _school campus?_ Are you itching for a _fight?"_ said Ciel, pointing out the fact that Integra always carried a gun on her at all times. This wasn't helping the blonde calm down at all.

"Oh _no._ I just bring it with me so I can_ frighten demonic brats such as yourself_." the woman said with a smirk.

Ciel scoffed and folded his arms across his chest indignantly. He glared daggers at the blonde boy for_ giggling _at the woman's remark. "Why are you _really_ here, Hellsing?" he asked.

"Like I said, I couldn't get a hold of you otherwise, and _I wanted to see you new little familiar for myself_." the woman clarified. She turned her attention to the rather unnerved blonde boy. "Is this him?" she asked.

"Yes, this is him." the bluenette answered, watching the frightening woman's every movement.. "This is _Alois Trancy_."

"_Hmm..." _She continued to puff on her cigar, examining the boy for a moment. He straightened himself, and withheld the sudden urge to salute for whatever reason. After a moment, the woman finally spoke again. "'Alois'." she said. "What is your _real_ name?"

Alois jumped a bit at the question. He was a bit confused as to why Sir Hellsing would ask that. It was a bit odd, but he answered anyway.

"I-it's '_Jim Macken'..."_ he answered.

"_'Jim Macken'?"_ she echoed. "Is _'Jim' _sort for _'James'?"_

"No ma'am, it's just _'Jim'."_ He was being unusually polite today. The bluenette found it odd, hearing "_ma'am_" come out of the blonde's mouth. He simply couldn't help it. He just felt compelled to do so.

Sir Hellsing paused before turning her attention back to the Phantomhive boy. "He looks like a_ weak _one. I don't see what _possible use _you could have for him." she said plainly.

"I was _bored_." the bluenette said back. "He may not_ look _like much, but he can certainly hold his own when he needs to. I would_ appreciate _it if you wouldn't speak of him in that way." His visible eye was locked on the woman's. It seemed as though he was firing a beam of ice at her, while she was blasting a beam of fire at him. Seras was right, they were quite similar...

Speaking of the draculina, she stood off to the side, laughing nervously at the eye-patched duo's battle of will. Finally, she turned her attention to the blonde boy. "I think you'll be _fine." _she whispered to him. "She doesn't find you threatening."

"I know, but why does that_ bruise my ego _a bit?" Alois whispered back. He didn't well care for being called "weak" or "useless". He often found himself feeling inadequate in comparison to the bluenette.

It has always been that way since "back in the day", as well. Ciel was born rich, while Alois was born poor. Ciel had family and friends who cared about him, Alois had lost his, and they remained lost without anyone coming forward to fill their place. Ciel had demons fighting over his soul, Alois' had abandoned him to do so. Ciel had a commanding and powerful personality, and Alois was considered whiny, clingy, hungry for attention, and meek in comparison. Yes, Ciel was so perfect in comparison to the blonde- at least, that's how the blonde had perceived it.

The Phantomhive boy truly was worthy of the blonde's envy in every way. He was radiant, he was beautiful, he was invincible to any force that opposed him, remaining untouchable to any misfortune, walking forever forward into the unkind world that greeted him. That is what Alois _loved _about him; what he _hated_ about him. _Ciel Phantomhive_ was a magnificent foe, and _Alois Trancy- _no, _Jim Macken_ wasn't even _worthy_ of being his adversary. "_The Green Monster", "Invidia", "Envy"; _all are the same, but none are a kind friend.

The blonde frowned at the statement given by the Hellsing woman. He had felt as though once again, he was shown up by the Phantomhive lad, yet again. He wanted Sir Hellsing's approval, his very existance depended on it, after all, however, he also wanted to one day walk amongst those _giants _that he envied so and this certainly wasn't a very good start.

He snapped back to attention when Sir Hellsing spoke in his direction again. "As long as you remain loyal to her Majesty, I don't really _care_ what you do." she said. He hadn't caught the conversation of the two cyclopes, but nodded anyway._"Just don't do anything stupid."_ she added for good measure before turning on her heel and heading for the exit. "Let's go, _Seras."_

"Yes _sir!" _said the draculina before rushing to follow her master. She waved goodbye to the demonic duo before the two women dissappeared, supposedly off to terrorize the undead.

Ciel kept his eye on them until they did, before giving a sigh in relief. He ran a hand through his hair in order to try and shake off some of the stress from the "visit"._ That woman actually kind of scared him._

"Sorry about that." he said finally, turning to his companion. "Don't pay anything she said much mind. She likes to belittle _everyone."_ The boy remembered almost every encounter he had with the fearsome woman. He shuddered at the memories of being mocked and toyed with in a way similar to that he himself had done to so many people before she was even _born_.

"Maybe so, but she's right about_ one _thing: I _am_ pretty _weak_." the blonde said softly with a sort of melancholic smile.

The statement made the bluenette raise his eyebrows in surprise. He didn't even have to ask why he felt weak. He already knew, because he knew the blonde and how he was, how he _is._He furrowed his brow and sighed, taking a moment to sort out what he was going to say.

"Listen, you aren't_ weak_." he said. He swallowed his pride for a moment and spoke. "If some ways, you're even stronger than _me_."

"I appreciate the thought, but_ let's get real_. There is_ no way _I can beat you, and that is that." the blonde replied, making gestures with his hands. Here Ciel was, throwing away his pride for a moment, and the blonde just shook it off? How dare he?!

"It's true!" Ciel argued, startling the other boy a bit. "Even after everything that happened to you, after crawling out of _hell_... you..." the bluenette's voice went soft for a moment. "...Had the strength to _smile_ again... You might not think that's much, but I... think that's pretty damn _amazing_."

The blonde stood speechless at this. How was that "_amazing"? _But knowing the Phantomhive boy, it made _sense _somehow. The experience that the bluenette had gone through had weighed down heavily on his mind and heart, completely preventing himself from even allowing himself to experience those things; things like laughter and a simple smile. Could you imagine not being able to_ smile?_ That is at least one thing that the blonde had that Ciel didn't. The ability to _allow _himself to feel _happy._

"Look at you," the bluenette continued. "You've even died, gotten revenge, come back to life, and you're _still_ able to perform all sorts of silly antics." He smiled at the blonde. It was a warm, genuine smile, one that would seldom grace the boy's face. "You're even able to force _me _to smile. You're much _braver_ than I ever could be, Alois. Don't forget that."

_Brave? Alois? _The blonde was "brave" in an unusual sense of the word. When you hear the word "brave" you think of powerful, _knight-like individuals_, who _spit_ in the face of fear, or the _lions_ that fought tooth and claw against the armoured gladiators in the coliseum of ancient Rome, not a _young blonde boy _who was for the longest time _afraid_ of childish things such as_ the dark_, or_ being alone_. But the blonde_ was _brave in his own obscure way, you see. How many young boys the audacity be able to use their _sex appeal _as a_ weapon_, taking an enormous amount of wealth from a_ perverse man _perhaps four times their age? How many people had the resolve be able to bounce back from death in order to exact revenge, and do so again and dare to continue living? Who all could run up on stage, perform a role that they, themselves had never rehearsed while cross-dressing, and do it again and force that bravery to rub off on another lad who needed it? That _powerful force _that the Phantomhive boy was, who was so brazen to_ defy _that authority? _Jim Macken._

The blonde boy smiled. His smile, too, was a smile that seldom graced his face. It was a genuine smile; a haughty, _prideful _smile. He claimed that his wretched self would never feel pride again, yet the feeling grew in his chest from the bluenette's words. He had gained pride in himself from the very dragon that he had attempted to defeat all those years ago. Perhaps defeating the dragon wasn't truly the way that he would be able to walk along side those magnificant giants that he had envied so. Perhaps he too, was a giant all along, and he just didn't know it.

He ran over to the bluenette and put his arms around his neck, holding him close, and as a natural response, the bluenette's arms made their way around the other lad's waist. They stayed like that for a while, smiling uncontrollably "like a pair of idiots", as Ciel would say. They simply enjoyed the closeness for a while, but then they heard it.

_POP!_

The bag of faux-blood that the blonde lad had within his coat in order to realistically recreate the vision of being stabbed, had burst under the pressure inflicted on it by their embrace. Immediately, they separated to inspect the damage, but it was too late. While the blonde's costume already had a giant red stain from previous performances, the bluenette had not, but had gained one from his close proximity to the other lad when the bubble burst. Fortunately, the "strategic blood-splatters" on the costume had kept it from seeming too out of place, but the lad was now experiencing the uncomfortable feeling of damp cloth against his skin that the blonde was, but on a lesser level. Regardless, Ciel picked up his sword and raised it at Alois, who in turn giggled at the boy's childlike gesture and raised his own faux-blade in a defensive way, blocking the bluenette's strike. Thus, an new sword fight had begun, and continued until the festival ended.

It was the evening of October the thirty-first at Warwick Academy's annual Halloween Festival. It was the night were ghosts haunted the grounds, and demons lurked in the shadows, waiting for an unfortunate souls to gobble up. This wasn't true, however. Tonight, those very same evil demons fought off the ghosts of the past that so rudely haunted them in a playful dance of blades.

* * *

**A/N: That sounds like it would be a good ending...  
**

**Nah, man. Fuck that shit! THE AMOUNT OF CHAPTERS MUST BE OVER NINE-THOUSAAAAAAAAND!**

**Yeah... I'm not sure what to say about this chapter. I kind of lost the idea of what I wanted to do and went into something else entirely. That reminds me, _I forgot to take my A.D.D. medication this morning..._**

**The song I was listening to also threw off my groove. It was _"Fuck You_" by Garfunkel and Oates, and I made the mistake of imagining Ciel and Alois singing it. I had to stop typing and figure out how to resume breathing whilst recovering from laughter.  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

**Oh, I forgot to mention that neither Seras or Sir Hellsing are my characters. They're both from the series: _Hellsing,_ by Kohta Hirano. It's pretty badass. The idea of even mentioning Hellsing came to me when I realised that Sir Integra and Ciel act VERY similar...**

**"_That's an order!_" they both bark at their demon THING.**


	125. Well, That Escalated Quickly

Phantomhive Manor: home to the Phantomhive family for centuries, an home to one member in particular for over a century. This is possible due to the secrets it holds. Today, one of those secrets happens to be basking in the sunlight in the garden behind the massive complex, but in the _least_ relaxing way possible.

What had began as a _fun game of paintball_, turned into a war between the two lads. A fuming bluenette was bent on absolutely _destroying_ the blonde boy for what he had done. What he had done made the Phantomhive boy begin hunting him down like a predator, turning this game into a battle of honour. Now, what exactly was it that Alois had done in order the peeve the bluenette to such an extent? It isn't too difficult to figure out, with the purple splatter of paint on the seat of Ciel's pants.

That is correct. _Alois had shot Ciel in the behind with a paintball gun_. Now, the other boy longed for revenge.

Through the garden and the nearby trees, Ciel stalked his target, and even though there was a limited amount of cover, he was having a strangely difficult time trying to find the blonde. He would think he catch a glimpse of movement, only there to be nothing. What sort of trickery was Alois up to?

Nothing special. He was just hiding in a patch of bushes. He was lying on his stomach, making sure that not one single inch of his being was exposed. He knew if he was caught, the bluenette would probably unload his gun at the boy, hitting him the majority of the time. He shuddered while remembering the last time he was shot with paintballs. Non-lethal or not, the things stung like _hell_.

Suddenly, his ears perked up, hearing the faint sound of footsteps nearing the area just behind him. He didn't dare turn around. In fact, he didn't move at all. Every muscle of his tensed up as the sound got closer. His eyes were wide, and he bit his lip. Alois knew that it was the Phantomhive boy, as he could sense what he would call, "_his evil presence_".

Occasionally, the sound would stop as Ciel paused to inspect the surrounding area, only to start moving again a few seconds later. He too, could sense the blonde's, "_idiotic aura_", as the bluenette would so lovingly put it. He had to make sure it was he who struck first, and not the blonde, for if Alois did, he knew that the first thing he would shoot was _the cheek that he didn't hit_ for the sole purpose of humiliating the boy further.

He stopped behind the bush where the blonde was hiding, just a hair away from succeeding in his mission. He knew that he was right on top of the boy in a figurative sense, as did the blonde. Never before had Alois' nose itched as badly as it did now, when he needed to remain as silent and motionless as possible. He fought it for as long as he could, but finally, the urge overwhelmed him, and he_ sneezed_.

Quick as a whip up on hearing the sound, the bluenette turned around and pointed his weapon at the bush, only to be tripped by the blonde. Every muscle in Alois body had been tensed up, and right after he sneezed, he let loose like a metal spring, extending his leg and tripping the bluenette, before quickly standing up and aiming his own gun. When he did, however, Ciel wasn't the _only_ one to be staring down a barrel of a paintball gun. In the second it took him to stand up, Ciel had aimed his weapon, and was now staring up at the blonde from his spot on the ground. Both lads were now trapped within a _stalemate._

"Well," Alois began, _"It appears we have reached an impasse_." His icy blue eyes were trained on the other boy. He didn't dare to even _blink._

"Yes." the bluenette said. "How do you propose we _end_ this?"

_ "Whoever gets the most hits wins?"_

"You have the high-ground. That isn't exactly fair."

"On _five, _then." the blonde suggested. "_One..." _He took a step back, and the bluenette propped himself up.

"..._Two..."_ Ciel was almost standing. He didn't dare put down his weapon, making it far more difficult to do achieve his desired position.

_"...Three..." _Alois took another step back, and his foe stood.

"..._Four..." _Both boys tensed their leg muscles in anticipation of performing evasive maneuvers.

_"...Five!"_ Both boys leaped away from the other, firing several shots. Each lad had the others colours now splattered across their chest before they could escape. Ciel had three spot of purple (not counting the one on his bottom), and Alois had five splotches of blue, before he decided to make a run for it. He knew he could never win with a direct fight, thus he decided to resort to guerrilla warfare, and made a dash for the surrounding trees with the bluenette in full pursuit.

` _"I am going to __**kill **__you, Trancy!"_ the enraged bluenette teen roared.

"You're gonna have to _catch_ me first, stud puppet!" the blonde said, throwing in a randomly generated pet name for the hell of it. While he was ahead, he quickly climbed up a tree in order to get the high ground again. There, he patiently waited for the bluenette to walk underneath. He thought he was so clever in plan, but then it began to crumble as he heard a noise behind him in another nearby tree. Did Phantomhive have the same idea?

Quickly, he adjusted himself on the branch where he was seated, and aimed his weapon. He saw nothing but a fleeting flash of _black_ before getting struck in the shoulder by something. It made a "pop", and whatever it was, it didn't hurt nearly as much as a paintball gun, but it startled the lad enough to cause him to fall from his hiding spot.

He touched his shoulder, he looked at his hand, finding it to be stained with black paint, and he looked around to see bits of rubbery material with the same paint. Water balloons? With paint in them? Was this Ciel's doing?

A twig broke behind him, causing his head to whip around to gaze into the face of _evil._ There, Ciel stood, nefarious grin plastered onto his face and a paintball gun in his hand, aiming it right at the blonde. "Found you." he said.

This was it. _Checkmate. _Ciel was going to defeat the Trancy boy yet again. With the blonde in his sights, Ciel started to apply pressure to the trigger. His victory was eminent, yet he stopped.

Now of his own will, no. It was due to a sudden distraction. He too, was struck by a balloon filled with black paint, followed by second, and a third, dying his clothes and skin with blackness. Alois was currently suffering a similar fate, as he was being targeted as well by the same unknown third foe. They both struggled with all their might to block the attacks with their arms in order to regain enough of their senses to figure out what on earth was happening, squirming at the coldness of the dark moist substance whenever it suddenly made contact.

After what seemed like an eternity, the terror ended just as suddenly as it had began. Ciel forced himself to pry open his eye in order to inspect the damage. Paint was on his arms, his legs, his face, in his hair, and he could've sworn this shirt wasn't black when he had bought it. It was so covered, that evidence from the blonde's attack was now gone, invisible to the eye. Speaking of which, the blonde was no better off.

The bluenette looked over to his companion, who was almost unrecognizable with most of his hair matted together by the paint, which covered his ordinarily flaxen locks. _"So that's what he would look like with dark hair."_ the Phantomhive boy couldn't help but think to himself for a brief moment. Alois sat up and spat in order to try and get some of the paint out of his mouth. All evidence of being attacked by the bluenette was missing from his person as well.

"What the _fuck_ was that?!" the blonde asked

"I have _one_ good guess..." replied Ciel. He furrowed his brow at the sound of a familiar chuckle echoing through the trees. It sounded further and further away until it was gone. As to why the butler would have done such a thing, neither of them could guess_. Perhaps he was just starting to feel left out._

Alois ran a hand through his hair in order to get some out of his face. He made a face of absolute horror at what he found. "_MY HAIR!"_ he shouted.

"It'll wash out." said the other boy as he stood up and made a fruitless attempt to dust himself off.

"Do you even _know_ how long it will take me to get this stuff out!? It hardly matters for you 'cause you have dark hair! I might accidentally scrub myself _bald!"_ Silence hung in the air for a moment. All that could be heard was the wind rustling the leaves in the trees. Then, the bluenette let out a cough_. "YOU PICTURED IT, DIDN'T YOU?!"_ shouted the blonde. His voice hit a pitch that was almost so high, that only dogs could possibly be able to hear it.

"What? No, _not at all..." _said the other boy with his hand covering his mouth. His attempts to force his lips from curling into a smile where in vain.

_ "YOU ASS!"_

And this was just the first day _after_ the Halloween Festival. It would appear that the residents of Phantomhive Manor are always the energetic sort, always pulling pranks on each other. Even the butler felt the need to get involved occasionally, rather than sit on the sidelines of the children's quarrels, as he had earlier. This was seldom, but he felt as though presenting the children something unexpected was good for them. It certainly helped liven up the household quite a bit.

Similarly, not even a full hour later, the Phantomhive boy was pranked yet again, this time by the _third_ demon in the house. He had just rid his person of black paint, and had decided that he had wasted enough time with silly antics for the day. He exited the shower and put on a fresh set of clothes before making his way down the lonesome hallways of the massive building and made his way to his office.

There, he went through the usual ritual of sitting in the over-sized chair behind his desk and turning on his computer, where he would usually check his e-mail, first-thing. He only got as far as turning on the computer and logging in, however, where his routine was forced to a screeching halt when his desktop came up. The bluenette was immediately taken aback by what he saw, which had beaten the entirety of the paintball brawl from earlier that day as "_the most bizarre thing he had witnessed all day". _

His eye adjusted and saw his "new" desktop background, which was changed from his usual generic one that he had chosen at random from the pre-loaded images on the computer that he had chosen because he found it the least offensive. His "new" background was anything but "unoffensive" as it appeared to be a crudely drawn cartoon penis with a smiley face that had been drawn using _Microsoft Paint_, with the caption "_Dick Dickardson says 'HELLO'_." scribbled below it.

"What... the... _hell?"_ the lad said aloud.

Ciel knew immediately who the culprit was, and so should you, but in case you haven't already guessed: The one who had both drawn the image and replaced the background of the bluenette's computer desktop with it was none other than the "blonde menace"; _Alois Trancy_. The flaxen-haired teen's ability to be unpredictable, humourous, and offensive all at once was simply astonishing. At this point, the Phantomhive boy was uncertain if he had been pranked, molested, or _both_.

First thing's first, he had to remove the image from his background. Once he did that, he was content to get up from his seat and seek out the estranged blonde in order to confront him. Through the halls once more, he ventured for the sole purpose of telling the other boy how much of a "moron" he was. Perhaps once he did, his mind would be at ease once again.

The bluenette didn't even bother to knock on the blonde's door. He never did. He swung the door open, causing the offending Trancy boy to jump a bit from his position in front of his computer, where he was watching _Youtube_ videos. Ciel had opened his mouth in order to yell at the boy and call him names that questioned the blonde's very intelligence, but once he had set his eye on the lad, he had completely forgotten what he was going to say. With a blush on his face, he had observed that Alois was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

His hair was still wet, and he looked as though he had just gotten out of the shower himself, and had just not gotten dressed yet. Ciel was grateful that he hadn't chosen to come later, when the blonde might have been in the middle of dressing. The boy at the computer turned his head to face the Phantomhive boy.

"Would it _kill _you to _knock_ for once?" he asked.

The bluenette cleared his throat before speaking. "It's _my_ house. _I _don't _have _to knock."

"Whatever happened to being a 'gentleman'?" inquired the blonde, arching an eyebrow.

"That stopped after I came in contact with a mister _'Dick Dickardson'."_ the slightly shorter boy answered with a frown. Alois thought for a moment as he tried to process what the other boy had just said. Then he just laughed at the explanation.

"You seriously just _now_ found that?" he asked. "I did that _yesterday_. I was_ bored_."

"Can you not touch my things if you're bored?" asked the bluenette.

_ "But touching your things is so much fun!" _The blonde paused for a moment. "Oh, that didn't sound right at all..."

_ "Shut it_. Oh, and while you're at it,_ put some pants on!"_ Ciel replied, trying to keep his mind out of the gutter. Often he would claim to not be like Alois, who's mind seemed to practically live in the gutter at times. However, being a formerly-human demon that was over one-hundred years old and_ trapped in eternal puberty_, he was susceptible to such thoughts.

"It's _my _room! _I can be naked if I want!"_ Alois protested.

"I don't care!_ Your room _is in _my house_, and_ I _say put some clothes on!"

"So you have mastery over my _nakedness?!"_ Alois shouted that last bit a bit too loudly. He smirked at the reaction he was getting from the bluenette.

Ciel took a deep breath in order to hopefully calm his nerves a bit, and rubbed his temples. "Alois, _why,_ pray tell, to you have to do that?" he asked finally. He tried his best to look anywhere other than at the blonde.

"I dunno. You're just so _cute _when you're all _flustered." _the other boy said with a grin before turning back to his computer and resuming the episode of _My Drunk Kitchen _that he was watching. "Sometimes, I think I just like to test your limits..."

"Limits of _what?" _the bluenette asked._ When did he get so close? _He was now watching the screen as well with mild interest over the blonde's shoulder. Alois hesitated before answering.

"The limits of your _pridefulness." _he said.

"It's not nice to tease people, you know."

"Don't like it? Then_ leave_. I need to get dressed anyway." He waved his hand at the other boy, silently telling him to "shoo".

"You were so persistent in staying as you were. What brought on the change?" asked the bluenette.

"_A pervert appeared."_

"Who is the _'pervert' _here, exactly, mister _'draws pictures of dicks on other people's computers'?"_

"The person who is currently _breathing down my neck _while _pretending _to watch _Youtube_ over my shoulder." Alois said, turning back to the bluenette. "In other words: _you_."

"Oh, no. You're on_ a whole other level_ than me, '_Jimmy'_." the bluenette said with a smirk. Now it was his turn to smirk at the other's reaction.

_ "Don't call me that." _the blonde said indignantly. He squeaked a bit in surprise to the feeling of lips against his own. When the other lad pulled away finally, his face was completely red, all the way up to his ears, which contrasted oddly with his widened icy blue eyes.

"You know, you're pretty cute when you're flustered as well." said Ciel after examining the blonde's face for a moment.

"Sh-shut up, you- you..." the blonde couldn't think of anything especially clever to say "..._you one-hundred-some-odd-virgin!"_

_ "What the hell?!"_

_ "Don't even pretend!"_

_ "Pretend what?!"_

"Is that why you don't have any _moves, _Ciel?"

"Fine! _I'll just take the towel off, then!"_

"My lord, if I may be permitted to give you some advice..." The lads' eyes went wide, and they quickly turned in the direction of the noise to see the butler, Sebastian Michaelis, standing right in the doorway. "...it is generally frowned upon to perform such activities_ with the door standing wide open."_ said the raven-haired man, and with that, he shut the door and left the boys alone.

Ciel and Alois just stared at the door for awhile, red-faced and speechless. _Neither of them could look Sebastian in the face for the rest of the week._

* * *

**A/N: _Almost, almost, almost, almost, almost, GOD DAMMIT, SEBASTIAN!_  
**

**Oh, he's going to get some _hate_ for that, huh? I didn't know how else to end it, though...**

_**Ah, if I keep doing this to you guys, things might get ugly for me!**_

_**Maybe somedaaaaaaaay...**_

**My friends at school read this, y'know. I'm afraid of being JUDGED. (If you _are_ one of those friends I be talkin' 'bout, you guys are _dicks.._.)**

**This is another chapter that I had absolutely no ideas for, then it sort of _escalated very quickly.._.**

**'nuff said.**

**I APOLOGIZE FOR THIS CHAPTER.**

**(please don't hurt me...)**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies...**


	126. Damn Dirty Centaurs

Warwick Academy is one of the finest learning establishments in all of Britain. It is here, that the offspring of the upper-class receive their ever-important education! The tuition may not be cheap, but knowledge is priceless!

Today at Warwick the students are currently reflecting on the events of the Halloween festival, while others simply gazed out the window at the destruction of the various booths. Yes, it was quite a shame that the booths that the children had worked so hard on had to be demolished, but they must make room for learning! An even greater tragedy, however, was unfolding within the walls of the building.

"Kristopherson worked as a maid,_ and I didn't get to see?!" _inquired a certain politician's son in a rather loud and dramatic manner. The boy in the pink tie simply rolled his eyes. He wasn't even going to bother explaining that he knew of the teasing he would have received had the brown-haired loudmouth been involved.

"It's okay, Dan. I have a picture on my phone." spoke a certain blonde menace. He pulled out his cell-phone, and immediately, fout of the Sensational Seven flocked over to him in order to veiw the image of legend. Ciel simply stayed put while Kristopherson stood up and began to protest, when the blonde turned his phone to face the pack. "_See?"_

The eyes of Daniel, Audrey, Preston and Travis all went wide at once at the image of a fairly attractive young woman in a french maid costume. They looked back towards the boy in the pink tie for comparison, and back again. Kristopherson was speechless, his mouth gaping, yet no words would come out, and his face was nearly crimson upon the other lads discovering his "_feminine side_."

Finally, the son of a politician spoke first. "Wow, Kris..." he said. "...Is it weird that you actually look kind of attractive? _No homo,_ of course."

"What I want to know, however, is how did _you_ get that picture, Trancy?" asked Preston, causing the attention of everyone to shift from the faux-blonde to the true-blonde in an instant.

Alois placed his phone back in the inner pocket of his uniform blazer before saying: "Well, I was there, but I'm not the one who took the picture..."

"Cross-dressing again?" asked Preston.

"No, _Ciel_ wouldn't let me wear the outfit in front of the customers.I dressed like a butler instead."

"Ooh! _Possessive,_ are we, Phantomhive?" Daniel asked the bluenette, inspiring the lad to fold his arms indignantly and turn his attention back to the destruction outside. So what if he was? He had every right to be, didn't he? Why such a thing must provoke the brown-haired lad's teasing, he'll never know.

"Any way, I didn't take the picture. _Anastasia sent it to me."_ Alois said, diverting the attention back to himself and away from the bluenette who obviously didn't want it.

The blonde watched as Kristopherson sat back down in a huff. He really hated having a sister sometimes. If Alois was completely honest, he was slightly jealous of the Miles siblings. Sometimes when watching them, he'd wonder if he and Luka would pick at each other like this as they got older. The thought was quickly shaken off before the blonde could depress himself. Suddenly, a strange whining sound was heard.

"Why do _you_ have her number?!" demanded Daniel. "Wait, _was she wearing a maid costume too!? _You _bastard!" _He placed his hands on the blonde's shoulders and shook him back and forth.

Finally, after being silent for a while, it was Ciel Phantomhive that asked the question. "Why do you even care? _Didn't you break up with her?"_

Daniel froze at those words. He did, didn't he? He shouldn't care. Why would he care? He and the Miles girl weren't together anymore, so why did he care. Leave it to her brother to explain.

"Wait_, he_ broke up with _her?"_ asked the boy in the pink tie. "No, no, no." He shook his head_. "She _broke up with _him."_

"Kristopherson! You traitorous swine!" the brown-haired lad accused. His secret was out. Out in the open and bare for all to see. It wasn't a really big deal, but Daniel for some reason really didn't see it that way.

"What? _I _wasn't told it was a '_secret'."_ the faux-blonde said innocently.

"You ass! Anyway, I don't see why she even _would!_ She said it was because I was _'immature'! _Can you _believe_ that!?"

"Yes." said Kristopherson.

"Yeah." said Preston.

"Yup." said Alois.

"Very much so." Ciel said, and Travis just nodded. Audrey, however, didn't give an answer.

"You dicks!" the son of a politician shouted. "What about you, huh? Do you think I'm '_immature'?!"_

Although they couldn't see it, the boy's eyes widened at the question from behind his long bangs. Why was he being asked this? He put his hands up defensively, almost and said: "I don't know. _I don't know what girls consider 'immature'_."

An astonishing answer from mister Baines! It was perfect, with such indifference that it may have in fact rivaled the bluenette's! It spared the lad's feelings while at the same time, giving him hope. Daniel slung his arm around the boy's shoulder in a friendly sort of way.

"You see that?_ Bones _doesn't think I'm_ immature!" _he said as though he were accusing the others of treachery. "I bet you're a hit with the ladies, huh_, Bones?"_

"Not at all. I can hardly talk to girls." the boy in the skull beanie replied nervously.

"But weren't you talking to that_ Sonya _girl at the haunted house?" asked Preston. What was visible of the shorter lad's face turned pink at that moment, remembering the event.

"Y-yeah, but I wasn't really _'me'. _I was some _character!_ That's completely different..."

"Ugh! The only ones who have any_ romance _among us lot is the '_P and T homo-couple'! _All hope is lost!" shouted Daniel. He dramatically sat down in his own chair and slammed his head down on the desk, accidentally hurting himself.

"_'P and T homo-couple'?"_ echoed the bluenette.

"I imagine it means _'Phantomhive and Trancy homosexual couple'_." suggested his blonde boyfriend. Ciel looked at the boy as he was explaining, his face suddenly getting hot from the events that took place the day before and looked away._ We wouldn't be able to look at either Sebastian or Alois in the eye for a while._ The blonde giggled at the boy's sudden shyness, blushing a bit himself.

Daniel lifted his head and turned his attention to Travis and Preston. "What about you guys? Any _lady friends?"_ he asked.

"No, and before you ask_, we're not gay_, either." Preston replied. He was able to predict the brown-haired boy's eminent rude remark, much to the lad's disappointment. Daniel then turned his attention to the boy in the pink tie.

"What about you? _Talk to any cute guys recently, Kris?" _he asked with a teasing grin across his face. The boy remained silent, yet the pink on his cheeks told everyone the answer. Everyone simply stared at the faux-blonde, including the Phantomhive boy, waiting for a verbal response. Daniel finally got tired of the quiet and spoke up again. "Well,_ where _was it,_ who _was it, and what_ happened?"_

Kristopherson opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated before doing so. The situation was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable for him._ "It was at the cafe'." _he said finally_. "He was the only guy who was able to tell that I'm a guy."_

"Was he gay?" asked Alois, putting out the question that everyone was itching to ask.

"Yeah, but by the looks of him, he's in the closet."

"Wait, how do you even _know?" _asked the bluenette.

"My gaydar is never _wrong_. Trust me. I think I saw_ your _gayness before even _you_ did, Phantomhive." replied the faux-blonde. The bluenette furrowed his brow and the others laughed _with _him, not _at_ him.

The boy in the pink tie continued. "He goes to _Tamworth, _though."

_ "Tamworth?!" _echoed Daniel, somehow shocked at the information. "You _are_ a traitor!" Everyone seemed to understand what was so bad about this "Tamworth" place except for Alois. All he could do was arch and eyebrow and look to his bluenette friend for an explanation. With a sigh, Ciel gave him just that.

_"Tamworth Academy _is our_ 'rival school'_, Alois." he said, adjusting his eye-patch a bit.

"Hell yeah they are! Go_ Gryphons! _Beat the shit outta those _Centaurs!" _Daniel's statement only seemed to confuse the blonde more.

_ "The school's mascot is a Centaur."_ clarified the bluenette again.

"I hear it's not as nice there." added Preston. "They apparently get all of _our_ used textbooks and stuff."

"Yeah, and it's full of the people _who got kicked outta Warwick!" _said Daniel.

"We almost considered sending you there, Alois." added Ciel. "We decided against it just in case you got in _'trouble'."_ Remembering back to when Alois first came to Warwick, he didn't know enough about the modern world in order to stay above suspicion. It was this kind of "trouble" that the bluenette was referring to unbeknownst to the rest of the seven, except perhaps Audrey.

"You were gonna be a_ Tamworthian?!" _Daniel asked. "Are you a_ spy?!"_

_ "Daniel, stop being an idiot."_ ordered Ciel. "He's at Warwick, isn't he? Personally, I'm quite _thankful_ that we didn't send him to Tamworth."

The blonde blinked for a few seconds before smiling. He liked finding this sort of _sweet_ side to Ciel. It was always so unexpected, but it was also welcome.

"More time to _smooch_, huh_ Romeo?"_

_ "Daniel, if you don't shut up within the next few seconds, I WILL END YOU."_

* * *

**A/N: Hey... I missed you.  
**

**I was working on a chemistry project yesterday (that I really should be working on right now rather than writing.)**

**I absolutely hated the last chapter. Almost as much as I hate this one, actually. While I didn't like the randomness of it, you guys really seemed to enjoy it, which makes me feel SO much better about it. Seriously, I got halfway done with it and nearly considered deleting it. The only reason I didn't, was because I felt like it would've been such a waste! Ah, but it made you guys laugh, it was worth it. I think I might like that chapter after all.**

**A new challenger has appeared!**

**Will Anastasia and Daniel get back together?!**

**Will Audrey get a date?!**

**Will Preston and Travis get more lines?!**

**Will Kristopherson get a boyfriend?!**

**WHAT IS THIS TAMWORTH PLACE ANYWAY?!**

** Keep readin' and find out. Duh.**

**Laters, Duckies.**


	127. Exciting News, And You Did WHAT?

Warwick Academy: A usually calm place of study for the children of the wealthy citizens of Britain. Why "usually?" you may ask? That is rather simple to explain. It is due to the sound of a certain brown-haired son of a politician stampeding down the hallway. He had news for his friends regarding the conversation they had yesterday about _Tamworth Academy. _

He charged down the hallway like a herd of startled wildebeests until he reached his destination, Mr. Iron's World History class. Daniel rushed into the room and threw his bag down next to his usual seat before abruptly grabbing the attention of his comrades.

"Listen up, you lot! I've got big news!" he announced proudly. The other six lazily turned their heads to face him, some of them arching an eyebrow. Whatever the boy was talking about, it probably was irrelevant and stupid.

"What is it _this_ time?" asked Ciel, turning his attention away from the blonde sitting sideways in his lap for a moment. It no longer seemed to bother him, as by now he was kind of used to this kind of behaviour from Alois. Daniel had to stop and ponder this for a moment before saying:

"Remember how we were talking about_ Tamworth _yesterday?" he asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Preston.

"Check this out." said the politician's son, pulling out his smartphone and showing it to the others. He had the school schedule up on it, revealing all of the events and lunch menus for the month.

_"We're having shrimp today for lunch?" _asked Audrey, confused.

"Why is _that _important?" the boy in the pink tie inquired. He folded his arms as he sat on his desk, waiting for an explanation.

"What? No! _Not the menu!"_ Daniel insisted. "I'm talking about _Friday's rugby game! _Look at who we're up against!" He pointed to the date on the calendar.

_ "'The Warwick Gryphons V.S. The Tamworth Centaurs'."_ the Baines lad read off. "Are you saying you want us to go watch the game?"

_ "Yes."_

"Why the _hell_ would we?" asked the eye-patch-wearing bluenette. He had no interest in sporting events. In fact, he had no interest in extracurricular activities at all, really.

"Could be _fun_, though." said Alois, adjusting himself in Ciel's lap._ Of course _he said that. Now the bluenette was _sure_ to be sucked into Daniel's realm of nonsense. "I never seen a rugby game before."

Five of the Seven looked genuinely surprised at this, yet it was true. "Rugby Football", as the game was called, was an invention of the 19th century, and while the blonde had been around in the late 1800s, he had never had the opportunity to play, as two people, he and his little brother Luka, does not a rugby team make. He never really had the opportunity to watch the other children in the village play either, since they would always stop and chase he and Luka away.

"You poor child!" Daniel said, pointing his index finger at the blonde.

"_First, _he's never been to the _beach_, now he's never seen a rugby game?! Does Phantomhive keep you in his_ basement_, Trancy?" asked Kristopherson.

"That's it, we have to go now! Don't you_ dare _say 'no', Phantomhive!"

"_No_." the bluenette replied plainly.

"Oh come on! It'e the day before his _birthday, _in'nt? Don't you have a _heart!?" _asked Daniel in mock dismay.

Regardless, the lad's words struck a chord with the boy, causing his eyebrow to twitch slightly. With a sigh, Ciel turned his attention to the blonde in his lap. "Do you_ want _to go Alois?" he asked. The blonde just giggled.

"I think it could be fun." replied the blonde. He put his arms around the bluenette's neck. "Think of it like a _date."_

"It's hardly a '_date_' if _they're_ going too." said the bluenette with a slight pink flush in his cheeks.

"Oh, don't mind us. We'll give you _plenty_ of _privacy_." insisted Daniel.

"I will not be having _intercourse_ with Alois at a_ rugby game!"_ protested the Phantomhive boy, causing the Trancy boy to giggle at his red face.

"That works too. _That's _usually saved until _after _the date, anyway!"

_ "DANIEL!"_

"...And_ that _is why_ I will not put a good word in with my sister for you, Daniel_." said Kristopherson. His cheeks were slightly flushed as well at the thought.

"What?! _Why!?"_ asked the brown-haired boy.

"You're _sleazy_ as_ hell."_

"No, really? A_ politician's _son? _Sleazy?"_ the bluenette asked, his words absolutely dripping with sarcasm. "That _can't_ be right."

"So says the_ pirate _with a_ blonde concubine in his lap_..." said Daniel.

"I'm _not_ a _pirate_, and he's _not_ my _concubine!"_

"Oh, that's right, you have_ a platypus _to _cock-block you!"_

Both boys turned red at those words, recalling the moment that Sebastian had walked in and interrupted their- _ahem, "business."_ They looked away from each other, suddenly finding the ground to be quite interesting. The rest of the seven seemed to notice this.

"Whoa... What kind of reaction is that?" asked Daniel.

"Nothing... Just an _unpleasant_ memory..." said the blonde.

"Was the platypus_ unable to save you _from the _blue cyclops?"_

_ "WHO'S A 'CYCLOPS'?! Mind your own business!"_

_ "Relax_, Phantomhive. I'm not _judging _you..."

"Just shut up..."

* * *

**A/N: Uh... Yeah...  
**

**I was a little busy this afternoon with stuff for my club's trip, so this is all I was able to squeeze out. I hope it isn't too disappointing...**

**In fact, I'm supposed to be working right now. _Ssssh!_**

**Later's, duckies...**


	128. The Beginning Of Kristopherson's Trouble

Warwick Academy: Best school in Britain built by anyone ever. The students at Warwick are privileged, and are thus able to enjoy all sorts of extracurricular activities. For the Artistic types, there are many clubs, such as the Art Club, Drama Club, Literature Club, Film Club, as well as many others. Or, if you aren't artistic, but love news, you can join the news club, crating and publishing the school newspaper. Perhaps you prefer to cook, and would like to take a peek at the Home Economics Club, or maybe you are more into academics, and would join the Science Club, or the Debate Team. Maybe none of those are your cup of tea, and you prefer the world of sport.

Ah, yes. Warwick loves sports. There are many different sports teams of Warwick, such as the Bowling Team, The Basketball Team, the Cricket Team, the American Baseball Team, the American Football Team, the Football Team, and the _Rugby Team_. A _fine_ sport, _Rugby_. From Rugby came many of the principles of American Football. Only _unlike _American Football, _Rugby _isn't for the _weak. _No, Rugby has no protective padding, unlike it's younger American brother, and features fewer rules. Injuries are also more garish and unsettling when they occur. Never before have I seen someone's leg twist around backwards in an American football game. It simply doesn't happen.

Now why would the Sensational Seven go to see such a struggle? The bluenette young-looking Phantomhive lad had a hunch that Daniel had something in mind. It was probably going to be something silly that he would want no part of. Regardless, he and the blonde got ready to go to the event, and made their way to the Warwick stadium. When they got there, only Daniel, Audrey, and Travis were there. Preston and Kristopherson seemed to be running late.

"_Over here!"_ shouted the brown-haired lad to the demonic duo, waving them over to the group's location near the gates. Alois grabbed the bluenette lad by the arm, tugging him along. He was quite lively this evening.

The boy had never seen a sporting event of such magnitude, before. He had only seen children playing for a few moments before he and his brother were chased away from the scene. The stadium was big, though hardly that of the scale or grandeur of a professional one, but the blonde didn't know this, and was eager to enter the massive complex.

"Where's Pinky and Preston?" asked the lad.

"Kris is just taking his sweet time getting here, and Preston just_ bailed _on us." said Daniel, annoyed for whatever reason. The politician's son was probably planning on using the boy in whatever mischief he was planning. He was clad in school colours, with a yellow T-shirt and a blue jacket, representing the navy and gold of the Warwick Gryphons. Even his scarf matched the colour scheme.

The others, however, were not as school spirited. Audrey wore his usual dark purple hat with the skull on it, a black t-shirt with _the "Punisher" _logo, blue jeans and a denim jacket. He didn't care too much for fashion, so he simply grabed something from the closet. Travis wore a blue turtleneck that was such a dark blue, that it was almost black, with a pilot's jacket over it, and a knitted scarf that his_ grandmother _had made for him around his neck. Ciel had on a union jack T-shirt, a wool suit-looking coat, and black pants. Even the Blonde Menace wore pants, since it was quite cold out, accompanied with a purple jacket and a white T-shirt with the Anarchy _"Circle-A",_ which had to be explained by the bluenette was most definitely _not_ an _"'A' for 'Alois'."_

"Screw Preston! We can do this without him!" declared Daniel. His face was determined.

"Do _what,_ exactly?" asked Ciel as he braced himself for whatever harebrained plot the boy had in mind.

_ "We're gonna find that guy Kristopherson was talking about!"_ the plan shocked the the other boys, except for Travis, who had silently suspected this from the beginning.

"Are you _mental?_ There's no way in _hell _that we can find him in that huge crowd, if- and it's a _big 'if'_, he's even in there at all!" The bluenette was simply not having this. The reason for this had absolutely nothing to do with the faux-blonde himself. No, Ciel simply just didn't want to participate in an obviously hopeless cause.

"It won't be that hard! Listen, Kris told me what he _looks_ like, and I think_ I might know who it is!"_

_"Really? Do tell."_ the bluenette said with great amounts of sarcasm. He was eager to just get this over with, hopefully with minimum amounts of stupid hijinks, and Daniel was trying to ruin this plan of his with his own.

"He's got sort blonde hair, an earring, is pretty tall, and pretty muscular. There's only one person I can think of like that, and he's on_ Tamworth's rugby team!"_ explained the spirited Westley lad.

"What about the_ other _blonde's on Tamworth's team?" asked Warwick's own natural blonde.

"There aren't any. They're all brunettes."

"And if you're _wrong?"_ asked Audrey.

Daniel simply shrugged. "Then I'm wrong." he said simply. "C'mon! All we gotta do is get Kristopherson and the _dirty Centaur _to_ talk!"_

"And _how, _pray tell, are we going to do_ that?" _asked the eye-patch-wearing bluenette.

The other boy was silent for a while, occasionally opening his mouth for a moment on order to attempt to say something before closing it again. _"I haven't thought about that yet."_

"Come on, let's go." the bluenette called, as he and the blonde had begun to walk to the gates, with Travis and Audrey right behind them.

"Hey! Wait up!_ We still have to wait for Kristopherson!"_ shouted back the Westley boy as he jogged to keep up with the others.

"He can come_ find _us._ Don't worry about it_."

"What if he_ can't?"_

"We'll send _you_ to go find him."

"But I want to watch the game!"

_"Who cares?"_

And with that, the game between two rival schools was starting to begin, as the faux-blonde finally arrived. He had wondered where his compatriots had gone off to...

* * *

**A/N: Oh haaaay~! How you doin'~?  
**

**Kristopherson has a thing for blondes, y'know~! But then again, so does _Ciel._**

**Fun stuff in the next chapter. Go Gyphons!**

**Yeah, I don't know much about rugby... All I know is it's a lot like 'Murican football, but like,_ not for sissies_...**

**You see some of those Rugby injuries? That shit is terrifying!_ Ankles aren't supposed to bend like that..._**

**I've been having a problem when buying manga, lately. There's a certain volume of _"Ai-Ore_" that I want to get, but I simply don't have the boldness in order to walk up to the counter with the book, given it's "_odd"_ cover art. It looks like yaoi, but ISN'T yaoi... It's totally ordinary shojou manga. The entire premise of the book was that the female lead looks masculine, and the male lead looks feminine, and they have a BAND. Yeah, totally not weird at all...I have similar problems when buying volumes of _Rosario + Vampire_ or_ Negima. _I'M SUCH A DISGRACEFUL COWARD!**

**Stop JUDGING me, checkout lady...**

**Ah, why am I telling you this? Dunno. Maybe I was wondering if anybody else had that problem.**

**Also, I wanted to buy the manga of _Princess Jellyfish_, but it isn't available in the U.S. _Amazon_ only has copies in Japanese and in French._ Merde!_**

**That, and I just don't like buying things online. Dunno why. I'm always afraid it'll get lost in the mail or something... Like a few of my birthday cards did... The contents (like five dollars in each), however, turned up in a _postal worker's pocket.__.._ What a dick..._ (Dick Dickerson? IS THAT YOU!?)_  
**

**Sometimes, I'm told I _act_ like an anime character... Do I? I always thought I just act like "me"... These words you see... They are me...This is how I am...  
**

**...Hi. **

**Duckies. Your reviews. They give me so many good feels. THEY GIVE ME POWEEEEERRRRR!  
**

**'Mere, duckies. _Lemme love you..._**

**Until the next chapter, keep on quackin', my duckies!**


	129. This Can't Be Good

_"I think I'm in the visitor's section..." _said a voice over the phone.

Daniel looked at the bluenette seated just a few spaces over from him, eyebrows furrowed in an "I told you so" sort of fashion. He then placed the cellphone back up to his ear to answer the faux-blonde over the phone, plugging his other ear in order to filter out some of the cheers of the crowd.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, ignoring the looks of his friends for a moment.

"Well, I'm surrounded by people dressed in _green and white_, and there's people in _navy and gold_ on the_ opposite _side of the stadium. That, and the people over where I'm at keep shouting _'go Tamworth!'_ and stuff._"_ replied Kristopherson. He couldn't believe this had happened to him.

He held his pink phone up to his own ear, and squinted, struggling to see across the stadium in order to try and distinguish his friends from the massive hoard of nameless spectators. Even though he was in the front row, closest to the field and with the best view of the "home" stands, he couldn't make out anyone's faces, and gave up on trying to do so. The boy was more than "slightly" peeved that his friends would simply go in without him.

Kristopherson was wearing light grey T-shirt with the letters _"BL"_ on it. He wasn't sure what they stood for, but he thought that the shirt looked cool. He wore that under a pink hoodie, with a black jacket over that. He was glad he had on all the layers, since it was freezing outside. He wondered if Trancy was wearing his signature short-shorts, imagining that if he was, he was most likely freezing to death about now. He leaned over the rail, nonchalantly and continued to listen as the Westley lad talked on the phone.

"Blame Phantomhive!_ He _was the one who wanted to leave you!" Daniel said_. "I_ said we should've_ waited_, but..."

"Daniel, just tell me where you are so I can find you." the boy in the pink hoodie replied. He furrowed his brow in annoyance at the other boy's constant chattering about nothing important.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, so, uh..." Kristopherson heard the brown-haired boy trail off, and what he said next seemed as though he had his hand over the speaker in order to talk to the rest of the seven. "So, guys_, where are we, anyway?"_

_ "You don't even fucking __**know!"**_

"Hey! You! On the phone!_ Shut the hell up!" _yelled Tamworth's coach. The boy was close enough to the field that the team could hear him shouting into the small, handheld device. Bashfully, he took the phone away from his ear and hung up before sitting down.

"_Sorry..." _he said. Kristopherson didn't dare look around at the other spectators who had heard him. He folded his arms across his chest and tried to get comfortable in the horrible stadium seat and absent-mindedly watched the game in front of him- that is, until the stare of a certain player sitting on the bench caught his attention.

The boy was quite sturdily built, and a natural blonde, as indicated by his pale eyebrows and eyelashes. His hair was short and his eyes were blue; he had been staring at the boy in the pink hoodie for a while now, trying to place where he had seen the faux-blonde before. Kristopherson blushed as he immediately recognized him. It was the boy from the cafe'.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the stadium with the Warwick Gryphons, a certain brown-haired boy was straining to hear the boy on the other end of the phone, until he came to the following conclusion: "_He hung up."_

"Maybe he was getting _weird looks for yelling at you_." suggested Audrey as he shifted in his own seat. All of the lad's were struggling to get comfortable in those seats. All of them but Ciel, who was apparently used to the feeling, due to the petrified couch in his office.

"Not unlikely." he agreed before looking over to the blonde boy who's eyes were currently glued to the events unfolding on the field with excitement.

Ciel smiled internally at the blonde's excitement. The boy was nearly jumping out of his seat when their team scored, and booing when the opposing side did. Alois wasn't generally the type who was into sports, but somehow, the sensation of being in such a huge crowd like this caused him to get swept up in it all. While watching a bunch of guys hurt each other was fun, the bluenette just couldn't stop watching the other boy. He was just so _cute._

Then he heard _"it". _He looked around to see if the others did. Daniel was swearing at his phone while trying to contact Kristopherson, and Audrey and Travis were talking about the latest episode of _Top Gear_. Ciel was the only one who heard _"it_". A voice calling out.

"I'm so bored! I'm going to _die _of boredom if this isn't over soon!"

The Phantomhive boy turned around to see a familiar face just a little ways behind the group. The man was wearing red eyeglasses with red beads streaming down from them and had long red hair and sharp teeth. He appeared to be wearing make-up, and was dressed as flamboyantly as ever, wearing a red coat over a black suit, and a pair of red, high-heeled cowboy boots. With him was another man in a black suit, with hair the appeared to be orange with a layer of black underneath, also wearing eyeglasses.

"Come on,_ Mister Sutcliffe! _I was sure seeing a bunch of _sweaty, muscly guys run around and tackle each other in matching outfits_ would be right up your alley!" the man with the orange hair said to the man in red.

"Hmph! You just don't_ get it, _do you _Ronald?" _asked the other man. "These are mere _children!_ I have _no _interest in _children!"_ He stuck out his tongue and made a disgusted face.

Ciel's eye widened in surprise at the appearance of the two men. He knew both of them, but hadn't seen them in several years. What could _they_ be doing here?

The men were none other than _Grell Sutcliffe, _and _Ronald Knox_. Both men were _bona fide Grim Reapers._

* * *

**A/N: Oh...  
**

**Not a lot of Ciel or Alois in this chapter, but, on the plus side, REAPERS.**

**DOES THIS PLEASE YOU, DUCKS?**

**And so, the plot thickens...**

**Ah... I might not be able to update much if at all today or tomorrow, so I'm sorry! I might have to leave you with a bit of a cliffhanger.**

**My Anime Club's having a trip to the local Anime Convention on Saturday, and I might be busy with last-minute preparations. (I'm going as America! FAWK YEAH!) I gotta organize that shit, y'know? Ah, I can't wait to dump the hassle on the next club president. Will they be able to do it? Who knows~?**

**So I bring in Grell, and then leave you? (Hahaha... Please don't hunt me down...) I'm so sorry! I'M SUCH A DISGRAAAAAACE!**

**So, until the next chapter, whenever it may be, my duckies...**


	130. Grell Likes Puns

The crowd was roaring, cheering for their team on each designated side of the stadium, but the noise didn't seem to register in the bluenette's mind. No, Ciel Phantomhive was too busy thinking about the two familiar faces he had spotted in the crowd_. Grell Sutcliffe _and _Ronald Knox_, two bona fide _Grim Reapers_. What on earth could they be doing at a rugby game?

It was doubtful that they were here for the game. No, there was no way in _hell_ that _Grell Sutcliffe_ would be caught_ dead _at a rugby game outside of business. There was most definitely going to be death in this stadium, and judging by the fact that the Grim Reaper Dispatch Society had sent _two_ reapers instead of just_ one, _there's going to be a _lot _of it. The Phantomhive boy knew he had to somehow get to the deathly-duo, and do it with discretion. He needed to know why they were here, and what was going to happen. Ordinarily, it wouldn't concern him too much, but if word got back to Sir Hellsing that he was there and did nothing to stop it, she would insist upon having his head mounted on her wall. Moreover, his friends were there, and he was concerned about their safety. Yes, Ciel Phantomhive could care for the lives of others, especially the blonde lad seated next to him. The fact that Alois was a demon didn't change the fact that he could die.

The bluenette was pulled away from his thoughts by the hand of said blonde on his shoulder, demanding his attention. Ciel looked away from the reapers for a moment to look at him. The blonde had a confused and concerned look on his face.

"_You okay?"_ he asked.

"_No."_ Ciel replied plainly. Trying to sugar-coat the situation would only make it worse, so he decided to tell his companion up-front. "There's two men seated behind us. They're_ Grim Reapers."_

Alois turned around in order to try and spot the two he was talking about. Immediately, he recognized them-well_, one_ of them, anyway. How could he forget? He recalled seeing the man with long red hair on the very day he died. The man had appeared inside of his carriage and caused it to crash. The only reason that Alois wasn't killed by the maniac was because Claude had gotten to him first. _How could he forget?_

By the look on the boy's face, Ciel was immediately able to deceiver that the blonde had met them already. He didn't ask for details, but he did need to ask for a favour. "_Can you keep the others distracted while I go and talk to them?"_ he asked.

"Talk to _them?! _Why?!" the blonde questioned.

"If two reapers are here, that means there is going to be a large number of people dying tonight. I need to know _why_, and try to stop it. _Please?"_

Oh. Ciel Phantomhive used the "_p-word_". Now Alois knew he was serious. With a sigh, he gave his reply. "_I'll do it_. Wait, should I tell _Audrey?"_

_ "_I guess. He could help you keep the others busy." the bluenette said. "When I leave them, I need you to come and find me. That way _Audrey_ can keep them busy while we find the threat."

"Aye-aye,_ 'Captain Under-sized'_." the blonde said with a smirk, causing the other boy to frown.

Then the bluenette smirked himself. "Thanks, _'Jimmy'."_ he said before getting up. He was going to make it look like he was heading to the bathroom, as he made his way to the reapers.

With the furrowing of his brows, the blonde flushed a bit at being called "Jimmy". No one called him "Jimmy". No one. It was too late to correct the bluenette now, since he was by this point too far off to hear him without the fair-haired boy yelling at the top of his lungs over the crowd.

"Where's Phantomhive going?" asked Audrey to the blonde demon, noticing the bluenette getting up and leaving the group. The other two lads with them looked over to the blonde as well, finally noticing the boy's absence as well.

_ "He went to the bathroom."_ Alois replied, earning the immediate faith of Daniel and Travis that this was, indeed, true. Why wouldn't it be? Thus they went back to watching the game. Audrey, however, was far less than convinced.

He leaned in closer to the blonde so he could speak at a volume that the others wouldn't be able to pick up. "Why did he _really _leave?" the lad asked.

"Well, that brings me to what Ciel and I were talking about earlier..." the blonde began. He informed the Baines boy of the situation as he knew it, while the Phantomhive boy was making his way to the pair of Grim Reapers.

Casually, he sat down next to them, gaining the immediate attention of the one in red. "_Sutcliffe." _the boy said as greeting.

"Well, if it isn't the _Phantomhive twerp!"_ the man said with a toothy grin, causing the boy's eyebrow to twitch with annoyance. "So what brings _you_ here? Oh! If _you're_ here, I bet that_ handsome _butler of yours is as well! Where is he?" Grell Sutcliffe was the same as always. He obviously continued in his pursuit of men.

"He _isn't _here." the boy replied, immediately losing the shark-faced man's interest.

"Then what do you_ want?"_ asked Grell. All evidence of any sort of politeness he had was gone now, much to the utter annoyance of the bluenette.

"I _want_ to know _why you're here."_ replied Ciel, pretending to watch the game.

"_Business_, of course." the reaper replied, stretching his shoulders. Those stadium seats seemed to make everyone ache everywhere. "You think I would come here for _recreation? I _wouldn't be caught _dead _at one of these silly things for any other reason!"

It was precisely as the boy had suspected. "Since you have a colleague with you, I would assume it's a_ big _order." He recalled meeting the other reaper once before, but simply couldn't remember his name. He knew he was the one with the _lawnmower_ though.

"You bet!" the man said. "Do you even know how much of a bother it was to sneak our scythes in? We had to hide them in a bloody janitor's closet! Ah! I feel so_ naked _without it!"

Now that was an image that the boy simply did not need. "Sound's like a problem. What's so big_ here _that can cause such a massive amount of _death_ that requires _two reapers?"_ he asked.

Grell waved his finger in front of the boy's face and clicked his tongue. "_Nice try, brat. Disclosing information about any person's death_ is _against the rules_. I don't want to get my precious death-scythe taken away again!" he said, much to Ciel's displeasure. The red-head continued with a grin. "But I'll give you a hint: The end of the match, is going to be a real _blast!"_

Ciel's eye widened and he tore his gaze away from the field in order to look at the man. "A _bomb?!"_

"Oh, you're no fun. I was hoping you'd have a little trouble guessing!"

"Hey!_ Stop talking about it!" _spoke the carrot-top next to Grell, finally noticing the presence of the bluenette. He had actually been interested in the game. "I don't want my scythe taken away because of you!"

"Calm down,_ Ronny_. Everything will be fine! I never told him anything important!" the other man protested. "Wait, where'd he go?"

The boy had vanished, off to go look for an explosive. He theorized that the device would be somewhere away from the reapers, so his friends were most likely safest where they were. He pulled out his phone and hastily sent a text.

_"It's a bomb. Make sure Audrey keeps the others busy, _

_and come help me find them. The others are safest where they are now,_

_so he needs to make sure they stay put._

_-CP"_

Alois received the text, pulling out his own celluar device and read the text. The blonde sent a text, confirming that he received the information, and turned ot Audrey.

"Keep the others here." he said, standing up.

"Wait, _why? What's going on?" _asked Bones.

The blonde leaned down to tell the other boy as quietly as possible. "It's a_ bomb_. You're safest here." And with that, he left with no further explanation, leaving Bones, open mouthed, gaping at what he was just told.

A _bomb? _At_ Warwick? In this very stadium?_ That was a lot to process. Nevertheless, he had been given a task, and the lives of his new friends depended somewhat on whether or not he performs this task well. Audrey looked to the other boys, who were currently cheering that their team scored, Daniel standing up and shouting at the top of his lungs, and Travis clapping and smiling in his usual silent and awkward way. They hadn't seemed to notice that the blonde was missing, which quelled his anxiety to some extent, but failed to rid the fear of the bomb-threat in his mind. He looked around the stadium, trying to _guess _where the explosive _might_ be, which only made him more anxious.

_What if the demonic duo were wrong, and they weren't really safe? What if they failed in their attempt to remove the bomb? What if the bomb went off where Kristopherson was?_

The last question made him especially fearful, as it was entirely _likely. _He scanned the stadium again, this time looking behind him in an attempt to locate the supposed "Grim Reapers" that the blonde had told him about. His eyes immediately set on an unusual-looking pair, a man with sort orange hair, and one with long red hair, both wearing eyeglasses. He couldn't figure out _why,_ but he suspected it was them.

"_Whatcha lookin' at, Bones?" _asked Daniel, pulling the boy in the skull beanie out of his trance.

_ "Huh?"_ was Audrey's initial response. "Oh, _nothing_..." he said, turning his gaze back to the game.

"Where did Alois go?" asked Travis. Audrey opened his mouth to speak, but Daniel spoke first.

"Probably went to go and_ look for the cyclops_." he said, crossing his arms.

"Ciel's been gone for a while, though..."

"Then _Alois must have already found him_." said the son of a politician with a smirk_. "Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more!"_ he added to emphasis the dirtiness of his joke.

"What is_ wrong _with you, Daniel?"

Audrey let out a sigh of relief. He didn't have to fabricate a story, and it was all thanks to Daniel's dirty mind. _What on earth was he thinking, anyway?_ Never mind, I will leave the images his mind was conjuring up to your imagination.

Meanwhile, as the boys were theorizing, Audrey was distracting them, and the demonic duo searched for a deadly explosive, Kristopherson was in his own predicament. The boy from the cafe' was looking right at him. He knew it was him, for the boy in the pink hoodie was close enough to the field to see the players quite clearly, and the boy was on the sidelines, waiting to be sent in. Kristopherson couldn't figure out if the other boy was seriously staring at_ him, _or someone _near _him. For some reason, he didn't know where to put his eyes.

"Hey, you. Pink hoodie!" the boy finally called, startling the Warwick student. Kristopherson looked around for a moment, before looking back at the boy confusedly. _Was he talking to him?_

"Yes, _you_." the Tamworthian player said, as if answering the question that the expression on the other lad's face seemed to be asking. "Where have I seen you before? I don't think I've seen you at school." he said. Kristopherson blinked in surprise.

"Well, I... Actually don't go to Tamworth. I got seperated from my friends and ended up in the wrong section." the boy in the pink hoodie explained.

"Oh, so you're a '_Warwiccan'_, huh? I went to your festival last week, is that were I remember seeing you from?"

"I _guess."_ he lied. "I worked at the cafe' ."

"Oh! Were you_ the guy in drag?!"_ the Tamworth player asked excitedly. Kristopherson furrowed his brow.

"Yeah, _what of it?" _he asked, crossing his arms indignantly. His face was starting to turn a subtle shade of pink.

"That took some _serious bollocks_, mate." the blonde said with a wink. Kristopherson's internal gaydar was going completely off the charts at this point.

Then the coach who had yelled at the boy in the pink hoodie called for the player_. "Gully! _Get in there! _Now!" _he bellowed, exchanging players.

"That'll be me, then." said the Tamworthian, who's surname was apparently "_Gully"._ He stood up and turned to the faux-blonde one more time. "Watch me mop the floor with you _Warwick pansies!"_ he shouted jokingly.

"You _wish! _Tamworth is going _down!" _the boy in pink shouted back, earning the spiteful gaze of the visiting spectators. He didn't care, he smiled anyway. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he did_. "Gully";_ he'd have to remember that. He couldn't help but wonder what the boy's first name was, as he watched him run about on the field. Little did Kristopherson know, however, about the demons searching below the stands, searching for a deadly device.

They had until the end of the match to find it. It was just as the red-headed Sutcliffe had said: "_The end of the match is going to be a real blast!"_ He grinned to himself, knowing that even if they did find it, people were going to die that night, no matter what they do. At last he had found an entertaining idea to focus on during the boring game.

"Hey... Sutcliffe... _You're kind of creeping me out_..." said his coworker, noticing the red-head's toothy grin.

"Shut up, Ronny, and watch your _silly prancing boys_." mister Sutcliffe replied.

"I'm not like _you..."_ the other reaper replied.

_ "WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"_

* * *

**A/N: You know_ exactly_ what that's supposed to mean...  
**

**Hah... I managed to squeeze out a chapter after all! It's a little confusing, since there are so many things happening at once.**

**Bombs... At rugby games... It could happen...**

**There's an explanation, I promise! I just haven't gotten there, yet.**

**I should be asleep~! I'm currently breaking one of my many self-rules for getting ready for an anime convention. "Go to bed early"...**

**I'm not entirely sure WHICH step that is, but I know it goes after "Get your shit together and ready to go the night before."**

**I'm probably going to pass out after getting home tomorrow~! Wake up early, come home late. People also _wear me out._ UGH. **

**So, in conclusion, I _lied_ about no chapter today, (sorry) but tomorrow, it will most likely be true. My moods basically go like this when it comes to conventions:**

**Before Con: _"I HATE EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE."_**

**At Con: _"Yay~! Best day evar~!"_**

**Returning Home From Con: _"I FUCKING HATE EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE. DO NOT TALK TO ME OR I WILL INTRODUCE MY FIST TO YOUR FACE. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING; DO NOT EVEN FUCKING BREATHE NEAR ME, YOU PUNK BITCH."_**

**_And then I just kind of die after that..._**

**Have you ever gotten _that_ tired? I love my friends, and I love the anime community. I really do, but if I spend too much time around people, and I get exhausted, and when I get exhausted, I get _pissed off._  
**

**I find it odd how lately, the reviews have been about my author's notes, and hardly about the story! I'm glad you're enjoying both!**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**


	131. The Bomb

"Not here." said the blonde over the phone.

"Keep looking. We _have_ to find that thing." Ciel stood underneath the bleachers, avoiding random bits of food and rubbish dropped by the spectators. You would think people from Warwick would have a little more _decency_. He spoke over the phone with his blonde companion, as they both searched for a supposed bomb. "Have you checked the visitors side yet?"

"Nope. On my way over there right now." replied Alois.

"Don't leave any stone unturned. If word gets out that we were here, and made no attempt to stop a bomb threat, we could end up in some serious hot water."

"Worried about Sir Hellsing shooting you?" the blonde teased.

"Getting shot is the_ least _of my worries in that case..." replied the Phantomhive boy. He didn't even want to think about the afull things that woman would do to him. It seemed as though she had it out for him, sometimes.

He forced away the image of the smirking Hellsing woman to focus on the task at hand. They were coming up with nothing, and the game was growing closer, and closer to a close. Where had they not checked? They had searched high, and they had searched low, but there was no sign of a bomb. Had the red-headed Grim Reaper been messing with him? Was there really no danger at all? Unlikely, but possible. There were a lot of people in the crowd that were supposed to die that night, but none of them were in the section that the reapers and the friends of the demonic duo were sitting in, meaning that specific area didn't need to be checked. The bluenette dwelled on this thought further, when the horror of the possibilities sank in.

_They hadn't checked that area. What if nobody died in that area because he was supposed to move the bomb?_

Ciel quickly hung up on Alois and ran. He ran to the section that the reapers were in. He ran to the section that his friends were in. He ran. The bluenette dodged support beams and garbage as he did. Finally, he found it. A homemade bomb, ducttaped to one of the metal beams holding up the structure. How was he going to remove it? This would be one of many situations that_ Sebastian _would be better suited at handling.

Could he just tear off the tape, or would that set off the device? Could he even move it without setting it off? The Phantomhive boy's mind was racing, when he felt the vibrate of his cell phone in his pocket. Answering it, he heard a voice.

"It's not here, either!" the blonde shouted.

"I know!_ I found it!"_ Ciel shouted back, unintentionally matching the other boy's volume. "I don't know how to move it!"

"Hang on, I'll be there in a sec!"

"No, Kristopherson is over there, and you might need to move him if that is the section that is supposed to explode." the bluenette insisted. "I have another idea. _Audrey _isn't going to like it, though."

Meanwhile, just above the bluenette, the boy in the skull beanie was growing more and more anxious with every second that passed. Had they found the bomb yet? Is the danger over, or are they still looking? _Not _knowing was far worse than knowing. He nearly jumped when he heard his own phone go off.

Audrey took out the device and saw that he had received a text from the bluenette. it said:

"I'm going to need you to ask those Reapers which

section the bomb is supposed to go off in.

-CP"

The request startled Bones. Ciel wanted him to casually walk up to two _Grim Reapers, _and simply ask_ what section people are supposed to die in? _Was the bluenette _insane?_ He received another message.

_"I found the bomb. It's underneath your section. Tell them that. If they tell _

_you that they can't give you that information, __**show them your eyes**__._

_-CP"_

This situation was going from "bad" to "worse" for poor Audrey. He wasn't exactly a "social butterfly", therefore he wasn't entirely confident in his ability to talk to people, let a alone Grimp Reapers! Moreover, the bomb was_ right beneath his feet_. He felt as though he was going to be sick. Moreover, what was the deal with his _eyes?_ What did that have to do with _anything?_

Regardless, both his, and the lives of his friends where in danger, and Audrey was the only one that could be counted on in this situation. Bones turned to look behind him at the mysterious pair of bespectacled gentlemen. _He didn't even know if it was really them or not_. He tried to rationalize that if they didn't know what he was talking about, they would just think he was weird, and that would be it. That would be all. All he had to do was _ask, _right? Still, the lad was having difficulty finding his inner courage. This wasn't like at the haunted house, where he had a certain persona to shield himself from them. He would have to face them as _Audrey._ He took a deep breath, and turned to Daniel and Travis.

"I'll be back in a sec, _there's some people I need to talk to_." he said with a forced smile. He was glad that his eyes were covered with his bangs, preventing them from knowing just how _fake_ it was.

"Okay. We'll tell you what happens." Daniel said. He was hardly paying attention to the lad. The son of a politician was too invested in the game to pay him much mind. Travis just smiled an nodded, and turned his attention back to the game as well. Something told Audrey that he hadn't entirely bought it, but this was good enough.

Bones forced himself to stand up, and turned to climb up to the odd men in spectacles. The closer he got to them, however, the less feeling in his legs he had. Regardless, he kept climbing, eventually receiving a glance from the one with red hair, causing him to hesitate for a moment.

That moment passed, however, when he remembered what was on the line, here and pressed on. Now he stood near the men, received their full attention. Both looked confused at this awkward-looking boy that neither of them had seen before. He opened his mouth to speak, asking a simple question.

"Excuse me," he began, "but do either of you know a kid named '_Ciel Phantomhive'?" _He asked this question as not to immediately sound like a madman spouting nonsense about _Grim Reapers and bombs_ before he even knew it was really them.

"Weird blueish hair, eye-patch, face permanently stuck in a scowl?" asked the man with short orange hair, making gestures as he spoke.

"Yeah. That's him." replied Audrey.

"What do you want? We're _busy_." said the other man rudely. Mister Sutcliffe had no interest in children. He had no interest in being here. He was just waiting for this job to be over with.

His tone took the the boy aback for a moment, as he tried to think of a response. Audrey remembered the bluenette telling him something about his eyes, so he casually swept his bangs behind his ear, revealing one of his odd, mulit-coloured eyes. The two men seemed surprised by this somehow. They seemed to not know what to say.

"He told me to ask you wich section the people on your _'list' _are seated in." Audrey said as calmly as he could.

"You know _way too much, _kid." said the red-headed man. "What makes you think we should just give you that information?"

"Because the bomb is right underneath_ this _section, and he needs to know_ where to put it."_ Now he had them. The reaper's eyes went wide at this news. They had no idea that this was what was supposed to happen. _Fate _is a funny thing, isn't it? It was when the men had this sort of surprised expression on their faces that he noticed that _their_ eyes looked just like _his_. He immediately felt compelled to ask them why, but then they started whispering amongst themselves for a moment before turning back to the boy.

"Fine." said Grell, furrowing his brow. He pointed his finger to the field, or rather across it, at the_ visitor's section_. "There. It goes _there_. Just tell the brat to _hurry up and move it quickly!" _With that, the shark-faced man and Ronald stood up and begun to walk away, making it evident that it was almost time for it to go off. They were just fleeing the scene in case the bluenette _failed._ Quickly, Audrey pulled out his phone, hastily scrolling down the contact list to the demon's name, when he dropped it. He dropped his phone, and it fell beneath the bleachers.

He couldn't say anything. He couldn't even utter a swear at his mistake. He screwed up big time. He needed that in order to contact the bluenette, their only hope of surviving this. He stood there for a moment. Even though the crowd was roaring, it didn't register in his mind. His own thoughts didn't even register. Audrey didn't_ think_, he_ acted_, squeezing between the gap between the bleachers and dropping down below, completely forgetting how high up he really was.

With a _thud_, he landed, wincing at the sudden pain in his ankle when he did. It was dark down there, and he couldn't see anything. Bone completely ignored is ankle for a moment, ffeeling around on the ground for his phone, but grabbing nothing but grass, dirt, and the occasional candy wrapper.

_ "Damn it!" _he swore. He was in a near panic at this point. Frantically, he continued, until he felt a hand on his soulder. He turned around to see nothing but a glowing red eye, and _screamed._

_"Audrey! Shut up!" _said the creature. It was just the Phantomhive boy. "Did you find out what section or not?!"

"T-th-the visitor's section!" answered bones, still recovering from his shock.

"Thanks. I'll come back to get you after I've moved this thing." said the bluenette. By the way he phraised that, it was to be assumed that the bomb was in the lad's hands.

It was. Ciel had carefully removed the duct tape, noticing that it was hastily fastened, giving the impression that the bomb would not go off from simply being shaken arounf a bit. He had no time to lose, and thus, the only thing that Audrey could see disappeared when the demon did, leaving him in darkness.

Ciel had walked along the shadows, using them to "teleport" in order reach the stands opposite to the home team without being noticed. He stepped along the shadows, even thin ones that were almost nonexistent due to the harsh stadium lights. Luckily for him, the majority of people where focused on the game.

At last, he reached his destination, ducking under the bleachers and setting the device down in the middle, before turning to talk to the set of red eyes in the darkness. "Get Kristopherson out of here, _now."_ the bluenette ordered.

"Yes, my master." replied the boyish voice of the figure in the darkness. The eyes dissappeared as the bluenette finished fastening the device to the support beam. Never before did he think he would have to resort to _terrorism_ in order to save his school.

Above ground, the boy in the Pink hoodie was watching the game- well, the boy known only as "_Gully", _to be precise. Kristopherson was so focused on this that he didn't even noticed the other blonde boy waltz right up to him before he put his had on the faux-blonde's shoulder.

The boy jumped at the sudden contact, looking up to see none other than Alois Trancy at his side. Kristopherson could have sworn his eyes seemed to glow for a moment, and _not_ in a poetic sort of way. His face was almost _concerned_. The blonde menace opened his mouth to speak:

"We _have_ to get out of here." he said. Kristopherson was almost taken aback by the unusual seriousness in his tone.

"Why? What's going on?" the faux-blonde asked in response. Arching an eyebrow and folding his arms.

With a exasperated sigh, Alois grabbed the boy's wrist and forced him to stand up before he started walking, dragging the boy in the pink hoodie right behind him. _"No time for questions. Just follow me_." he insisted.

"Wait, but I-!" the other boy began as he tried to squirm from the blonde's grip to no avail. He looked back to the field one last time, looking at the Tamworthian he had spoken to earlier. The boy was on the field, playing. _Kristopherson had really hoped to be able to talk to him again._

After they where a little ways away from the stands, the buzzer went off, indicating the end of the game. The crowd cheered. Kristopherson was about to look to the scoreboard, when Alois yanked his wrist, throwing him in front of the blonde_ just before the vistor's stands exploded._

Flames went up into the sky and pieces of wood and metal came raining down. Screams of the people who were caught up in it all were heard; at least those who hadn't died immediately in the explosion, and the people on the opposite side of the field gasped in horror. Kristopherson's eyes went wide as he looked at the scene, speachless at what he had so narrowly escaped.

Alois didn't even turn around. He could see it all in the reflection of the faux-blonde's eyes. He could hear it all. He could feel the heat from the flames at his back. He didn't look. He knew those flames, and he knew those screams. He knew that the sight would only invoke painful memories, he instead, he looked at the field and the Warwick stands, at the players and spectators who were "safe".

He watched as the people from Warwick scrambled to get out of the stands in case there was a bomb underneath their stands as well. He watched as they pushed and they shoved, grabbing their children and fleeing, including Daniel and Travis. He watched as the Warwick players on the field ran away from the scene, and as the Tamworth players stood in shock as to what had just happened. Some fell to their knees, and some cried, upon realizing that their parents where in the audience.

"Alois..." he heard the faux-blonde say finally. "...did you... do _this?"_ He looked to Kristopherson.

"No." he said. "I just got worried about you, and decided to come and find you."

"Like _hell_ I'll believe that!" the other boy shouted. "The way you dragged me away wasn't _ordinary_. It was like you _knew! You knew!"_

The blonde looked shocked for a moment. Then his face went solemn and he crouched down to the other boy's level. "Kristopherson..."

"Get away from me!" the boy in the pink hoodie shouted. Whatever the blonde had to say, he wasn't going to listen.

"_Kristopherson! Look!"_ Alois shouted back, pointing. Hesitantly, the human boy turned around to see two figures looming around, smiling. One had a chainsaw, and one had a lawnmower. He watched them for a moment longer before they charged into the inferno, machines roaring. They ran in, and started hacking at bodies.

"Wha... Wha..." the human boy couldn't even ask. He was too stunned at the sight.

"They're _Grim Reapers_, Kristopherson. I've seen them before. They have a list of those who are supposed to die, and they come to collect their souls."

"You're... _You're fucking insane!"_

"I'm not insane! You just don't know the truth! The bomb was originally under the _Warwick_ stands, Kristopherson! Daniel, Travis, and Audrey, they would have all _died!_ It was moved because no one on the Warwick sides was destined to _die _tonight!" Kristopherson was completely speechless at the explanation. Alois' voice got soft and he pleaded. "You _have_ to believe me, Kris... You just don't know... how the world _really is_..."

The other boy couldn't believe that. How could he? It didn't make any sense. "Grim Reapers"? They're_ imaginary! _They _don't exist! _His eyes softened a bit, however, at the sincerity in his friend's voice, but, he just couldn't _believe _any of that. He wanted to, but everything he knew said otherwise.

The he appeared. The devil himself, or so it seemed. Behind the blonde appeared a boy with glowing eyes, one purple, and one red, gazing down at the two. His hair was of an odd, blueish tint, and he had black horns that bent backwards, almost like a ram's, long, black claws, and a monkey-like tail with fur the same colour as the hair on his head. He was clad in a black, military-style coat with various patches on it of various satanic and religious symbols.

He looked like Ciel- or rather, Ciel looked like the devil. He too, crouched on the ground with the others. "Hello, Kris." he said.

"Ph-_Phantomhive?"_ the faux-blonde asked.

"_Yes. This is me." _said the demon. "I, or rather, Alois and I, are _demons_."

"No way... That... This is... _Impossible!" _shouted Kristopherson, putting his head in his hands. "When will I _wake up? _I have to be_ dreaming_... I have to be! Things like _Grim Reapers_... and... And_ demons!? _They don't _exist!"_

"_We _exist, don't we?" asked Alois. "_And we are demons_."

"Why... why didn't you_ tell _me? I thought we were _friends..."_ said the human boy. His voice sounded like it was cracking.

"We _are_ friends, but being _'an apparition of pure evil'_ isn't something you can just bring up out of the blue, y'know? We knew you'd react like this, so we didn't tell you." the blonde explained.

"So you're _'evil',_ huh?" Kristopherson forced out a laugh. "I'm not sure if I want to associate with that..."

"Kristopherson, we aren't _'evil', _we're just _us._" Ciel explained. "We're _demons, _yes, but we're still _'Ciel and Alois', _alright?"

"How do _I _know that? Everything else already turned out to be a _lie_."

"You already know_ almost everything _about us, though." said Alois, finally. "You read _my bulter's diary."_

Now the human boy paused to think for a moment. He silently sat on the ground until it finally clicked. "So you... Both you and Ciel are _the 'Alois Trancy and Ciel Phantomhive' _from the diary?" he asked.

"_Yes." _Ciel said. "That's us, over one-hundred years ago. Claude Faustus really was a demon, and the diary ends so abruptly because he was killed by _my_ butler, _Sebastian."_

"He's one too?!" Kristopherson asked loudly. Then he composed himself again. "Alright, alright. I _have _to hear the full story of this, and when I do, I _might _let you off the hook for _lying _to me."

"Will do, but _now _probably isn't the time. The police and fire department will probably be showing up any minute." said the blonde. "We'll tell you later_, pinky promise?"_

"_Fine_." the boy in the pink hoodie said. "_Pinky promise_."

_ "I swear on your silly fetish with the colour pink that we will tell you how it all happened someday_." Alois said, putting his hand over his heart and getting up.

"It's not a _fetish_, and _that's not how you pinky promise!"_ the faux-blonde shouted.

"It is! _I promised to 'Pinky'!_ _Ciel! Change back and let's get out of here!"_ With that, the bluenette burst into black flames and reverted back to normal, before he and the blonde began to flee the scene, slowing down a bit for Kristopherson to keep up.

After what seemed like an eternity, the gang was reunited in the parking lot, recounting the event. Daniel and Travis were making a big deal about whether or not the boy in the silly pink hoodie was alright or not, Kristopherson conveyed what the bombing had looked like up close, specifically excluding the supernatural bits, Audrey was limping on his bad ankle, saying that he tripped during all of the mayhem, and Alois was hanging all over Ciel in the way he always has. They loitered for quite a while, talking about this and the game itself, all of them forgetting the final score.

This went on, and on, until Kristopherson saw a familiar face walk up to them. It was the boy he had talked to during the game. He was on the field at the time of the explosion, and was completely unharmed, aside from any injuries he had obtained while playing. With a smile, he walked right up to the group, immediately gaining the group's attention. He smiled at them, somewhat awkwardly.

"_Hey_." he greeted.

"Uh, _hi_." the boy in pink said back, completely ignoring the snickering of Daniel. "You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a little beat up from the game." the Tamworthian answered. "I'm just glad my parents were too busy to watch me play this time."

"Well, that's good news, I guess!" Kristopherson said with a smile, causing the rest of the group to just stare at him. _Kristopherson never smiled like that_. "Oh! I never introduced myself! I'm Kristopherson. _The sleazy brunette _is 'Daniel',_ the brawny one _is 'Travis', _the angsty cyclops _is 'Ciel', and _the thing attached to him_ is 'Alois'. He was the 'butler' at the cafe'."

The Tamworthian boy just laughed. "Well, I'm _Cameron_." he said, blushing a bit at the way Alois was so openly hanging all over Ciel. "Well, I just wanted to tell you all that it was a good game! I'm sorry I didn't keep _my promise of moping the floor with you guys!"_

"That's fine. We never saw the final score anyway." said Kristopherson. "You could have said that you won, and we would have _believed _you." The Tamworthian just laughed again.

"You're just as funny as you were at the Cafe'! We should totally_ hang out _sometime."

"Sure, what's your number?" The others simply couldn't believe it. Kristopherson had just_ flirted with a guy_, and_ gotten his number _right in front of them. Who knew the boy had such skills?

After a while of talking with the boy from the other school, he had to leave and get on the bus to go home, leaving the others free to tease the boy in pink to their heart's content.

"_Booty call?" _asked Daniel, as soon as the boy known as "_Cameron"_ was out of sight.

Kristopherson blushed. He immediately objected. "What? _No!" _ he said. "I'm not as scummy as you, Daniel."

"I wasn't talking about_ him for you,_ I was talking about _you for him_."

"I am no one's 'booty call'!"

Everything appeared back to normal. They teased Kristopherson for a while longer, and then went their separate ways, leaving Ciel and Alois outside the stadium while they waited for their ride. They sat on a bench near the ticket booth out front, and talked about nothing in particular while Alois snuggled up to the bluenette. Ciel was at this point, used to the action, therefore he wasn't entirely embarrassed by it, and put his arm around the blonde as they talked.

"_Oh, forgot..." _Ciel said finally, rubbing his forehead. _"I was going to ask you what you wanted for your birthday..." _he said. He was kicking himself internally a bit for letting such a thing slip his mind.

The blonde stopped and thought for a moment_. "Hmmmm..." _he said, before leaning in to whisper in the other boy's ear. "_Are __**you**__ an option?"_ he smirked.

Oh, how the bluenette's face flushed at that question. The redness that stained his cheeks went up to his ears, and the blonde could feel it due to the close proximity. "That... That _depends_..." he began. "..._ what way _are you asking, exactly?"

"In _exactly_ the way you_ think _I am, _perv_." the blonde replied with a giggle. He hoped that the slightly shorter boy couldn't feel just how fast his heart was beating as he asked. He doubted it, but he still _hoped_.

"How am _I _the _'perv'?_"the bluenette inquired."_You're_ the one _asking..."_

"Because you _understood _what I was asking _immediately_." Alois said. "So? What is it? _Yes? No?"_

_ "_Only on_ one condition_." said Ciel_. "I _get to be the_ pitcher_."

"_Yes, my master~!" _the blonde said in a sing-song voice. He would've initiated a make-out session right then and there, but a certain_ black Rolls Royce _drove up and parked in front of them, completely destroying that opportunity.

Oh well, his birthday was _tomorrow,_ after all...

* * *

**A/N: Oh my~!  
**

**People are dying!**

**Children are crying!**

**Demons are lying!**

**And then... dirty jokes.**

**Seems legit.**

**I would have done this yesterday, but I passed out. I went to bed at eight last night. I was too tired to do anything. A lot happened yesterday:**

**I went to panels, cosplayed, posed for pictures, got hugged by random people, _got proposed to_ by random people, yelled at club members about how the Alois Trancy rule of "If I lick it, that automatically makes it mine" does NOT work on_ people_, and I got BURNED by Sherlock Holmes.**

**SHERLOCK.**

**MOTHERFUCKING.**

**HOLMES.**

**He made my ego hurt. BUT, in all fairness, I WAS cosplaying as _America_ at the time, therefore, _it really wasn't that impressive_ _on his part._ **

_**"You cannot have a battle of wits with one who is unarmed..."**_

_**Self-depreciating humour, YAY!**_

**I have never lost in a battle of wits in my entire life, so BRAVO TO YOU, mystery Sherlock-cosplayer. I SALUTE YOU. You reminded me that there is always room for improvement, no matter what you do.**

**More life-lessons from the anime convention next time. Maybe. I dunno if you wanna hear them or not.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	132. Happy Birthday

It was a fine morning at Phantomhive manor. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the Sensational Seven were sneaking about- well, all but Alois. On this particular day, was Alois' birthday, and the master of the house, Ciel Phantomhive, thought it would be humourous to invite over the rest of the seven in order to throw him a surprise party. The bluenette, of course, had no_ real _interest in parties, but he knew the blonde did, and he wanted to see the blonde startled for his own amusement. As such, they stalked the hallways in search of Alois' room, since Daniel, for one reason or another, refused any of the bluenette's offers to show him the way.

Alois laid in his bed, fast asleep, never-mind the fact that it was nearly noon. He was in his usual nightwear, an old T-shirt and a pair of boxers with the _Batman_ logo across the rear, while hugging his pillow rather than sleeping on it in the way he always did. He was so peaceful in his sleep, and never stirred when the door creaked open. Six other boys crept into the room, making as little noise as possible.

Daniel silently said: "On three._ One... two... three_..."

_** "WAKE UP, ALOIS!"**_ the group shouted, causing the blonde to jump and fall off the bed. He forced his eyes open, looking up from his place in the floor and saw the six boys who were currently laughing at him. He furrowed his brow.

"Oh, it's just _you."_ he said, getting up. He then proceeded to crawl back into bed and pulled his blanket over his head, acting as thought they weren't even there.

"Hey," said Kristopherson, "When he falls back asleep, _we should draw on his face."_

_ "I'm up."_ With that, Alois kicked off the blanket and sat up. _"Get out. I need to put on clothes."_ the blonde said. He didn't sound very cheerful this morning, however, this is probably due to the rude awakening he was given.

"How do we know you won't just go back to sleep after we leave?" asked the faux-blonde, folding his arms.

"I'm not_ stripping _for you, Kris..." said Alois.

"I never said I wanted you to!" Kristopherson shouted indignantly.

"_Unz, unz, unz, unz!"_ Daniel made his best attempt at recreating strip-club music, well, his best impression of what it sounded like on television. "Wait, it's _Alois'_ birthday, so he doesn't have to strip._ Ciel, however_, should at the very least give him a_ lap dance_."

"I will do _no such thing_." the bluenette protested, much to the blonde's amusement. He couldn't even _picture_ that. Regardless, the blonde spoke anyway.

_"Shut up and take my money!_" he shouted, crawling out of bed. "But seriously,_ get the bloody hell out."_

Thus, the six escorted themselves out, allowing the blonde to make himself decent. They waited downstairs, occasionally commenting on the Phantomhive boy's house, and teasing him about Alois. Ciel wasn't entirely too happy about entertaining guests by himself, but he acted as he always did, disregarding any rude comments Daniel made, and occasionally coming up with some kind of snarky remark or witty quip to block whatever jest Kristopherson made.

"You're house is so dreary for the owner of a toy company." Daniel said, leaning back in his chair. "I expected a very fun-looking place."

"You seriously thought that? Have you _seen _Ciel?" asked Preston.

"I thought there might be a_ fun-loving spirit _somewhere deep inside him." the brown-haired boy replied.

"Yes, it's true, Daniel. In fact, there's _a secret passage behind the bookshelf _that leads to_ Willy Wonka's chocolate factory."_ the bluenette remarked, his words absolutely dripping with sarcasm.

"I guess_ Alois _is the one who sparks all of the fun around here." the son of a politician said back. "By the way, is it even _legal_ to be dating your adoptive-brother?"

Ciel felt his eyebrow twitch at that. He had completely forgot about that lie. Both Kristopherson and Audrey looked at him nervously at the question, both knowing the "truth" of the house's residents. The bluenette composed himself.

"We aren't related by blood at all, so it's perfectly legal. There may be some extra ridicule for it, but we're already a same-sex couple, aren't we? How much worse could it get?" he said.

"The fact that you're both _underage?"_ asked Daniel with a mischievous grin. Both Kristopherson and Audrey snickered at that. Ciel felt his eyebrow twitch again. "Though, I gotta admit, if I had an _adoptive sister_, and we were in love, I'd totally be doing _it _too."

"Daniel, I with never allow you to get your filthy hands on_ my sister_." spoke Kristopherson, emitting an unusually dark aura that even Ciel could be proud of_. "That is a promise."_

"Oh, come on! I'd never do anything to hurt Anna!" the brown-haired boy whined.

_"Everybody hide yo sisters, hide yo wife, 'cause Daniel is bein' scummy out there." _Audrey said with his best American accent.

"I am _not!"_

"Oh God, Daniel_, what did you do?" _asked Alois as he entered the room. He took a seat next to Ciel, causing the latter to blush slightly at the implication from earlier. Alois just tilted his head and looked at the boy confusedly, He had sompletely missed the first part of the conversation.

_"I _didn't do anything! I blame _Ciel!"_ Daniel shouted, pointing his finger at the bluenette.

_"I _didn't do _anything,_ you _dumbass."_ Ciel said.

"I'm just going to assume this conversation began in a dirty place, and move along..." said the Trancy boy. He didn't have much interest in finding out what started all of this, anyway.

"Coward!" shouted Daniel.

"Are you _disrespecting _me?" asked Alois. He turned to the bluenette. "Is he _disrespecting_ me, because I think he may be _disrespecting_ me."

"Yes, I believe he may be _disrespecting _you." Ciel said with a smirk. "In this house, Daniel, there is but _one_ way to deal with such _disrespect."_ The demonic duo stood up, smirking.

_"Nerf battle to the death, Ciel?"_

_"Nerf battle to the death, Alois."_

With that, the two fled, leaving the others confused. "_'Nerf Battle to the death'?"_ asked the politician's son to the others. Everyone else just shrugged in response.

"Obviously, they're _up_ to something." Kristopherson said. "I wouldn't want to be around to find out what it is." he got up from his seat and walked out of the room, immediately being struck in the forehead by a small projectile. He fell flat on his behind from the surprize. The boy in pink reached up to touch his forehead, discovering a small foam dart stuck to it.

"Oh." said Preston. "_'Nerf Battle to the death'. _I get it."

"_Everyone take cover!"_ shouted Audrey, as more orange foam darts came flying into the doorway.

Daniel, Preston, and Kristopherson were the ones who failed to duck behind something swiftly, therefore they were all shot before they were finally covered. The demonic duo were ruthless. They didn't even take time to explain the rules or even provide the others with guns. They just left, retrieved their weapons, came back, and opened fire.

The rest of the seven fled the room as quickly as they could, not wanting to get trapped. The demonic duo took this as an opportunity to reload.

"That was an awesome shot! You nailed Kris right in the forehead!" said Alois between laughs. It took everyhting he had not to bust out laughing when the boy was first hit.

_"I'm simply one hell of a good shot_, is all." the bluenette said with a smirk. It waas oddly satisfying being able to shoot the faux-blonde after all of the glances the boy had made in Alois' direction over the past two years. "Let's go hunt them down."

"Yes, sir my master!" the blonde answered back.

The two jumped over the railing of the staircase, and split up, hunting down each and every one of the other boy's. It didn't take them long. They had every possible advantage, nearly one-hundred percent of which, could be considered "unfair". The duo utilized their knowledge of the house, their superior athletic ability, and the fact that their prey was unarmed all to their advantage. They were able to kill some time this way while Sebastian was preparing the cake. At least _two _of the seven had fun.

_ "That... was... mean..."_ huffed an out of breath Daniel. He sat at the table in the dining room, with his chin on the tablecloth in front of him. He was exhausted from all of that running he did. His tactic of "run in random directions" didn't turn out so well, after all.

"Dan, _you still have a dart on your head..." _said Audrey. He was a little better off than the others were, but then again, he wasn't entirely human, now was he? This thought had crept into his mind since yesterday, actually. He noticed that those Grim Reapers he talked to had eyes like his. He had been meaning to ask the demons about it, but didn't have the chance with all of these "normal" people around.

Kristopherson, too, had questions he wanted answered. He was going to have to wait a while before he could ask as well, however, seeing as though the other's were unaware of the "secret of Phantomhive Manor", to his knowledge. For now, though, he rested his head on the table and regained his composure. Admittedly, his escape tactic wasn't too different from Daniel's.

Travis was fine, while Preston was currently laying down in the floor. He was obviously, the unathletic type, table-tennis being the only "physical sport" that he could actually play. The demonic duo was obviously the least affected of the lot, having not even broken a sweat. Obviously, they didn't need to have toys and games everywhere in the house, because the games they _did _play where _brutal._ Regular toys, were obviously boring to the pair.

"Maybe when you _girls_ stop heaving, we can eat some cake!" teased the blonde. "Seriously, you guys are _lucky. _Usually,_ Ciel likes to use more headshots than that!"_

_ "What kind of house is this, anyway?!"_ groaned Daniel.

"You're even luckier that we didn't play _paintball." _said the bluenette with a slight smile. "The way we play it, _there is no protective padding at all. _Games are far more interesting when the stakes are higher, don't you think?"

"You two are bloody _mental!" _the brown-haired boy accused, sitting up in his chair. "Doesn't that _hurt?!"_

"It _used_ to." said Alois. "Now it only_ tingles_."

"You're a goddamned _sadist_, you know that, Phantomhive?!"

"Don't like it? _Leave,_ then." said the bluenette boy as he sipped his tea.

"Hey, Kris, _did you call that guy yet?" _asked the blonde before Daniel could accuse him of being a masochist.

Kristopherson immediately sat up, his cheeks were a little pink, but that could have easily been from running. "Huh? No, not yet. It feels kind of weird that he gave me his number, y'know?"

_ "Booty call."_

_ "Shut up, Daniel."_

"Who knows? He could very well be _the man for you_, Kris." said Alois. It was so odd to hear something like that come from the blonde. It was oddly positive and innocent."_So you're into more standard pitchers now?"_

_ "Shut up, Alois."_ Fortunately for Kristopherson, the only other person who understood that was _Ciel._

The hours passed by, like this. On what only seemed like minutes, the boys had eaten cake, Daniel stopping to inform Kristopherson that he had "white stuff" on his face. The lads taunted each other, occasionally stopping to have a semi-normal or serious conversation, only to go back to more hijinks later. They played video-games, and to the other boy's relief, video-games at Phantomhive Manor were played in a "normal" fashion, without and high stakes. Until, however, Daniel thought it would be fun to involve "penalties" for losing, saying that whoever came in last had to lick the floors, or get kicked in the nether-regions, which ended quickly after the boy kept consistently losing every time for some mysterious reason.

They played games like _Mario Kart_, and _Super Smash Brothers,_ until that got boring, and they decided to do something else. They absent-mindedly watched "_the Hunger Games", _which they all had already seen, and enjoyed. So instead of actually _watching_ the movie, they would make snarky remarks and make fun of it instead. Every time someone would call the protagonist, _Katniss Everdeen, _"the Girl on Fire", Alois would break out into song.

_ "This girl is on fiiiiiiiire!" _he would sing, causing the rest of the boys to laugh.

Finally, they all got tired and had to go home. The guests said their goodbyes, and left. Unfortunately, Kristopherson and Audrey didn't have the opportunity to ask any questions, but they still had time to do so at school, so they were willing to wait. They all had left, leaving the demons in peace and quiet for the moment. Ciel had forgotten how exhausting entertaining guests was for him.

He lounged on the couch, resting his eyes for a moment. He finally opened them when he heard footsteps grow closer, and watched as the blonde boy moved his feet out of the way and sat next to him, leaning back and taking a moment to rest his eyes as well.

"_Alright?"_ the blonde finally said.

_ "Alright."_ Ciel said back. He sat up properly on the couch, loosing his comfort as soon as the other boy had moved his into the floor.

"_Tired?"_

_ "Tired."_

Alois giggled a bit at the bluenette's response, and opened his eyes. "I still haven't gotten my _'present'_ from _you,_ yet though." he said with a grin. The blonde looked over at the the other boy, watching him blush from remembering the conversation they had the night before. "Think you can stay awake long enough for that?"

The bluenette hesitated for a moment, opening his mouth to speak, but stopping himself just short of doing so. Instead, he turned to face the blonde boy and leaned closer. He didn't trust his words, so he went with action, gently pressing his lips against Alois', who put one hand on the bluenette's cheek as though he was trying to keep him there. He scooted closer to the other boy, allowing him better access. Eventually, he ended up in the bluenette's lap before their lips parted.

"_Maybe."_ Ciel finally answered.

"I have one question, though..." the blonde began. "..._your room, or mine?"_

"Sebastian will be less likely to barge into _my_ room." the bluenette replied. "Still, we'd better lock the door."

"Lead the way~!"

What happened in the Phantomhive boy's room after that exchange, now, is a _different type of story entirely_.

* * *

**A/N: Shota-porn: DENIED.  
**

**I'm not even sorry. (Okay, maybe a_ little_...) **

**It's not _my_ fault. It's my_ friend's_ fault! They _judge_ me. **

_**I feel them judging me as I type this...**_

**_Jman_ and _Chestnutghost,_ you guys are _dicks!_ Or _Cock-blocks!_ WHATEVER! You have deprived these good people of their yaoi! _Now go sit in the corner, and don't come out until you're ready to apologize to them_! **

**(Bitches.)**

**It's because of people like them, that you good citezen are forced to write your _own_ yaoi! In fact, I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO.**

**_That'll show those shameless bastards..._**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies...**


	133. An Important Call, And A New Discovery

'Twas a fine morning at Phantomhive Manor. Even though the autumn air was somewhat cold, the sun did it's best to warm the scene with it's bright waves. This, however, wasn't entire necessary, since the residents were currently inside the household, with the heating system running at a comfortable temperature. This, however, didn't matter in a certain bluenette's room, as he had plenty of warmth coming from the blonde in the bed with him.

Ciel was laying on his back, with the blonde snuggled up next to him, using the bluenette's chest as a pillow. The Phantomhive boy mused at how effeminate the other lad could be, even in while he was asleep. Both his, and Alois' hair was a complete mess, ruffled and flattened in seemingly random locations, and the bluenette's eye-patch was missing. It was tossed aside, and was now among the clothes that were currently strewn across the room's floor. Yes, the lads were _naked._

The night before was a first for both of them, and the bluenette was now reflecting on it as he lie there. He was incredibly embarrassed, but rather content with himself, nonetheless. Seeing Alois' flushing, embarrassed face, and hearing that wonderful voice cry out, and knowing that it was _he _who had caused such a reaction in the blonde, all pleased the bluenette immensely. Thus, he was content for the moment, simply remembering the events from the previous evening rather than waking the other boy.

Oddly, Alois wasn't afraid. He was _nervous_, of course, but he wasn't _fearful_ of the bluenette's advances in the slightest, as he thought he would have been. His confidence was merely a mask for himself mostly. He was trying to convince himself that everything would be fine, and it was. He trusted Ciel with his heart, and now with his body. And, while it was new, it still remembered the horrible events that took place at the Trancy manor all of those years ago, as though they had been transferred into it along with the blonde's essence and mind, yet it seemed to forget all of it with Ciel. Alois had only focused on Ciel; how uncharacteristically passionate that he was, how his brow had furrowed and how red his face was. How every touch from the bluenette was careful, gentle, as though he were afraid the blonde would break at any moment. After all of these years, Ciel Phantomhive was finally "his" in many variations of the word. He giggled at the thought, alerting the other boy that he was awake.

"Good morning." the bluenette said first.

"Mornin'~!" Alois said back, hugging his "living-pillow".

"Here I was _trying not to wake you_, and then I hear you_ giggle_." said the other lad, moving so he could look at the blonde. "What's so funny?"

"_Everything."_

"_Well that sure narrows it down.._."

The bluenette's jest went unanswered as a knock sounded from the door, immediately causing the boys to sit up in alarm. They had completely forgotten about the accursed interrupting butler.

"My lord?" called the man in black from the hallway. "It's time to get up. Breakfast is already sitting on the table. Do you need anything?"

Ciel cleared his throat and composed himself to the best of his ability. He quickly shushed the blonde, so that he was sure to remain quiet before speaking. "No. That'll be all Sebastian. I'll be right down."

"Very well then." replied the older demon. "_Alois, you should probably get up as well_." he added, and with that, the butler left down the hallway, leaving the two boys absolutely speechless. You couldn't even hear the sound of his shoes as he fled.

Silence awkwardly loomed in the air for what seemed like an eternity and a day. Slowly, the boys turned to look at each other. They couldn't believe the butler's intuition.

With a sigh, the bluenette moved the blankets aside, and got up. He walked over to his closet and began selecting his outfit for the day in silence. He was too embarrassed to say a word.

"How the _hell _does he _do _that?!" the blonde asked at last before following suit. He began picking up his clothes. He wasn't going to walk back to his room, naked, now was he?

"I have _no _idea..." the other boy replied. Suddenly, he froze. He frowned and said: "Alois..."

"Yeah?" replied the other boy.

"Could you please stop _staring _at me?" the bluenette continued. His face was red, Alois knew that. Ciel didn't even have to turn around for him to know.

"Hey,_ you're _the one who stands naked in front of your closet while picking out clothes, not _me."_

"Well, quit it anyway!"

"Haha,_ no_..."

After both boys were downstairs eating breakfast, they hadn't spoken a word to the butler. Both of them wanted to know how the man had found out, but at the same time, were too embarrassed to ask, thus they ate in silence. Before long, however, the phone rang. Ciel gestured for the man to go and answer it, to which he obliged. As soon as he left, however, Alois set his utensils down and spoke.

"Ugh! I can't take it!" he declared. "How did he _know?!"_ He put his hands on his head.

"How should _I_ know?" replied the other boy. He paused before smirking. "You were pretty _loud_ last night, though..." he added.

Instantly, the blonde's face flushed scarlet and he frowned. "I was _not!"_ Alois was about to continue his rant, but the butler had returned with the cordless phone, pressing his hand up against the speaker. The blonde teen was so startled, that he nearly choked on his own spit.

"Kristopherson is on the phone, my lord." said the man clad in black. "He says he wishes to speak with you immediately."

Without a word, the bluenette extended his arm, and the man placed the device in his palm. Ciel held the phone up to his ear. "Hello?" he said.

"Phantomhive! It's Kristopherson." said the faux-blonde on the other end of the line "There's stuff I wanted to ask you yesterday, but the others were around..."

"Is it related to _the diary?" _asked the bluenette.

"Yeah. _I wanted to know the rest of the story_." Kristopherson replied. "It's _bothering _me."

All the boy heard was silence as the bluenette thought for a moment. Finally, he spoke_. "Do you think you could come over?" _he asked. "It's a long story, and it would be hard to tell over the phone."

"Yeah, that's fine." Kristopherson said. He jumped when he heard the door open behind him.

_ "Are you wearing my shirt?!"_ the bluenette heard a voice ask in the background. Ciel was pretty sure it was the other lad's sister. He heard Kristopherson's voice again, but it sounded further away, like the phone wasn't against his ear anymore.

_ "No!"_ His voice sounded nervous. "_This is mine!"_

_ "Bullshit! You've been going through my closet again!" _said the girl in the background.

"_I have not!"_ shouted Kristopherson. He put the speaker next to his head again an spoke to the Phantomhive boy once more. "I've gotta go." he said. "I'll be over later, alright?"

"Alright... see you then..." forced out Ciel. He hung up, leaving the faux-blonde to argue with his sister without restraint. He rubbed his forehead for a moment. He could already feel his headache coming back.

"What is it?" Alois asked, leaning forward a bit. Ciel looked up at him.

"Kristopherson is coming over. He wants to know _'the rest of the story'."_ replied the bluenette.

"Fine. _He better stay out of my room, though!"_

Rolling his visible eye, Ciel let out an exasperated sigh, and began dialing the phone, still in his hand. He placed the device up to his ear once more.

"Who're you callin'?" the curious blonde asked.

"_Audrey." _Ciel replied, listening to the ringing of the phone. Finally, it stopped.

"Hello?" asked a boy's voice on the other end. He sounded as though he had just woken up.

"_Bones,_ can you come over?" asked the Phantomhive boy. "I have something I need to talk to you about."

_ "Supernatural_ stuff?" asked Audrey.

"_Supernatural stuff."_ answered the bluenette. He waited for the other boy's response.

"Yeah, I can come over." said Bones. "_I have some stuff I've been meaning to ask you anyway."_

"See you when you get here, then."

_ "Laters." _With that, both lads pushed the "end call" button, and Ciel handed the device back to the butler.

"Shall I prepare for guests then, my lord?" asked the man.

"Yes, but you probably won't need to prepare much." replied the boy.

"Oh, that reminds me, my lord. It appears to have slipped my mind..." Sebastian began, "_Will you be needing a fresh set of sheets, my lord?"_ he said with a slight smirk.

"How did you even know about _that?" _the boy forced himself to ask, trying to hide his blush.

"Come now, if I was unaware of any of the_ hijinks _that takes place in this house, then _what kind of butler would I be?"_ replied the man. "That, and_ Alois is quite loud_."

_ "Hey!" _the blonde began to protest. He slammed his hands down on the table and stood up, his face completely red. Ciel flashed the lad a look that seemed to say:

_ "I told you so."_

* * *

**A/N: Oh my...  
**

**That's as close as you're getting in THIS fic!**

**Ah, I'm gonna get accused of being a pervert by _Jman_ at school~! That's not really new... It's his fault that he keeps reading this...**

**WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT _YOU,_ JMAN?!**

**"Yeah, but _you_ wrote it!"**

**Yeah, but I'm not a _straight __guy, _like _you._ (_Fudanshi?!_ Oh, wait, never-mind, it's just _shounen-ai._) Also, FUCK YOU, I'M THE HATEWEASEL!**

**BOOM.**

**Ah, I missed you yesterday! An after-school dentist appointment took longer than I expected. _Braces_, am I right?**

**Next chapter'll be Kristopherson and Audrey learning that they both know, and about the AMAZING ADVENTURES of Phantomhive and Trancy.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**


	134. Life Is Funny Like That

When Kristopherson arrived at the manor, it was jus as quiet as it was before guests arrived at the party on the previous day. He was the first one to show up, naturally, as he was one to show up to scheduled appointments early. The manor was larger than his house, and held an old-timey elegance to it that his own home didn't possess. It was quiet. It lacked servants and life, but this was the home of demons, after all.

He was let in by Sebastian, who greeted him kindly and walked him through the absurdly-sized house. Finally, they reached the location of the master of the house, and the faux-blonde was led into the bluenette's office. There, he found the lad sitting behind his desk, staring at his computer-screen. His chin was resting in his left palm, while his clicked the mouse with his right. He didn't even look like he noticed the faux-blonde walk in.

Alois, on the other hand, was sitting up-side-down on one of the sofas, with his feet up in the air, and his back on the seat. His blonde locks flowed down towards the flow as the flow of gravity dictated it to, revealing the bits of his face that were usually concealed, otherwise. He was complaining at how uncomfortable the accursed sofa was, saying something about how it "_made his 'ass-cheeks' fall asleep"._ Ciel opened his mouth to respond to the boy, when he saw Kristopherson standing in the room.

"Hello, Kris." he said, turning away from the seemingly hypnotic monitor at last. Alois too, noticed the faux-blonde- or rather, his shoes, before looking up to see the pink-loving lad staring down at him, as though he thought that Alois was _silly _or something.

"Hullo~!" the topsy-turvy demon said with a smile. The blonde adjusted himself so that he was sitting upright, in order to offer the human boy a seat, which he gladly took. "Word on the Phantomhive phone-line says that you're interested in how _I'm still alive."_

This was true. The diary that Kristopherson had read had only gone slightly past the fated duel between the two earls all those many years ago. After the demon butler of the Trancy house had written about the few days that the bluenette-demon was in his care, there was nothing. There were no more entries. None, because the butler, _Claude Faustus_, had died shortly after.

"_Yeah..."_ Kristopherson said nervously. He still wasn't entirely sure what to make of his friends being real-life demons. It was all very shocking to him. That, and the contents of the diary were a bit, in a word, _disturbing_. He had no idea about Alois' past, how he got his name, his brother, any of it. He wasn't sure how the boy wasn't a nervous wreck! Still, Kristopherson had just assumed that it took people who were "unordinary" in certain aspects. Similarly, he had no idea at all about the past of the bluenette "demon-master" at all. He knew nothing of how he got his first demon servant, or even how he got his eye-patch. There was so much he didn't know about these two, but he was determined to discover the truth, the _entire _truth, today.

Kristopherson was just about to ask his first question when the office door opened, and through it, another boy was led inside. When he saw who it was, he jumped in surprise, and the new guest did the same. Neither he, or _Audrey_ expected to see each other today.

"Hey..." the boy in the skull beenie said awkwardly.

"Hey...?" the faux-blonde said back, before looking to the bluenette curiously. Ciel just motioned for the new boy to take a seat on the other couch, and he did. "What are _you _doing here, _Bones?"_ Kristopherson asked as soon as the other lad was seated.

"I had some... _stuff_ I needed to ask Ciel." explained Bones. He looked to the master of the house confusedly.

_ "Congratulations!"_ the blonde said excitedly, while clapping his hands. "You two have _both _discovered our little_ secret!"_

_ "What?!"_ the humans said simultaneously. They couldn't believe they both _knew_.

"It's just as he said. You both know we're_ demons_." the bluenette said. "I thought it would be a good idea to inform you both of this."

"How'd you find out?" asked the boy in pink to the boy in the skull beenie.

"I interrupted a battle between them and another demon. You?" replied the latter of the two.

"I found out at the rugby game. They... _moved_ the bomb..." Krisotpherson trailed off, remembering the explosion, and the image of the grim reapers. The thought of someone cutting into him to collect his soul when he died made him shudder.

"That reminds me..." Audrey said, turning his attention to the bluenette. "I wanted to ask you about those Grim Reapers."

"_Fire away." _the bluenette answered. _"I'll answer any question you like."_

The Phantomhive boy went into detail, spouting everything he knew about the divine beings. Their duties, weapons, uniforms, classes, management, and physical traits, primarily focusing on their eyes, since he assumed that's what the boy really wanted to know. The suspicions that Audrey had since the night of the rugby game versus Tamworth was confirmed.

He had the eyes of a Grim Reaper. That explained why he was able to see that, on that day. Those things that Ciel had called a "cinematic record". Now he knew what they were. They were the memories of the deceased, that were to be examined by the reapers, and from this, they would determine whether or not they would pass on into either _paradiso_ or_ inferno_.

It all made sense to Audrey now. The bluenette had also shared his theory of how he has those eyes, suggesting that he may be at least part Grim Reaper. Bones never knew his father- his _real _father, that is. His mother had gotten married when he was very young to his step-father. The woman would never speak of the man how was his true father. She won't even say his name. Audrey only knew his true father as "that man", which was what his mother would refer to him as. While he was shocked, horrified, and distraught all at the same time, he was also thrilled. He had the eyes of a Grim Reaper? He had to admit: _that was really cool_.

"Next question." the bluenette said, snapping the only full-blooded human being in the room from his shock about hearing how death and the afterlife truly worked.

That was going to give him nightmares for weeks, if not months. He had been pulled into this world so suddenly, and all of this was so shocking and bizarre. It was a hard thing to accept that_ everything you knew in the world was a lie_. Absolute truths were _lies. _How things like monsters didn't exist, which was something most children "grew out off" believing, but they had been right all along. Kristopherson was in a room _full_ of these so-called "_monsters"._

He opened his mouth to speak. "So, if that's how _Grim Reapers_ work, then how do _demons_ work?"

The bluenette and the blonde demons grinned darkly at the question, making the boy wish he hadn't asked. "Well, to begin with, let's start by how you summon a demon." Ciel began. "Rule number one:_ A human must believe that god doesn't exist_."

"Rule number two:" Alois said for the bluenette. He held up two fingers in front of the faux-blonde's face for the number_. "A human must be desperate for a way out._ Those are the only rules."

"And... You and Ciel followed them?" asked the human boy.

"Yup! But you already_ know _my story!" the blonde said with a grin. Kristopherson felt his heart sink, remembering what he had read in the diary. How could the blonde _smile_ when talking about something so utterly _horrible?_

Both his, and the attention of Audrey were taken by the bluenette, as he reached behind his head to untie his eye patch, and removed it. He opened his eye, and the eyes of the two "ordinary" boys widened at what they saw. At last, they knew the secret of the eye-patch. It was not caused by an "accident" like the boy had said. At last, they gazed upon that eye, that glowing, purple-ish eye, adorned with the image of a pentacle on it.

"After you've summoned a demon," Ciel continued. "You can enter a contract with a demon. After doing so, the diabolic signature of the demon, _the contract,_ will appear on the area of the contract holder's choosing. The more noticeable the location, the stronger the contract is. This, is _mine_." he said, pointing to his right eye. The other were speechless, all but Alois.

"Mine _was _on my _tongue!"_ the blonde said, sticking out his tongue in a childish manner at the guests_. "It's not there anymore 'cause Claude's dead."_

Well, that explained why _entries in the diary had stopped so abruptly_. Kristopherson had shown the diary to the others to see what they made of it before he _knew_, so all of the seven knew the story of the _old_ Alois Trancy. He felt horrible about it now. This feeling didn't subside after the Phantomhive told his own story of how he descended into the realm of darkness.

December 14th, 1896: a fire had burned Phantomhive Manor to ash- the very same manor that the four sat in now, killing the head of the household, Vincent Phantomhive, and his wife, Rachel. Their son's body was never found, but this was because he was alive. He had been sold to a religious cult, who had desired to summon a demon to grant their wishes. After enduring months of this, the day came when the lad was supposed to die, but instead, it was _he _who had summoned the demon.

And the rest, is history.

The history of how he descended even further. The two demons in the room took turns telling, both taking time to explain their sides of the story. How Ciel had _met _Alois Trancy, how he had sought to _kill_ Alois Trancy, how he had _dueled_ Alois Trancy, how Alois Trancy, or rather, _Jim Macken _had _died._ They told the two other boys in the room how _Jim_ had had gave him this new life as a demon as he sought revenge on both _Claude Faustus_ and _Sebastian Michaelis_ by forming a contract with a _third_ demon, _Hannah Annafellows_, now _deceased._ Both Audrey and Kristopherson clung to every word. It was perhaps the single greatest story they had ever heard, and they had knew the characters the entire time. Finally, it came to a close as they got to the part were the blonde was resurrected as a demon.

"_Damn..."_ the faux-blonde said. There was nothing else he could say.

Now that, was perhaps the most elaborate secret history he would ever know of. At least he wouldn't be burdened by carrying the secret alone. Audrey, too, knew now. They both would have this heavy weight on their hearts, knowing of the tragedies that their friends had gone through, all of the pain and suffering they had experienced, and they couldn't tell a single solitary soul of this secret.

Yet, they both were somehow perfectly fine with that. They were fine with the duo being demons. They were fine with them being over a hundred years old (Alois, however, would argue that he has technically _"lived"_ for only_ sixteen _years). They were fine with all of it. Part of them _liked_ knowing, part of them _didn't_.

Part of both Audrey and Kristopherson had wished that they had remained ignorant to this fact, because now, after uncovering this secret world and stepping inside of it, they couldn't return. The knowledge of knowing the demon boys would never simply go away. Never could they simply forget about existence of things like demons, and grim reapers and angels. They knew things that "ordinary" humans were never meant to know, and could no longer go on simply being "ordinary" because of that fact.

"Don't look so down." said Alois finally. He smiled at the pair. "The world's completely _grey,_ anyway. There's no such thing as black and white. There's simply _knowing,_ and_ not knowing_."

"Indeed. You're no longer _ignorant_ like the rest of the world." Ciel said. "You get _used_ to it, eventually."

Kristopherson sighed. "I hope so. I'd hate for this to interfere with my _fashion career_." he said, running a hand through his hair.

"So Alois, what's it like _dating your sworn enemy?" _Bone inquired jokingly.

"It's quite _exciting_." replied the blonde. He smirked in the bluenette's direction, causing the latter of which to blush slightly.

"It is." Ciel said back with a smirk of his own. "It makes it especially _funny_ when Alois _**tries**_ to _defeat_ me." He was sure to put a lot of emphasis on the word "tries", in order to push his point across.

"Sadist..." said the blonde making a face.

"I'm a _demon, _remember?" The two attempted to stare each other down. It's almost their way of flirting, if you can believe that. Both lads had a competitive nature to them that made them want to crush the other in a way. Alois did that by poking at the bluenette's overwhelming sense of pride, and Ciel did this by picking at the blonde's overwhelming sense of confidence. The other two lads in the room didn't even want to think about this.

"So, uh, Alois..." began Kristopherson in an attempt to change the subject. "What does _your_ demon form look like? I've only seen _Ciel's_." He immediately wished he hadn't asked, as he was being frozen to the bonde by the bluenette's glare. The Phantomhive boy had no desire to allow the lad to gaze upon the blonde in_ that form. _Not when it showed so much _skin_.

Audrey immediately caught on to this, having seen the legendary demonic visage of the blonde menace. _"Got your woman on a tight leash, don't you Phantomhive?"_ he asked.

"I'm not his _woman!"_ the blonde argued. His cheeks turned red when the Phantomhive boy emitted a sound from his throat that was his attempt to choke back a laugh.

"_Yes you are." _said the bluenette with a smirk. He was greatly amused by the flushed face of the blonde.

"_Shut up_." This wasn't usual Alois Trancy behaviour. That was something that the bluenette would say. Had Daniel been there, he would've immediately picked up on this, and made a rude remark, but for now, the others were ignoreant to the pair's _other_ secret. This was probably for the best, though.

That evening, Kristopherson laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling and reflected on everything he had learned that day. He had learned about demons, about grim reapers, and about the duo's past together. Ther was no way he could _compete _with that. He thought he was hopeless before, but now, he knew he hadn't a chance in _hell_ to compete against the Phantomhive boy. It was then that he resolved to finally_ give up on Alois Trancy_.

With a sigh, he turned on his side, and stared at the wall for a long while. He thought about many things that evening. He wasn't _like _the other two. He didn't have all the time in the world to find his place in life. His brown eyes shifted from the wall to the night stand next to his bed, and the pink cellphone that sat on it. Slowly, he extended his arm and picked up the device, sitting up as he did. Kristopherson then began to scroll through the contacts before stopping on the name, "_Cameron Gully". _

_ After a few moments of hesitation, he pressed the green "call" button._

* * *

**A/N: I had stuff I wanted to say here, but forgot what it was when I got here...  
**

***sigh***

**Laters, duckies...**


	135. Too Far, Daniel

Warwick Academy: All-around exceptional school for all-around exceptional children; usually those of wealthier individuals. As an exceptional educational establishment, Warwick has a place of decency, thus has rules that the children must obey in order to maintain this image, which was besmirched the previous week when a bomb went off in the visitor's stands on their grounds. An investigation was launched immediately in order to find the perpetrator, but had found nothing at all by since then. It was now Monday, and two lads were breaking one of the many rules of Warwick. They were _tardy._

In their defense, Ciel and Alois had been kept by a certain_ beast of a woman _who had asked them many questions about the incident. Sir Hellsing wasn't thrilled about the meeting either, since it really wasn't her field. She was only sent because the lads were demons, and she was even less thrilled that the meeting had come to a close upon discovering that the duo knew nothing about who had put the bomb there.

They arrived slightly before noon, landing themselves in English class before the bell rang. Ciel walked in, placed a note on the teacher's desk, explaining the lads' tardiness, and sat down as Alois followed suit. The other's immediately began pestering the pair with questions.

"Where were you guys?" asked Preston.

"I bet they _stayed up late last night _and had a hard time getting up this morning." said Daniel, elbowing the Indian boy in the ribs and smiling. "_Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more_."

"_Wrong."_ the eye-patch-wearing bluenette insisted. Talking with the Hellsing woman always put him in a foul mood, and he did not feel like putting up with Daniel's hijinks today._ "_I had a meeting early this morning."

"Couldn't you have rescheduled it?" asked Audrey.

"If you met _that woman,_ you would know immediately how that is an impossibility." Ciel frowned. He rested his chin in his palm in a disinterested manner, hardly matching his grouchiness.

"A _likely_ story!" declared the obnoxious politician's son._ "How's your arse, Alois?"_

"Bloody_ amazing_, like _always_." replied the blonde, completely deflecting the other boy's question. He knew what the answer Daniel _wanted_ was, so he simply refused to give it. It would've been a _lie, _anyway.

Demons, in general, seldom have_ those kinds _of feelings, but it would appear that the duo had maintained very _human-like _qualities. They both had their own unique identities, a thing that demons lack. They identified as themselves, and needed no one to _tell_ them who they were, as they had kept their human psyche. Ciel and Alois also slept at night, and ate human food, neither things were necessary for either lad, but they did them anyway, as it was part of their _routine._ Those were things that the boys were used to doing as humans, and honestly didn't feel quite right if they didn't. Finally, they could feel things that demons didn't generally; things like _kinship, love,_ and _lust_.

Demons simply didn't, as they lack interest in those things, and lack the sense of self in order to do so. Even Sebastian, who has been known for quite some time as "Sebastian", couldn't quite grasp foreign concepts like these because of this, but the the boys could, as the capacity to do so was pre-programmed into their minds. They are human-like demons; or were they demon-like humans? Even I, myself, may never know.

The others simply laughed at the humourous jest made by the blonde in response to the brown-haired boy's inquiry. Daniel even seemed amused. "Well, Phantomhive? _Would you agree with that?" _he asked the bluenette, causing the boy to pay attention to them once more.

"_Yeah_, but so would _Kristopherson_." said Ciel. The other lad's returned the remark with a series of "oohs" and turned to the boy in the pink tie for his response. Kristopherson crossed his arms indignantly. He furrowed his brow and spoke.

"I don't think I could fairly judge that. " he said with a smirk. "I haven't seen it_ up close _like _you _have." The seven aside from both he, and the bluenette repeated their "oohs" once more, and awaited the bluenette's retort or _denial_, whichever came first. Alas, it did not arrive.

The Phantomhive boy simply smiled darkly, and turned to the blonde in question, allowing but a single sound to escape his lips. "_Heh." _

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! _What's with that reaction?!"_ demanded the son of a politician while pointing at the bluenette accusingly. The others simply blushed a bit at the implication, the one's with the reddest faces being both blondes, the true one and the faux one.

_"_What? _I didn't say anything..."_ replied Ciel.

"Congratulations!" declared Daniel. "You two both tied for the second ones to lose their virginity!"

"Whoa, whoa, who was _first?!"_ asked the boy in the pink tie. Daniel smirked.

"_Me."_ he said proudly. Neither Ciel or Alois were sure why that was a thing to be proud of.

_ "Bullshit."_ said Preston.

"It's true!" protested the boy with brown hair. "Sorry, Kris. _No hard feelings about your sister?"_

_ "None at all."_ replied the faux-blonde. "According to her, you only got to _second base_ before she _slapped_ you."

Daniel felt his eyebrow twitch at that. "Is there _anything_ she _didn't _tell you?!" he demanded.

"I guess it's true. There are_ no secrets _between a girl and her_ sassy gay-friend_." said Audrey.

"Apparently that applies to siblings, too..." added Preston. Travis just nodded in agreement. "Oh! I forgot. Didn't you get some guy's number at the rugby game last week, Kris?"

The hue of Kristopherson's face changed to that of a slight pink at the question. "Yeah..." he said.

"Ooh! Did you finally call him?" asked Daniel. He certainly recovered from defeat quickly.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I did." said the boy in the pink tie. "And before you say_ anything_, it was _not _a _bootycall_, Dan."

"A _likely _story!" the other boy said. "Now what exactly did you and this_ 'not a bootycall' _talk bout, Pinky?"

_ "Nothing in particular. _We just talked." the faux-blonde replied plainly. He spoke as though he didn't consider it a big deal at all.

"Is that who you were texting in class this morning?" asked Audrey.

"Yeah. I'm surprised Mr. Irons didn't catch me." replied the boy in the pink tie.

"Don't get cocky. If you do, you'll make mistakes, and when you do, your silly pink phone goes _bye-bye."_ said Preston.

"My phone isn't silly..."

"Why does everything you own have to be _pink?"_ asked Audrey.

"The same reason why everything _you_ own has to have _skulls _and shit on it. I just happen to _like _pink." the faux-blonde said indignantly.

_ "Touche'." _said Bones.

"So _Pinky likes pink_, and_ Bones likes bones_." the son of a politician said. "_Preston_ likes _geeky things_, and _Travis _likes _bunnies, _so what does that make _them?"_

"I don't know, but it makes _you 'annoying'_." said Ciel. "Not everyone has to have a nickname."

"Silence_ Cyclops!"_

"I am _not_ a _cyclops!"_

"A pirate, then!" said the brown-haired boy. "After all, you're the one who's always _'plundering booty.'"_

"Whoa, Daniel..." began Audrey. "We_ did not _need that mental image..." the others folded their arms and agreed while the bluenette was _positively fuming._

"_Ciel_, _calm down,_ you don't need a _murder case _against you..." said the flushing blonde, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"There won't _be_ one..." said Ciel. _"...BECAUSE THEY WILL **NEVER** FIND THE BODY!"_

Daniel went home with several bruises that day...

* * *

**A/N: No, Daniel... Just... _No... _**

**Many of you had said that you could see this as a season three of _Kuroshitsuji_, and then I thought to myself: "What would the opening song be?" I have absolutely no idea. Who would be the voices of the seven? So far, I type for Audrey in the voice of_ Monica Rial_ in her role as _Mayaya_ in _Princess Jellyfish _(In the English dub... He's a young boy, so his actor _could_ be an_ actress)_. No idea why. I just feel like it suits him somehow. As for the others, I haven't the faintest idea... I'd like to hear your thoughts on either of those things. I don't care if the voices or songs are in English, Japanese, or any other language, really.**

**You also said that if anyone had typed an M-rated fanfiception of this fic, that I should post a link or something here...**

** Not a problem. If I see one, I'll throw it your way, my little fujioshi duckies~! **

**And if that's not your cup of tea, you don't have to read it. I know some of you are uncomfortable with that stuff, and that's totally cool. Even if I, admittedly, have looked at an M-rated fic on occasion, there are times when I can _totally _agree with you. (If you think about it, sex is kind of a_ gross_ concept...) Fanfiception is fanfiception, and is separate from it's origin, just as the fanfic is to the cannon series. There's a _barrier_, here! You won't miss anything really important to DLTD. Promise~! (Unless you ask the people who asked for it in the first place...)**

**I'll see you in the next chapter, my duckies~!**

**(And marshmallows, and... whatever else you insisted that you were... I forget...)**


	136. Do You Ever Stop Talking?

Warwick Academy is one of the finest schools in Britain, and _the_ place were the offspring of the upper classes send their youth in order to learn, and prepare themselves for a successful and bright future. Sadly, Warwick was in the middle of a crisis, for you see, several students have gone missing over the past two school years, students such as_ Maxwell Goddard_, _Cassandra Bates,_ and _August Remy_ had all disappeared without a trace. Not to mention that they had that incident with_ a bomb at a recent rugby game_, killing many in the visitor's stands. It was all over the news, and was soiling the school's reputation. It made headlines, and was now adorning every newsstand in London and beyond. This was a very big deal.

The students are also frightened. They're scared that they could very well be sitting right next to the bomber in their next class. It could be anyone. It could be their chemistry partner, one of their friends, or any one of their classmates, really. _Not knowing _is far worse than _knowing_, and the paranoia was starting to get to the students. But fear not, for there is one lad with a plan to distract from the negative attention that the school has received. This plan would quell their fear and paranoia and replace it with laughter and smiles. Who was this lad, and what was his plan?

"A... _'Host Club'?"_ echoed the bluenette, trying to process the idea that the child-actor had just proposed.

"Yes, a _Host Club!" _said a certain Lawrence Rose. The boy was odd. He seemed to almost sparkle. It was said that he could make roses bloom around him at will- well, only in the hearts of maidens. "I got the idea after looking into that_ Maid Cafe' thing that Trancy did at the Halloween Festival_. Apparently, another popular thing in Japan is Host Clubs, were there's a bunch of handsome guys, and they just talk and flirt with guests, while throwing out a lot of _service."_

"_Service?" _asked the blonde boy.

"You know! Things that will get their hearts racing! _Eye candy!"_ the boy with the greenish hair explained. "So, are you in or not?"

"Absolutely _not_." objected the Phantomhive boy, much to the displeasure of the obnoxious actor. "I will _not_ become a _gigolo."_

Lawrence looked angry for a moment before composing himself. "Come now, I can't have a Host Club without either of you!" he said, flipping his bangs out of his face. "You're the _cool _character, and Trancy is the _mischievous_ character! It just doesn't work without those characters!"

"_Travis is cool_, go talk to him. _Daniel _is also _mischievous. _We're easy to replace." argued Ciel. He was not having it. He wanted no part in such a ridiculous idea, _even if it was only temporary._ It would last until the students of Warwick had calmed down, which could take_ God knows how long._

"No way. Travis is the strong silent type, and while Daniel is mischievous, he isn't nearly on the same level as Alois." the Rose boy insisted. "Come on, it'll be _fun_."

"I don't _do '_fun'..." the Phantomhive boy replied.

"Will there be _cake?"_ asked Alois with an oddly serious face for such a silly question. The other two looked at each other for a moment.

"Yeah... also tea and biscuits..." said the actor. "Why?"

"Hmmm... Cake, tea and biscuits, _and _fun?" the blonde listed off. "This sounds like a pretty good deal. I'd also get to_ embarrass _Ciel by flirting with him in public! I say let's go for it!"

_ "No!"_ said the bluenette, crossing his arms. Every time they get asked to participate in something silly like this and he objects, the blonde would somehow miraculously find a way to convince him otherwise. Ciel was determined, however, to keep this from happening this time. He was going to assert himself and stay _away_ from this silly event.

"..._So we'll be meeting in the library after school_..." said Lawrence, as he chatted with Alois, completely ignoring the Phantomhive boy.

"Okay~!" said Alois in a sing-song voice. He turned to look over his shoulder when he felt a hand on it.

"Hey..." began the exasperated bluenette. "...what did I _just _say?"

"Silly, Ciel!" replied the blonde. "I'm a _big-boy,_ who can make my own _big-boy decisions._ Seriously, do I really have to _babysit_ you _all the time?" _Alois put his hands in the air as he said that last part, the silliness adding to the eye-patch-wearing boy's irritation.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Alois. If he makes you _ask for permission _for things, that's a good sign that he's _abusive."_ spoke Lawrence. "When it comes to _romance, _I am an _expert!"_

"Did you just call yourself a_ whore?" _asked Alois.

"What? Do you want a_ medal_, or something?" asked Ciel.

The actor rubbed his forehead for a moment and sighed. "Perhaps it _would_ be better if you kept him on a leash after all..." he muttered. "I still need _both_ of you!" he declared. "It won't work, otherwise! Such people who compliment each other so perfectly don't appear that often! That's just the sort of thing my club _lacks!"_ The duo watched the boy in astonishment. He reminded them of a certain man from their past, a mister Aleister Chambers, or as he was more often known_, "The Viscount Druitt"._ Yes, if the man was reincarnated, this may very well be him.

Still the boy continued. "You all have very unique characteristics that define you! You and the seven! I need all of you in this club of mine! It's a worthy cause, however fleeting it may be. We must rid the school of terror by distracting the students from the threat!" And he blathered on, and on about how he was doing the academy a great service, and how it was a noble cause. Eventually, the other two started to tune him out and converse among themselves.

"This kid is a total _nutter_." said the bluenette. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"He may be a bit daft, but he's funny." the blonde replied. "I think I'll_ try _it for a bit, and if I don't _like_ it, _I'll simply stop going_._ Feel free to purchase my services_."

"What? So now I have to buy your time?" the Phantomhive asked jokingly.

"Tell you what, _for you,_ I'll give you a _discount_." Alois replied with a grin. He was obviously joking as well. "I'll even give you 'special _treatment'."_ He winked at the bluenette.

_ "I'll be looking forward to it, then."_

"...Furthermore, it is our duty to quell the distress of the students! All of us are completely essential! We are the _essential eight!" _the Rose boy rambled on.

"Lawrence... _Shut up..."_

* * *

**A/N: Lawrence is trying to_ weasel_ his way into the seven... NAH. There will only be SEVEN, and SEVEN only. Lawrence will disappear for awhile like he usually does after this arc. **

**It's hard enough to keep up with SEVEN, and one of them _doesn't even talk_...**

**But, Lawrence will return again someday. I also want to bring back his bully friend, _Walter_ (nobody remembers his name...), and have them either reconcile, or duke it out. I dunno. _We'll see._**

**By the way, Lawrence is named after "Lawrence Rose", the protaganist of a fictitious manga read by the heroine of the manga _Mishounen Produce. _Just because. **

**It's a silly idea... BUT IT MUST BE DONE. It'll be quick. It's just that when I thoguht of it, I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I'm sorry if it sucks. _*le cries*_  
**

** I have other stuff planned. I'm just stalling while I get a better idea of how I'm going to do it. **

**I have no idea how I'm gonna do this...**

**There will be more _female OCs!_ Yaaaaaaay~! And they won't be (_whoreish_) like August! Yaaaaaaaaay~!**

_**They don't even have names yet...**_

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

**By the way, we have_ 69 favourites_ on this thing. *wiggles eyebrows suggestively***


	137. May Roses Bloom In Your Heart

The world isn't fair in that some privileged individuals are placed above others, but social injustices such as these made establishments such as the refined and wonderful Warwick Academy exist. The school is a splendid example of academic excellence, in that all of it's students are both well-read, and cultured, knowing the ins and outs of the world around them before they even graduate and set foot into the frightening unknown that is the "real world". Warwick Academy is nearly perfect in every way because of this. It's standards are high when it comes to both education, and culture, as well as things like elegance. Why, Warwick is so perfect, not even a single napkin in the cafeteria is wrinkled.

However, with all good things, there is a dark side, and this campus is no exception. You see, Warwick has had problems in the past about new students going "missing", and now, with the recent bomb incident at a "home" rugby game, the school is in an uproar. Students are worried that the bomber could very well be sitting in the desk next to them in English class, or even their lab partner in science. With such troublesome times, it is essential that relief be provided quickly and with precision. Who should be so bold and so noble to come to the aide of the of the student body? Well, after the clock strikes three-thirty, and the final bell rings, should one go to the splendorous library of Warwick, one will be greeted warmly by eight young gentlemen.

There is _Lawrence_, the _princely-type_, _Travis,_ the _strong, silent-type,_ _Preston,_ the _nice-guy-type,_ _Kristopherson,_ the _hot-and-cold-type,_ _Audrey_, the _Gothic-type,_ and _Daniel,_ the _goofball-type,_ not to be confused with _Alois_, the _mischievous-type_. After adding the _cool-type, Ciel_, you get a near-perfect assortment of hosts to fill your every need. That's how it was supposed to be, but one "character" in particular, was having a difficult time forcing himself to go through with this.

Ciel, the ever-essential "cool-type", simply didn't appreciate all of the attention. The lad never was a _social butterfly._ He was more of a _wallflower_, and wasn't too keen on having to interact with all of these strange girls.

Every girl continuously pestered him with annoying questions, like what his favourite movie was, his favourite colour, his hobbies, and the like. Often, he would answer the question with indifference, unintentionally giving off that sort of aloofness that they were after. his mind was elsewhere. It was _anywhere,_ really; anywhere but _there_. He instead thought about things such as work, and his schedule for the week, or pondering the menu for that evening's supper, but no matter where his mind wandered, it always abruptly darted to a specific part of the room whenever he heard a giggle off in that direction. Lazily, his visible sapphire eye trailed off in that direction before focusing on a particular blonde in the room.

The _Blonde Menace_ sat on one of the many couches in the library that were available to students who wished to read (or in this case, socialize), with a few girls seated on the couch across from him, and one seated next to him. They were all smiling and laughing at what the blonde had to say. He told his story with great enthusiasm, using hand-gestures and the occasional sound effect in order to get his point across.

"So this one time, I was out behind the manor, and I found this _lizard_..." he began, "...and I played with it a little while before I brought it inside to show Ciel. I kinda hoped it would bother him. Well, anyway, I got inside, and saw the toaster sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Well; now ladies, I might want to warn you, that _this is where the story gets a little messed up; _at the time, I had wondered if the toaster could toast anything _other_ than just _bread..."_ he paused in order to allow the girls to get their giggles and "_aw_"'s out of the way before he continued. "So _into the toaster the lizard goes_, as cruel and unusual that is on my part, and I wait. After a while, I see smoke coming from the toaster, and I was like: 'well, that can't me good', and I ran over to it and tried to shut the thing off. _The bloody thing bursts into flames, _and I throw it back down on the counter. The fire alarm starts going off, I'm panicking, and Sebastian, the butler, walks in and sees what's happening._ I have yet to see him make the face he made that day again. _He goes for the fire extinguisher, and then _Ciel_ walks in..."

Alois paused again so the girls could quell their urge to giggle at the thought of the serious bluenette walking in on that scene. "The look on his face at that moment, _was probably one of the greatest things I had ever seen." _he said. Both boys held a certain fondness of that memory. While it wasn't funny at the time, looking back, they couldn't help but find the entire thing humourous. Ciel couldn't keep himself from smiling slightly at the story, which quickly vanished when he heard giggling coming from his own guests. He looked over to the group of girls curiously, tilting his head slightly.

"_It's cute how you worry about Alois so much_." one of them said. More giggles thundered forth. He blushed slightly at the comment and frowned.

"I don't _worry_ about him." he insisted. "_He can handle himself." _ His remark only seemed to make them squeal even more. Now it dawned on him. These girls were what Alois had called "_fag-hags_". Just how many were there at this school?

"He'll only lower his guard for Alois, it seems." one of the girls said to the others.

"Yeah, did you see the way he was smiling earlier?"

"It was so cute, I could just_ die!"_

Any more of those comments, and_ that could very well be arranged_. Now the girls were talking to each other, rather than the bluenette. He was conflicted about this, as he was relieved that he no longer had to deal with them, however, he was unnerved by the fact that it was he who was being discussed. He glanced over at the blonde once more, only to catch him looking his way. The boy laughed, and turned back to his own guests. The action rather peeved the Phantomhive boy for some reason.

"Yeah, I like teasing Ciel." spoke the Trancy with a grin. "He's really _cute_ when he's embarrassed, and it only makes me want to tease him more!" His expression changed, however, when he looked at the girls across from him, and noticed that their faces had changed too. They looked as though they were trying to hold in laughter. What really had disturbed him was, however, the ominous aura that he was sensing behind him.

He felt the boy's forearm leaning on the back of the sofa. He didn't turn around- he didn't _have _to. Suddenly, his chin was grabbed by the lad's index finger and his thumb, as he was guided to look the bluenette directly in the eye. He was _smirking_. Alois was immediately quiet, completely forgetting about the girls in the room, never-mind the fact that they were squealing in a pitch so high, that only dogs should be able to hear it.

"It's not nice to _tease_ people, Alois." the blue cyclops said. "But then again, you have a rather adorable _embarrassed face _as well." A slight pinkness graced the blonde's face, and the girls went wild. Perhaps this is what Lawrence had meant by "service".

The squeals and screams caught the attention of the other "hosts". The others turned in an attempt to discover the cause of the girlish squeals of delight. Confusion run over their faces at the sight. It seemed as thought they had stepped into some weird alternate reality, were Ciel was openly flirtatious, and Alois timid. One of the most confusing things, however, was the fact that the ladies were going nuts over it.

"What the hell? What's going on here?" Daniel asked aloud. He couldn't even begin to fathom what was happening.

"I think I've seen something similar on an _anime_ I watched once." said Audrey. _"I can't remember the name, though..."_

"So it's just some sort of marketing technique?!" demanded Daniel. Those clever devils had pooled their resources in order to gain more customers!

"Yes! This is wonderful!" shouted Lawrence, standing up. "This is just the kind of service that we were lacking! Such wonderful forbidden bonds between men are sure to pique the interest of the female masses!" The looks on the other's faces shifted from confusion to shear astonishment at the feat that the actor had just performed.

"Whoa!_ Did you just make roses appear behind you?!" _asked Daniel.

"Don't be _silly_. That's impossible. _No one can simply make flowers bloom out of nowhere, _mister Westley." replied Lawrence. "I can only make roses bloom in people's _hearts!"_

"Why do I have the sudden urge to_ disinfect everything?" _asked Kristopherson.

Daniel turned to face the boy in the pink tie. "How do you think _we_ feel, Kris?! We _don't even swing that way!"_

The entire exchange was seen by the demonic duo, who had paused to see what all the ruckus was about. Now, Ciel sat next to Alois, and the bluenette's own customers flocked over to the group as well. The party resumed talking.

"What was that about _making roses bloom?" _the bluenette asked. "I don't see _anything."_

"_Me neither, _but apparently, he has the ability to make _'roses bloom in people's _hearts'." replied the blonde.

"Sounds _invasive_."

"In'nt, though?"

The girls giggled, all coming up with the same theory as to why. One of them however, came up with a question. "Oh, speaking of which, do you two have a specific kind of flower that you like?" she asked. The others nodded at the question for whatever reason.

The two thought for a moment, then Ciel said. "Well, I like roses, too._ White ones_, specifically."

With a gasp, the girls all seemed to agree, as though they were envisioning the boy surrounded in the flower of his choice, just as they had with Lawrence. "What about you, Alois?" asked another.

Hesitantly, the blonde answered: "Well, it's nothing_ elegant _like roses..." he paused. "...But, I really like_ bluebells_."

"Really? That doesn't seem like you at all." one of the guests said.

"Yeah, I would think you'd like something more _loud." _said another.

"Yeah but bluebells, they_... remind me of my brother_..." answered the blonde. The girls gasped in surprise at the statement. Alois Trancy had a brother? How could this be?

The bluenette sat and listened intently. The news of his brother wasn't what had surprised him. It was the _flower_. He wanted to know why they had reminded him of the boy. His pondering, however, was brought to a screeching halt as one of the guests shattered his thought process with an inquiry.

"You have a brother, Alois?" she asked.

"Yeah. We used to pick bluebells and put them in our hair. We'd pretend we were girls when did did." the blonde replied with a slight chuckle on the end. It was forced, and the manner with which he spoke seemed to be borderline melancholic, indicating to the others that his brother had passed.

"What happened to him?"

"He... _died in a fire_..." the lad half-lied. It wasn't as though he could tell the others the entire story. Fortunately, his sad tone prevented anyone from asking. He looked up at the girls who were currently on the brink of tears seated across from him. _"But now I have Ciel and the rest of the seven, so I'm not alone anymore_." he said with a smile.

No doubt, this field was the blonde's specialty. He could sway the hearts and minds of almost anyone, and all it took was a little method acting. He would blend the truth with lies, to make everything he said seem so real. He had honed his skills during his time at the Trancy manor, as awful as it was. It was his greatest weapon, and he used it to claw himself to the top. The girls all cooed at him.

_"You have us too, Alois!" _they said. They were like putty in his hands.

Feeling left out, the bluenette ended his lengthy silence to put his arms around the blonde and draw him in close. "Forgive me, ladies." he said "But I don't know if I really want to _share_ him."

Now this was a team effort. Alois' face looked genuinely surprised and embarrassed, probably because he _was_. The bluenette had only begun acting this way recently, but only when they were alone. Now he was doing it in public? What had gotten into the boy? What the Phantomhive boy had initially done on a whim, had turned out to be "fun" to the boy. He liked seeing the blonde uncharacteristically embarrassed. Alois was known for his lack of shame, and overwhelming confidence, but now, the bluenette had stripped him of all of that, reducing him to a flustered mess. The idea of embarrassing his significant other was the blonde's, originally, but his plan was stolen by the bluenette in question, and used against him. He internally kicked himself for this. He shyly hid his face in the bluenette's chest so the girls wouldn't see it, earning a chuckle from the boy, and more squeals from the guests. _Damn that Phantomhive, boy._

Until the erratic flames of panic had died down at the school, this is how the next few afternoons went. The boys conversed with guests about nothing in particular, and the demonic duo would occasionally throw in some "service", as Lawrence would put it. This thing called a "host club" was a success, making Warwick Academy once again a_ safe playground for the super rich and beautiful._

* * *

**A/N: Oh haaaay~!  
**

**Have some seme Ciel and_ Ouran_ references.**

**Have I been watching OHSHC recently? Mmmmmmaaaaaybeee~?**

**But it was _funny_, huh?**

**Listened to the Ouran soundtrack while typing this. So far, I think my favourite track has to be the Zuka-Club's theme. Come Monday, I really want to sing "Lobeliaaaa~!" at random members of my school's anime club until someone sings it back...I like the Lobelia girls- or rather,_ I love to hate_ them, in a way.**

**I'm sorry if it sucked. I had to do it! There was no other option!**

**I've been fascinated with 2P! characters lately. I saw a bunch of 2P! Hetalia characters at A2F, and was determined to find out more about them. I just love the concept, for some reason. I then got to wondering if 2P! could apply to other anime characters as well, and began designing alternate versions of characters from other series like Ouran and Kuroshitsuji.**

**Ciel is a derpy blonde kid (_Lizzie_-blonde, not _Alois_-blonde) with a ponytail, who laughs at everything and won't _shut up_. His blue outfit is now maroon, and he is somewhat violent, and doesn't quite understand the concept of "personal boundaries".**

**Sebastian is apathetic, and uncaring. He doesn't care about anything, really, including his own personal appearance. He's dressed sloppily, with his shirt untucked and his tie loosened, and his hair is messy and slightly longer. He's clumsy, and usually relies on the _now-competent Phantomhive servants_ to get his job done.**

**Alois is a angsty kid with purpleish hair and a scar (because I thought it looked cool). He's grumpy, grouchy, is dreadfully fearful of physical contact (to the point where he even _dresses himself)_ and actually acts socially acceptable and somewhat empathetic towards others. His coat is now green, and he wears pants. PANTS.**

**Claude is now warm and kind, acting fatherly towards Alois, to the point where he reminds the boy that he can talk to him about his feelings whenever he needs to, often getting told to "piss off". He dresses somewhat _casually_, but not _sloppily_. He seldom wears his coat indoors, and usually has his shirt sleeves rolled up.  
**

**More 2P! characters later (maybe, if I feel like it).**

**I could probably rewrite the entire second season with the character's personalities reversed. (I don't really care for the "psychopathic killer" aspect of 2P! Hetalia characters, so I normally just interperet it as simple personality reversal.) Maybe someday... I've been thinking how I could make that make sense and actually WORK.**

**Until the next chapter, my precious little duckies!**


	138. Yet Another Odd Pair

At last, the ruckus at Warwick had died down, and Lawrence's "host club" was dissolved despite his many protests. The boy was nice and all, but the Sensational Seven is just that; there are only _seven_ of them. Everyone also had things they needed to do after school instead. They had made prior commitments, and they had to keep them. The "host club" often got in the way of that. Travis had gardening club duties that Lawerence had guilted him into missing out on in order to be a host, and Preston had private music lessons to attend. Kristopherson had made plans to meet up with Cameron on "_not a date", _as he put it, and Daniel... _Daniel just wanted to go home and play video games_.

Ciel and Alois had their own problems to deal with as well. Why, just the day before the club was dissolved, the bluenette received a call from a _certain detective_. The call was of a most distressing nature, as per usual.

"What do you mean '_mysterious disappearances'?" _asked the bluenette into the device. The man had called him not about murder, but about missing persons.

"It's exactly what I said." replied detective Bailey. His voice was just as rough and brutish as ever. "There's nothing. No bodies, no evidence, _nothing. _People are just up and _disappearing without a trace_."

"Are there any similarities between the victims?" asked the Phantomhive boy, reclining in his office chair a bit. "Age, occupations, people they know, anything?"

"None. None at all. It looks like they're just chosen at _random_. Once a month, another person vanishes into thin air. I just can't explain it."

With a sigh, Ciel gave his response. "Just send me the information you have on the victims, and I'll see what I can do."

"Roger that." said the man, and the very next day, a file appeared on the boy's desk with all the information they had.

It wasn't much. Just basic facts they knew about the victims and were it was said they were going. It was all useful, it just wasn't a lot of information. It was because of this that the boy didn't even know where to start. What a stupid mission!

Perhaps he was just looking at it at the wrong angle. Perhaps he needed to look at it in a way that Alois would. With a sigh, he cleared his thoughts, and tried to summon the capacity to look at something with child-like wonder before gazing upon the documents again. After much skimming and scanning, he came to but one conclusion:_ he couldn't think like that blonde idiot._

In a huff, he reclined in his chair and looked at the ceiling. He just couldn't seem to solve cases like these anymore. Why? Why could he no longer come up with answers with ease anymore? Ever since Alois moved in, he had been acting less and less like his old self, and while in some ways that was a good thing, it seemed like he was slowly loosing the ability to perform tasks that he used to do with ease and precision. He had been wasting a lot of time on silly antics, and less on actual work. His company was prospering, but his Guard-dog work was becoming more difficult.

Once more, he looked at the papers. He looked at a sheet with the most recent victim's name and picture, their address, where they had told family and friends that they were going. This woman was simply going home from work when she disappeared. The bluenette leaned over and reached for his computer, shockingly not finding any rude pictures replacing his desktop background, and pulled up Google maps.

He typed in the woman's address, and the address of her workplace, finding a route from one to the other. The boy surveyed the route, zooming in closer to see any possible detours she might have taken, or any dark allies she may have stumbled into, only to discover that there were _many_. Ciel folded his arms and furrowed his brow in concentration. Perhaps it would be wise to try and find the scene of the crime, as reluctant to do so as he was.

He got up and left his office in order to round up the blonde. If he was going to have to do this, he'd rather make the other boy suffer as well. He walked up to the blonde's bedroom and reached for the doorknob, stopping just short of doing so. Ciel instead reached up and knocked on Alois' door, knowing better than to simply barge right on in.

"It's open~!" shouted the blonde on the other side. The Guard-dog opened the door and stepped inside, only to be hit in the forehead with a paper plane. He looked up to see Alois in a post-throwing position, grinning. "_Gotcha."_ he said.

The bluenette rolled his eye. "What are you _doing?" _asked he.

"Bein' _bored."_ replied the other lad. "I ran out of stuff to look up on _Youtube_."

"Forget Youtube._ Let's go solve disappearing person cases_."

"Darn! Just _missing persons?" _the blonde said jokingly. "No _murder?"_

"It isn't considered _'murder', _because no one has found the bodies _yet_."

"_Let me fetch my trousers."_

With trousers replacing short-shorts, the boys set out onto the streets of London, doing their best to not let the nippy autumn air get to them. In one hand, the bluenette held the hand of the blonde, and in the other, he held his phone, which had the route they were to be traveling on it. They had begun at the address of the woman, since it was closer, and traveled it backwards, checking every nook, cranny, and alleyway for any signs of a possible struggle, or any sort of evidence, really, only to turn up with nothing. Nothing at all.

"Hey, Ciel, what's that?" asked the blonde suddenly. He let go of the bluenette's hand for a moment, and squatted down on the sidewalk feeling the cement. In the now dry path was a paw-print- _a big one._ It was almost bigger than the lad's hand. The Phantomhive boy looked over curiously at the blonde for a moment.

"That?" asked Ciel. "_I guess a dog must've accidentally stepped in it when it was wet. They fixed this sidewalk recently, I think."_

"Ciel! That's it!" the blonde exclaimed._ "I know who did it!" _

_ "What?! Who!?" _demanded the other boy. His eye widened in surprise.

_ "A werewolf_." Alois said with a smirk. He was obviously teasing the bluenette. The latter of which introduced the palm of his hand to his forehead at the blonde's remark. _He couldn't believe he had fallen for such a stupid trick._

"_Let's keep looking..." _he said, turning and walking away. He didn't even bother to look behind him to see if the blonde followed or not.

Their search proved to be a waste of time, as they arrived outside the small clothing store where the woman worked in no time at all, finding nothing. They found no signs of a struggle anywhere, no possible evidence, nothing. It was most likely that too much time had passed since the possible kidnapping, and anything that could have been remotely informative had vanished with it. Ciel was growing more frustrated by the minute. This entire outing had been a waste of time.

Still, the boy felt that it was somewhat nice to have a semi-normal outing with just him and Alois. There were no interrupting perverted friends to bother them, no demons or angels trying to kill them, no hijinks whatsoever. They had simply walked and talked, discussing serial killers, and possible ways they could've abducted the woman on file whenever they passed a spot that sparked interest in the matter. While that wasn't entirely "normal", it was pretty close for the too, and it was somehow refreshing.

But then he sensed it. The bluenette sensed it. He sensed the sort of unnatural aura of something. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt some sort of presence that was not "normal" for the average city street. He looked to his right, seeing nothing but a busy street, and some buildings and people on the other side, and he looked to his right, where he saw the blonde staring at him confusedly. He, too, could faintly sense this aura, but didn't know what was making him feel so uneasy. The bluenette's behaviour didn't help his growing worry.

Just past Alois, however, was a peculiar pair. Ciel couldn't believe he hadn't noticed them sooner. They certainly didn't fit in with the other city-dwellers walking on the very same path. One of them was tall and thin, with a grey dress shirt with the collar up, and black vest accompanied by a pair of black pants. Their hair was black, and pulled back in a ponytail, their bangs untidily framing their freckled face, but their garnet eyes were clearly visible. They were quite androgynous, as the boy couldn't quite decide if they were male or female. This wouldn't be entirely strange, had the person not been carrying a black umbrella, even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

The other person was obviously female, regardless of her masculine clothing, that looked obviously like hand-me-downs from an older male sibling or something. She wore a red baseball cap, and an olive-coloured hoodie that looked as though it was meant to fit a full-grown man twice her size. She was a petite girl, appearing to be about a foot shorter than her companion. Her silver hair was long and wavy, reaching past her rear, and her bangs were messy, parted in no specific manner, framing her face. It was adorned with a bored sort of expression that seemed to never change. Her blue eyes were neither light, nor dark, and she used them to look up at her chatting associate through her long lashes. Both of them seemed otherworldly.

Alois followed the boy's gaze, and set his eyes on the pair. He could see it too, now. The source of his uneasy feeling. Those two were obviously not "normal".

Suddenly, the silver-haired girl sniffed the air, and turned to face the boys, her associate following suit. Their hypothesis was confirmed by what the girl said next. She lifted her arm and extended it forward, pointing at the demonic duo, and she said but one word:

"_Démons."_

* * *

**A/N: Dat accent mark...  
**

**Have a shitty excuse for a set-up chapter!**

_**No me gusta.**_

**Still, I really like these new OCs, and I'm pretty sure you'll find them to be a interesting as well. **

**More lady-OC's, mm-hm.**

**This is what happens when I rush to get into an arc that I only know the middle of. I don't know the beginning, or the end, and I have to start with the beginning, BECAUSE IT'S THE FUCKING BEGINNING!**

**Ah, it feels like the Ouran bit could've been longer, but I didn't know what else to do with it, so I'm sorry~!**

**I think I implied this, but I don't think I made it obvious like I wanted to. Some of you were wondering how the MALE students would calm down. The answer is simple: _Lawrence doesn't give a shit about them, and only cares for the ladies~!_**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!  
**

**WHOA! TODAY WE GOT THE MOST VIEWS THAT WE'VE EVER HAD IN ONE DAY! **

**NEW RECORD FOR DLTD! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


	139. Charlotte And Amelie

A mysterious duo walked down the streets on this particular day. One of which dressed in a grey dress-shirt with the collar popped up, and a black vest and pair of pants. _She _was quite androgynous in appearance, with her boyish attire and somewhat flat chest. She had freckled cheeks, garnet eyes, dark hair that was tied back in a ponytail, and she carried a black umbrella even though there wasn't a single cloud in the sky that day. Her name was _Charlotte. _Remember that, now.

The other strange individual was quite a bit shorter than her tall and thin counterpart, with silver hair, blue eyes, and a rather bored expression on her face. She wore a red baseball cap, and an olive-green hoodie that seemed to be meant for a grown man that was twice her size, and a pair of blue jeans. Somehow, she appeared to be the more "_odd"_ of the two, if you can believe that. Her name was _Amelie._ Remember that, now.

They were gazing intently at a Help Wanted poster, debating on whether or not they should go for it. The taller of which, was more than somewhat objective.

"_No way." _she said. "I am _not _doing it."

"Why?" asked the other.

"_Because,_ you see this? You're required to wear a uniform! _With a skirt!" _argued Charlotte.

"So?" asked the silver-haired girl. "You'd be fine."

"No I would not! It's easy for you, because you're at least _cute!"_ The tall girl was grouchy. It was _too early_ for her to be awake. "C'mon, let's just go. I can't do this. Waking up in the _middle of the day_ is so _exhausting_. It's too _bright,_ I'm _starving_, and I'm _not_ wearing a _skirt_."

Amelie was silent, as she was a girl of few words. She turned her attention back to the sign. They needed the money pretty badly. They were almost through their entire savings. Living on the road wasn't easy, especially when both you, and your companion have certain "_special needs_".

While she was lost in thought, Charlotte watched her every move. She watched the girl with her own garnet eyes, which had lost their usual friendly look to them. It felt as though she was being pulled in, like a moth to a flame to the shorter girl. She extended her hand, only to have it slapped away by the other girl without her even having to turn her attention away from the sign.

_ "No. Bad."_

"Oh, please!" the taller girl whined. "Just a _bite!_ You dragged me all the way out here in the middle of the damn afternoon! I'm gonna die..."

In case you couldn't already tell, _Charlotte suffers from a rare condition called "vampirism"._ She is cursed to wander the night in search of the blood of the living in order to maintain her own empty existence. They are like our oh-so familiar demons in this sense, replacing the need for souls with the need of blood, only they have far more weaknesses. Garlic, silver, running water, crucifixes, and sunlight: all deadly to their kind, but not to demons.

"_No. Don't be a baby." _replied the other girl, who wasn't effected by the same ailments. She had her own little "allergies", specific to her own kind. The vampire was about to open her mouth to speak, but her companion didn't listen. Amelie's eyes suddenly widened, and she furrowed her brow. She sniffed the air for a brief moment, before turning around. She pointed, and her companion followed her finger, setting eyes upon what the girl was pointing at. It was a pair of lads dressed in fashionable clothing, one with hair of blonde, and the other of an awkward shade of blueish black. Amelie pointed at the duo, startling them a bit, and said one word, and one word only:

"_Démons."_ spoke she.

_** And here we are now.**_

The world around them moved in slow motion as the two groups simply stared at each other. It seemed like ages, but finally, the girl lowered her arm and placed it at her side, eyes never wavering from the demonic duo. They stood in silence once more.

Then the girls arm sprang to life as if it had a mind of it's own, and she grabbed the wrist of her companion, startling her. The boy's readied themselves to either fight or give chase, but they didn't expect what the girl did next.

"_Attack!"_ she shouted, forcing the vampire forward. "_Charlotte, I choose you!"_

The startled girl tripped on her own feet and stumbled forward, stopping just short of the boys. They just stared at her in bewilderment. Where these two actual threats, or were they just _idiots?_ The girl righted herself, and stood up straight. She nearly towered over the boys.

"_Sorry."_ she said politely.

"No problem" said the bluenette. He looked past the girl in front of him to the other girl. He saw the strange girl making a strong stance, and putting her hands up like claws. She was snarling at them for whatever reason. She was obviously a strange one; perhaps even more so than his own fair-haired companion. "Is she... _Alright?"_ he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm sorry about that. She's a bit _hard to understand _sometimes..." spoke the tall girl. When she spoke, the bluenette could clearly see her fangs, and he immediately knew what she was.

Ciel then looked over to see Alois in a pose similar to the silver-haired girl, his eyes locked on hers. He growled back, obviously trying to be funny, much to the bluenette's embarrassment. Alois had found someone who was willing to misbehave with him in public. _Super._

Amelie took a few steps forward, keeping her snarl and stance, before she charged the group. Once again, the boys got ready to fight, however instead of attacking them, she attached herself to the other female. Her eyebrows were furrowed, but her expression still seemed the same. The silver-haired girl stuck out her thumb, and pointed at herself with it.

_ "Charlotte iz my wife!" _she declared, causing a scene. Several people turned their heads to look at the group for a moment, before resuming their previous activities.

"Oh yeah?! _Well Ciel is my husband!"_ the blonde menace shouted back, latching onto the bluenette, causing him to groan. It appeared to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Amelie gave the boy a thumbs up in response.

"Good job, _démon-boy."_ she said.

The duo jumped a bit at the statement. It was surprising that the girl in front of them knew what they were when they couldn't place her race at all. She obviously wasn't human, but she wasn't a demon, either.

"How did you...?" the blonde asked. The girl placed her index finger on the tip of her nose.

_ "L'odeur." _she said simply. The blonde tilted his head in confusion, uttering a simply "huh" as a reply.

"I take it that she has _a good sense of smell_, and can detect us that way..." suggested the bluenette. Amelie nodded.

"You got it!" said Charlotte. "How'd you know?"

"_Je peux parle français._" said the bluenette. Causing both the shorter girl and the blonde's faces to light up.

"Whoa! You speak _fancy?!" _asked Alois.

"It's _French_, and yes. Yes I do." The bluenette looked over at the girl with silver hair, who was staring intently at him for whatever reason. Seeing this, the blonde lad put his arm's around Ciel's neck possessively, and stuck his tongue out at the girl, who snarled.

"What's with you?" asked her companion. "You speak _perfect English_, so why are you upset?"

"_It's not the same_." said the silver-haired female in a monotone. "Where are you staying?" she asked the two boys.

"Amelie!" the vampire whined.

"At... _our house?" _answered the blonde boy, confused by both the directness, and the quesiton itself. The lads became even more confused at the surprise on the girls' faces.

"You have your_ own house?!" _asked Charlotte.

"It's _my _house, actually." said the bluenette. "Why?"

"That's so awesome!" said the vampiress. "We just _camp."_

"No _shower." _said the other girl. "Charlotte smells like _death_."

"I do _not!"_

While those two argued, the demons had there own silent conversation. The bluenette looked over to the blonde, and Alois immediately knew what he meant. These two were certainly _suspicious._ They just _happened_ to be along the path that the latest victim had taken, and one of them just _happened _to be a blood-sucking creature of the night. The girls also didn't have anyone keeping tabs on them. No landlord to suspect them of hiding anything, no neighbours, just them. It would be quite easy for them to be kidnapping and killing human beings. Thus, the Phantomhive boy made his next decision.

"Well, you're welcome to spend the night at our place." he said politely- too politely for Ciel, really. The manner with which he spoke was far _too friendly_.

Both girls immediately stopped their quarreling for a moment. "What's the catch?" asked the shorter of the two. The girl obviously spoke her mind, and was never hesitant to get to the point.

"There isn't one." the boy with the eye-patch replied. "It's just not everyday you see others like us, that, and your friend looks like she is going to _melt."_ He pointed to the vampire who was sweating and looked like she was going to fall over. Apparently, the umbrella was no longer cutting it.

Immediately, Amelie lifted up her over-sized hoodie, revealing a beat-up white tank top underneath. "_Get in!"_ she ordered her vampiric friend.

_"I'm not getting inside your clothes with you!" _the other girl shouted back. She then however, emitted a gutsy "ugh!" as she found herself being headbutted in the stomach by her companion. Amelie then threw the girl over her shoulder like a large sack of flour, and turned to the demonic duo.

"Which way?" she asked them, obviously asking them the direction of their residence. She wore the same bored expression as she did, as though what had just happened, _didn't._

The boys blinked in response. They were completely dumbfounded by the ridiculousness of this pair. Even Alois Trancy, the master of mayhem was impressed by the display. These two where potential killers of a supernatural nature, and completely unpredictable, _and Ciel had just invited them into his home_. He was now_ regretting _his decisions.

Before he could answer the question, the girl took off, vampire still over her shoulder. Apparently, he had taken too long to answer, and she just decided to guess. She took off at a ridiculous speed, that which no human could keep up with. After standing there for a moment longer, the boys took off after her, running as fast as they could, yet she remained far ahead of them.

Charlotte and Amelie were two strange individuals. They weren't human, and they were potential killers. What kind of havoc will be in store for Phantomhive manor? It hasn't been destroyed in over a hundred years, and Ciel would like to keep it that way. With the arrival of all of these nuisances into his life, however, that could very well change in the near future...

* * *

**A/N: Are they threats or are they idiots?  
**

**..._Idiots._**

**I don't like it. Not one bit. It moves too fast, and characters seem OOC. _No me gusta._**

**Ah, hopefully it'll get better... (probably not, but I can still have HOPE.)**

**Ciel can speak French. FACT. Totally in the manga.**

**Ah, Amelie~! You're so much fun~! She's named after the namesake and protagonist of one of my favourite movies EVER, _Amelie._**

**It's not hard to guess what she is. There's hints sprinkled throughout this and the previous chapter. (bad hints...)**

**Whenever I draw her, she always ends up looking like _Queen Victoria_ in the anime. So I try to make her look _meaner_ and more_ wild_.**

**Ah, what am I gonna do for the next chapter? I'll bring the focus back to the shotas. I felt like I used _WAY_ too much OC in this chapter. Sorry 'bout that...**

**I'm such a DISGRAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!**

**Until the next (hopefully not shitty) chapter, my duckies...**

**Whoa... I refreshed the page from last night, and we got like, over a thousand views in ONE DAY... *faints***


	140. That Blonde, Uncomposed

It was mayhem earlier that day at Phantomhive Manor. The strange girl wit the silver hair, Amelie, had beaten the duo home. How she knew where they lived was unclear, when asked, she simply said, "_L'odeur."_ and invited herself inside. It was assumed that she had followed the lad's scent trail backwards. This girl, was clearly_ insane_.

Immediately after entering the home, she simply dropped her friend on the floor in a random location, and took her shoes off before roaming the house like she owned the place. That wasn't the strangest bit. Upon meeting the butler of the household, things had gotten _weird._ They began staring daggers at each other, and the girl _growled_ at him. She never said a word to the man,and instead growled at him like some sort of wild animal.

"You didn't tell me we were having _guests, _my lord." said the man clad in black, eyes never leaving the bizarre animal-like person. The young master of the house finally made it upstairs, blonde demon in tow, to reply to the statement.

"That's because we didn't _know."_ said the bluenette. Keeping up with the strange girl had actually been difficult, despite the boy's enhancements. "Can you get two guest rooms ready?" he asked with an exasperated sigh. He began to walk to his office, to escape the ludicrousness.

"Very well, my lord. Just one question:" said the man, "_Is it really wise to keep a werewolf indoors?"_

"_'Werewolf'?"_ echoed the blonde lad. "She's a _werewolf?_ _You're a_ _werewolf?!"_ he asked the small girl. She was even smaller than _Ciel, _of all people, and yet she was supposed to be a ravenous beast. Alois couldn't quite wrap his head around that.

_ "Ouais, je suis un loup-garou_." the girl replied. She then walked away, going back downstairs, probably to find her friend, leaving the demons to themselves.

Alois put his hands up. "_Well!"_ he said. "That explains _a lot_." he said, pretending to understand what she had just said. "Any _plans,_ gentlemen?"

"We keep an eye on _both _of them." said Ciel. "They're our _only_ suspects so far, and I want my mansion to remain undamaged!" He walked away before adding, "_That's an order!"_ He left the others to themselves. He didn't really feel like talking to anyone at the moment, as he had a lot on his mind.

He pondered about his Guard-dog work lately, and how difficult it now was. It was the same type of cases as usual, so why was he unable to solve them? Usually, he could do it all on his own, looking at a piece of paper or a piece of evidence, and immediately come up with a lead, but now, he just couldn't think right. His mind felt foggy, like he couldn't focus. He simply couldn't think about detective work. Was he getting rusty? Was he getting weak? Or was it neither of those, and if that be the case, what was it? He walked into his office and shut the door behind him in order to gather his thoughts and organize in his mind his next plan of action. He needed to talk with those girls and get some information out of them. The werewolf was obviously unlikely to cooperate, but the vampire... she just might let something _slip._ He sat alone and struggled to focus on his task, leaving the others to their own devices. The blonde's thoughts, however, dwelled on the bluenette.

"Hey, Sebastian?" the blonde began, gaining the butler's attention.

"Yes?" replied the man in black.

"Do you... think Ciel seems a little... _off,_ lately?" asked the boy. There was an unusual worried tone in his voice that made the butler smile.

"I think that the young master might have just hit a_ block _of some sort." Sebastian answered. "I wouldn't be too worried, if I were you."

The blonde furrowed his brow and thought for a moment. He didn't like seeing the bluenette on edge like this. "Do you think talking to him would do anything?" he asked.

A chuckled was emitted from the older demon's throat. "I would doubt it." he said. "But it couldn't hurt. The young master seems to open up to you a bit more than others, _including myself_." The butler looked at the Trancy boy with a smile. "I think you've _changed_ him."

"He's still _as stubborn as an ass, _though." replied Alois, placing his hands on his hips.

_"I don't know if I'm allowed to have an opinion on that_." Sebastian said jokingly. The blonde giggled at the remark.

"Y'know, Sebastian, _you're a pretty cool guy_." he said, taking the man clad in black by surprise. "I guess I just never took the time to notice." The blonde began to walk down the hallway in search of the bluenette. "Well, I'm gonna go talk to_ 'Sir Grouchalot' _about _feelings._ Laters, _Bass-man_."

The butler watched him for a moment, in astonishment. That was so_ unlike _Alois to say something like that, especially to a _servant_. Sebastian smiled a bit to himself. The blonde was brash, loud, obnoxious, and the reason why he was stuck in eternal servitude, but he didn't _hate_ him. He just couldn't, because perhaps Ciel wasn't the _only_ one who had changed. Perhaps the blonde had as well. He has seemed to have _grown up _from being the brat that he was a hundred years ago, and it was a bit unfair to hold a grudge against a _child_.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of banging. He looked up to see the blonde hitting the door of the bluenette's office with his fist in seemingly random locations. Perhaps he thought too soon.

Eventually after what seemed like an almost inappropriately long time, he was let in by the bluenette, who violently swung open the door and shouted: "I said _'come in' _nearly _five times!"_

"Didn't hear it." the blonde replied, pressing past the bluenette and plopping right down on the couch. "So, _what's the plan, man?"_

With a sigh, Ciel closed the door. He rubbed his temples, fighting off an eminent headache. _"I don't know." _he said in a frustrated tone. "Interrogate them for everything they know about any unusual activity, or to see if they're even involved?" he half-asked, half-stated.

"Sounds good to me." said the blonde, as he reclined on the couch. "Ugh! How can you _sit _on these _couches?" _The blonde struggled to adjust himself to where he was comfortable.

"_I _don't_. I _sit in the _big comfy chair _behind my desk." replied the bluenette with a slight smile. He walked over and joined the blonde on the petrified sofa, moving the other boy's legs out of the way when he did. He leaned back with a sigh, resting his head on the back of the couch.

"What's wrong, _mister grumpygills?"_ Alois asked, making a pouty-face at the bluenette.

"_Nothing_." the other boy answered. "Why?"

_ "Well,"_ the blonde began with great enthusiasm, sitting up to be on level with the other boy. "You've been _sighing_ a lot, and acting all _wonky_. Also, I know that you never simply give a _one-word answer_. So, would you like to _try again_ and answer _honestly_ this time?"

With raised eyebrows, the bluenette could only blink in response. He was quite surprised by how well the blonde knew him_. (Did he really never give one-word answers?)_ He ran his fingers through his hair, moving it out of his face for a moment while he gathered his thoughts.

"Detective work has gotten difficult for me, lately." he said, slightly embarrassed by his own short-comings. "I can't seem to concentrate on it at all, recently and I can't find the answers on my own anymore, and it's _weird_."

The blonde hummed in response. "Well, I don't know how to fix that, but I'm always keen to help you out when you need it." he said, looking at the bluenette, who simply remained silent. "Y'know, one of the best things about living here, is that I don't have to do things on my own anymore. _Some little blue cyclops _is always willing to support me when I need it. I just wish he'd_ let me _return the favour." He put his arms around the Phantomhive boy's neck, and the other boy subconsciously found his own arms around the blonde's waist.

It was with a smile that the bluenette finally conceded. "Alright." he said. "I get it. I' so used to doing things on my own, that when I hit a wall, I just don't know how to ask for help. It's been stressing me out quite a bit, lately."

"Well..." began Alois with a smirk. "...I'll have you know, that I'm also available to help _'relieve stress' _whenever you need me to." He planted a kiss on the bluenette's cheek, feeling the heat of the boy's flushed face against his lips.

"Hmm... does that include _now?" _asked Ciel with a smirk of his own.

"You bet it does..." Alois squeaked when he was pushed on his back on the uncomfortable sofa, the Phantomhive boy crawling on top of him.

He felt his lips being assaulted by the other boy, and Ciel's hands rubbing his sides. The blonde moved his hands from the base of the bluenette's neck, to the back of his head, where he held the boy in place and removed his eye-patch, throwing it to the floor. Finally the pair of lips against his disappeared for a moment, only to latch onto the side of the blonde's neck, kissing it, and playfully biting it on occasion.

Just when those hands of the other demon tugged at the edge of his shirt, however, the door swung open, startling both boys. They quickly untangled themselves and looked up, expecting to see Sebastian, but instead seeing the wolf-girl. The first thing they noticed about her was that she didn't appear phased in the slightest, wearing the same bored expression she had the entire afternoon, much to their relief. The _second _thing the noticed, was that_ she was wearing nothing but a towel, and completely soaked with water, _dripping onto the carpet.

"_Clothes." _she said in a monotone voice. Sebastian had apparently decided to wash hers while she was in the shower. The boys looked at each other for a moment.

_ "I'll go get her something to wear." _said Alois, straightening his clothes. "C'mon, Amelie, follow me." He was about to get up, when the bluenette pulled him closer and whispered in his ear.

"_I'll be holding you to your promise when you get back_." he said before releasing the blonde boy. He then straightened his own clothes and casually picked up his eye-patch, putting it back on before he took a seat behind his desk. The blonde watched him the entire time.

He forced himself out of his trance, and forced himself to get up and walk towards the door. The girl followed him out, before shutting the door behind them, leaving the Phantomhive boy to his own devices.

Out in the hallway, Alois and the she-wolf walked towards his room, where he would let her borrow something to wear. They traveled with a nearly suffocating silence that clung to the air around them. This, however, was shattered to pieces when the blonde boy heard the girl snort. He quickly spun his head around to see the girl, covering her mouth, trying not to laugh. His face immediately turned red.

"You look good together." she said. "Pretty _hot_ stuff."

"_Sh-shut up!" _the blonde barked in response. He was incredibly embarrassed. He wasn't embarrassed before, so why now? He clenched his fists, and faced forward once more, resuming his walking. The girl followed behind him in silence.

Finally, they arrived at Alois' room. With a flick of his wrist, he turned the knob and opened the door, leading Amelie to his closet, where he silently rummaged through the clothes in a attempt to find something that would make the girl decent. The blonde could feel her staring at him the entire time. She spoke again at last, pointing at the boy's neck.

"_A hickey." _she said, her expression never wavering.

_ "Shut it!"_

* * *

**A/N: Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more.  
**

_**Ciel, you horndog, you~!**_

**I kind of disgusted myself typing the above statement. _I'm not sure why..._**

**And so, the number of cock-blockers increases... She won't do it again, though. (She might _watch,_ though... _Watch out, boys.._.)  
**

**My French sucks. That's basically all I know. I never took a class on it or anything. (I took Spanish, and can only recall "Seniorita Mano"...) Amelie speaks in short sentences, _specifically because that's all I can type without using Google Translate._ My entire knowledge of foreign languages comes entirely from _foreign movies..._ **

**'Murica!**

**"Well, why don't you use Google Translate then?"**

**BECAUSE, I kind of like her as a sort of "actions speak louder than words" kind of character. That, and _I'm stubborn as hell._**

**Also, I'd like to point out: _Ciel and Alois totally FAILED the "Gay Test". _ They noticed that she was unfazed FIRST, and that she was only wearing a towel SECOND.**

**"Bisexual"... Suuuuuuuure...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**


	141. New Information

"_Fifty-three."_ said Charlotte.

"_One-hundred and twenty-six_." said Ciel, nonchalantly.

_ "Two-hundred and five." _said Amelie. While her expression was the same as always, she seemed a bit proud of herself.

"_Fifteen..."_ Alois said finally.

It was morning at the Phantomhive household, and the group was discussing the matter of age amongst themselves while waiting on breakfast. It would seem that Alois was the youngest of the paranormals, having only technically "_lived"_ for fifteen years, now. The blonde slumped in his chair a bit at the discovery. It wasn't really clear to anyone, including himself, as to why the fact bothered him so.

"Looks like _we're_ the youngest, in'nt it?" said Charlotte politely, trying to ease the burden on the boy. "I guess_ Ciel likes 'em young_, huh?" The werewolf girl seated next to her snickered at the remark.

"He's been around longer than I have by a year. He's just been _alive_ for fifteen years." Said Ciel, pretending he hadn't heard that. "I resurrected him._ It's a long story."_

"_I bet."_ replied the vampire as Sebastian came into the room and set plates down in front of the others.

"_Charlotte is my wife!"_ declared Amelie for the second time since they knew the strange demon boys, only to be ignored by the other girl.

The wolf-girl pouted before turning to the food in front of her. The pancakes and bacon looked delicious, and she reached to her right in order to pick up her utensils so she could dig in. When she grasped the knife and fork, however, she yelped, and sent the _silverware _flying across the room, barely missing the head of the blonde across from her before sticking into the wall behind the lad. The boy simply stared straight ahead with a frightened look on his face.

"_What the fuck?!" _he demanded finally, furrowing his brow at the petite girl. He was unpleased with the lack of response, the girl simply sat there, licking her now slightly burning hand. "You could've _killed_ me!"

"I doubt that." said Ciel. "_You just wouldn't be able to get up for a few minutes._ But still, that is unacceptable."

"My apologies, my lord. It would appear that the silverware is, indeed_, made of actual silver_." the butler said with a slight bow. "_It simply slipped my mind."_ Amelie stood up and slammed her hands down on the table, shooting the man a mean look and snarling at him. "Let me go fetch some utensils of a different metal." Sebastian said, turning to walk away, but the girl simply sat back down and began eating with her hands.

"Can you at least _pretend_ to have some manners?" asked Charlotte, disapproving of her friend's etiquette. They were in a rich person's house, after all. She didn't want to offend either lad, but it would seem that Ameile didn't care.

"Aren't you going to eat, Charlotte?" asked the blonde boy, stuffing his face. He noticed that vampire hadn't received a plate.

"Huh? Oh, no. I don't eat actual food." the girl replied. "It just tastes like _ashes _to me..." The silver-haired girl seated next to her licked the syrup off of her hands, in order to pull down the collar of her hoodie, revealing that her companion had bitten her. Those marks weren't there the last time the boys saw her, granted, that would've been one of the very _last_ things they would've noticed about the _shameless_ girl at the time.

She looked to the side, allowing the others to have a better view bite-marks. "_She got me_." she said, posing in sort of a swooning manner, much to the vampire's annoyance. With a huff, Charlotte sat back in her chair, blushing slightly.

"_Are lycanthropes immune to the effects of being bitten?" _asked the bluenette, curiously, ignoring the undertones of the wolf-girl's statement.

"Yeah." replied the vampire. "They don't turn into _ghouls,_ or become _'werepires'."_

_"'Ghouls'?"_ echoed the blonde lad, tilting his head to the side a bit. "What's a ghoul?"

Ciel turned to face the boy with a questioning look on his face. The blonde severely lacked in his knowledge of the supernatural. "A _ghoul _is what you get _when a vampire drains a human-being of blood_." he began. "They're_ lifeless corpses that go around and feast on the flesh of the living_, in other words: _they're zombies_."

"_Wicked." _replied the blonde with a boyish grin. He had to admit, being able to create an zombie army was way cooler than his silly _flower powers_. "Then how do you get another vampire?"

This time, Charlotte replied. She rested her elbows on the table as she explained. "A vampire can only make another vampire_ by sucking the blood of a virgin of the opposite sex. _Everyone else becomes a ghoul." She glanced over at the she-wolf seated next to her, who was staring at her intently. "Well, unless you're already of a supernatural sort." she added finally. "I don't get human blood that often because of that. _It sounds like a total pain_."

"Sounds like it." said the bluenette. "You'd have to abduct someone, and deal with the ghoul afterwards." He casually took a sip of his tea, gauging the other group's reaction. To his surprise, they were completely unfazed.

"Yeah! Getting away with murder seems to be getting more difficult these days. What would you even do with the body afterwards?"

"_Eat it." _answered Amelie.

"_That's gross..."_

Silently, the demonic duo communicated. They used no form of telepathy to do this, however. No, they simply used the other's eyes in order to deceiver the other's thoughts. They both felt it was very clear. These two weren't involved.

They were far too open about it. Anyone with a guilty conceive wouldn't _dare_ joke about _eating a body_. They wouldn't be so casual in speaking about the subject. Even a sociopath would falter at the question, and hesitate to answer it. Judging by Amelie's behaviour since they had met the girl, she would never have hesitated in trying to take out the threat to her plan, whatever it may be. Yet, here she was without a care in the world. She had good food on her plate and a roof over her head for the moment, and she was content with that, never questioning the fact as to _why _she was invited to such an extravagant house. A guilty person would have questioned everything. It wasn't them. Both boys silently communicated that the time was close to dropping the ball, and laying their cards on the table. If they knew anything, it didn't _matter _how direct they were at this point.

"Speaking of which, _there's been a bunch of people turning up missing, lately." _the blonde said nonchalantly as though he was simply making conversation. They had decided to not blow their cover just yet. "Think a _paranormal _might be behind it?"

_ "What makes you think that?"_ asked Ciel, playing along. He tried his best to be convincing. Fortunately, the girls bought it.

"Well, apparently, there's been no clues at all to where they went." said Charlotte. "They just up and vanished! I saw it in the papers."

"What do you think happened to them?" asked the bluenette.

_"Dead_." said Amelie. "_Almost positive."_

"Yeah, people who've been missing that long usually turn up dead somewhere." said the blonde lad. "The hard part is finding out _where_."

"Well, if something weird's happening, and paranormals are involved, I bet Charlie knows something." said Charlotte. The manner with which she said it implied that the boys knew who that was. _They didn't._

"Who's Charlie?" asked the bluenette curiously. He hoped he hadn't made some kind of mistake in asking, but they wouldn't have been able to pretend they knew for long. The vampire looked genuinely surprised by the question.

"How do you _not _know? Are you _new_ to the city, or something?" the girl asked. "_Charlie knows every Londonite with supernatural tendencies! He helps us out whenever we can't get what we need!"_

"_Tch."_ Amelie clicked her tongue in annoyance. "He's _sleazy." _she said. The wolf-girl wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"Hey, he's good to us! Let's see you get some of the stuff he gets us on your own! If it weren't for him, you would get no _steak_."

"How is he _'sleazy'?" _asked the bluenette, resting his chin in his palm.

"He smells like _death." _replied Amelie. "_Literal death_."

"Well, he's a _vampire_, isn't he?" asked Charlotte.

"It still isn't right." The werewolf was odd. She was suspicious of Charlie, whom the girls apparently knew fairly well, and trusted the demonic duo, who she had only known for a few hours. She did so by smell, of all things. Perhaps it is just something that only a werewolf could understand.

Be that as it may, the duo decided that this "Charlie" fellow could be of use to them. Through their usual silent communication, the pair agreed to finally lay all of their cards out on the table. They may be more willing to cooperate if they are aware of the severity of the situation they are in.

"I'd like to meet him." said Ciel finally. "I wonder if he knows anything about _the Queen's Guard-dog?"_ he joked to Alois with a smirk. In response, the girls tilted their heads in confusion.

"The _what?"_ asked the vampire. For some reason the question annoyed Ciel.

"It's my nickname." the bluenette said, masking his growing irritation with the situation. "I'm one of England's supernatural agents who works towards the welfare of the people. _Solving disturbing cases and putting criminals to justice is what I do best."_

Charlotte nearly choked on her own spit, while Amelie remained stoic as ever. She almost seemed _relieved_ in a way, if you can believe that. Even if you couldn't see it on her face, she just seemed a bit more relaxed than she was a few moments ago. Perhaps she was a bit suspicious of the duo after all.

"You're a _what?! _Are you _serious!?" _the vampiress asked after recovering from her shock. "Do those even_ exist?!"_

_ "Of course_ it is. Europe is _crawling_ with supernatural activity. Why wouldn't we have a defense against it?" the Phantomhive boy answered.

"Wait, don't tell me the reason why you brought us here in the first place was because you thought we were _suspicious!" _Now the girl seemed angry.

"You just happened to be on the path that the latest victim disappeared on. We figured that you might know something, or know someone who _does_. It was nothing _personal."_

"We're just trying to do our job." said Alois. "We didn't mean any offense or harm."

"How can we trust you now?" the vampire demanded, standing up. "For all we know, we could be walking right into a tra-"

"_Night time."_ interrupted Amelie. "_He's only awake at night. We'll take you then_." She looked at the vampire for a moment, using communication similar to that of the Earls. Finally, Charlotte relaxed a bit and sat back down."

"Sorry..." she said.

"No harm done." said the bluenette. "Shall we wait 'til nightfall, then?" The werewolf nodded in response.

"What should we do until then?" asked the blonde boy seated to the bluenette's right. Amelie literally jumped at the question.

She jumped to the other side of the table and slapped Alois on the back, shouting: "_Tag! You're it!"_ and running away. Quickly, the two others in the room stood up and took evasive action as well, leaving the blonde lad to register what had just happened.

"_What?_ Wait... _**HEY!"**_ Then he, too, took off running in one of the directions that the others had went in.

* * *

**A/N: BLEH! BLEH!  
**

**This is late~! I got most of it done last night, but had stuff to do. I still have schoolwork that I should be doing right now... My grades... They're absolute shit... I still need to somehow graduate...**

***sigh***

**Kinda bummed about it. I dunno how I feel about my writing, either. We did one of those "peer review" things in class, where we read each other's essays, make notes on them, and give them back to whoever they belong to. Basically, all of the others said it sucked, but they didn't say WHY it sucked, really. I'm the kind of person who needs to know WHY something is bad or good before I can really do anything with the information.  
**

**. They said stuff like how it "needs better transitions" and stuff, but I hate beginning paragraphs with transition words like "First", "second", "third", "Next", "In conclusion" and shit like that. It seems so... third grade to me...**

**They also "corrected" sentences that made perfect sense to begin with, telling me to "reword" others, and told me to remove important bits that were basically my entire argument. _What the actual fuck?_ How did it not "make sense"? How were those bits "unimportant"? I don't understand this...**

** It gnaws at my thoughts relentlessly, and I still have other things I need to focus on..._ Like my goddamn homework..._ **

***sigh***

**Everytime it gets close to the end of the school-year, I feel bummed out...**

** Laters, duckies...**


	142. The Smell Of Death

Night fell over the capital city, and the usually bustling metropolis simmered down a bit as most of it's citizens were fast asleep, safely in their beds. From the ground, the sky seemed pitch-black without a single star from the light radiating from the many buildings, but the people walking the streets at night were too busy to look up. They were all walking about on the many streets and sidewalks on their way to they're preferred club or bar if they weren't simply on their way home from work.

But this was not the part of the city that the group ventured to. No, the part of town they journeyed to was run-down, with many of the buildings either condemned or abandoned. This wasn't the "bad part of town" that the bluenette was used to. He had been there many times for work, but this place was new. It was desolate, almost. It was dead. The remaining humans here seemed to have long since given up hope for a better tomorrow, along with their hopes and dreams of bigger and better things. This place was their everything now. No one would ever try to claw their way out of here since they simly had lost the capacity.

The other few conscious beings who treaded the ground weren't dead emotionally, but in a literal sense, yet they walk the ground regardless. The boys could sense them in every direction as they drove up to their destination. Part of the Phantomhive boy was _glad_ that they had chosen to bring Sebastian along.

They rode up to a desolate building that looked just like all of the others, but with a different number on the door. Charlotte went first, climbing the steps before stopping on the stoop and ringing the bell. She glanced back at the others again, before the door opened, and from behind it appeared a very odd-looking man.

He was pale, with dark circles around his garnet-coloured eyes, and had an angled jaw and only slightly pointed ears. The man had dark hair the was slicked back, out of his face, but spiked outwards toward the back. It made Alois think of a _hedgehog, _somehow. The man was drearily dressed, with an off-white dress shirt underneath a grey sweater, and wore ordinary blue jeans. From the aura that he appeared to be emitting, he obviously was a vampire. This was _Charlie_, the man who the group had gone to see. At first he looked to be somewhat indifferent, but then his eyes focused on the girl who stood in front of him and it switched to surprise.

"_Charlotte?" _he said questioningly, raising an eyebrow.

"H-hello." she said hesitantly, but in a cheerful tone, all the same. The wolf-girl behind her frowned and crossed her arms, giving off an almost inaudible grow. Had the two demon-boys not been standing next to her, they wouldn't have heard it.

`"What are you doing here?" he asked, motioning for the group to come inside.

"Uh, well,_ these two blokes wanted to talk to you." _she said. "I just showed them the way." Charlie turned to look at the two boys questioningly. His face contorted in a way that couldn't be read before smiling finally. They couldn't help but notice that his smile was somewhat _sad_-looking.

"Well, I never thought I'd ever get to meet the _Queen's Guard-dog _face-to-face." he said. Now the bluenette was severely confused. How does this man know of him when Charlotte doesn't?

"You know me?" asked Ciel, arching an eyebrow. The man chuckled as he lead the group into the living room. It was dreary as well, with only a few candles lit for light, casting shadows that danced along the walls. The room smelled muggy, but wasn't unbearable, unless of course, you ask the wolf-girl, who nearly gagged. She pulled up the collar of her hoodie and pulled it over her mouth and nose in order to mask the scent a bit.

"Of course I know of you." replied Charlie. "I know nearly everything there is to know about the darkness of this city. From the sounds of things, you've been pretty busy!" He sat down in a large armchair in the corner of the room, and looked up at the eye-patched lad. "I hear you've killed an angel, and a demon. Speaking of which, is this the_ demon boy _I've been hearing so much about lately? The one you summoned?"

"How exactly do you know all of this?" the bluenette asked, stepping in front of the blonde lad. He didn't like this man knowing so much.

"It's nothing special, really. I have a _network. _I help supernaturals in need, and they provide me with their most interesting stories. You've got _quite _the reputation, 'demon master'. You've got people _scared."_

"As long as they_ stay out of my way, they're safe_. I don't really care about my reputation in _your _world. I'm more interested in what crosses over into_ mine_."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I'm certain you _know_ exactly what I mean. Tell me, has anyone been acting _strangely_ lately?" the boy asked. He emitted a dark aura that overpowered the others in the room, aside from the blonde, who was at this point used to the other boy's unusual atmosphere.

For a creature of darkness, he was ever-so invested in the realm of sunlight; the realm of humans. He was known to those of the supernatural culture of London as a sort of "boogeyman" that played by the oppressive humans rules. He was a trained dog of the humans, but at the same time, he was the master himself, having two demons at his side to do his bidding. Ciel Phantomhive was a human who wasn't like ordinary humans, in both body and in _mind_, who could tame demons and kill the divine. It was also because of those very same facts that he wasn't like the people of the dark either, with his human ethics, and and behaviours that weren't feasible to his own kind. The boy could walk among humans without fear, and do the same with demons. He wasn't on anyone's side but his own, playing by his own rules to support his own interests. He wasn't a true human, or a true devil. _He wasn't the day, or the night._

That frightened the people who knew of him. Admittedly, it frightened the man more than he was willing to show. He answered the lad while maintaining the facade of confidence. "_'Strangely'?" _he echoed. "How? Do you mean if they have been acting like a murder suspect? I can't say that I have." His eyes kept wandering to Charlotte as he spoke, causing the girl to shiver a bit. She didn't like the way he looked at her. Amelie growled at the man as he continued to speak. "What makes you think that the suspect is of a _supernatural_ sort?"

"In all honesty_, it's just a hunch." _replied the bluenette. "It would be difficult for a human being to be able to perform a kidnapping so _cleanly."_

The boy's train of thought was interrupted when he felt a slight tugging at his sleeve. The wolf-girl looked as though she was going to vomit if they stayed there much longer, and was silently hoping that they would be able to leave soon. He looked over at the blonde boy, who had a concerned look on his face as he stared at the man.

There was something that the blonde didn't like about the man, either. He didn't know if it was his air, or if it was the way he looked, or the fact that he was an adult male, but there was something he simply _did not like_ about Charlie. His gut was telling him that there was something off about the man, and he wanted nothing to do with him. Finally, the bluenette had to concede. With a sigh, he said:

"If that's all there is to say, then I suppose we'll be taking our leave, then. Thank you so much for your time."

"Not a problem." replied the man with a smile. It faded as the group turned to head out the door. He stood up from his seat and spoke again. "Just a moment._ Could I have just one last word with you Charlotte?"_

The girl froze for a moment, before turning to face the man. She was about to walk over to him, when she felt a tug at her sleeve. _It was Amelie_, her face changed from her usual bored expression, to that of concern; _legitimate concern_. The taller girl leaned down to get at eye level with the werewolf.

"It'll be okay, _Lielie._ It's _just_ Charlie." she said to the girl before standing up straight again and looking towards the demonic duo. "If I'm not out within a few minutes, you all can head back to the mansion, and I'll catch up. I know the way." Her words did nothing to remove the other girl's expression, but made it soften a bit. While she didn't trust Charlie, she trusted Charlotte with all of her heart, therefore she had to believe that the girl was right.

"Alright. If the sun comes up, just give us a call, and we'll come get you." said the bluenette.

"It would be a shame if you melted!" joked Alois before heading out the door behind the bluenette. With one last glance at the vampiress, Amelie left as well, her uneasiness, apparent. The engine of the car parked outside sounded, roaring to life, then the the car drove off, leaving the two vampires alone, in silence.

"I never thought I would see you again, Charlotte." the man began. His eyes were soft now. The edge they had before was now gone.

"I never thought I'd come back." the girl replied. She fidgeted where she stood, looking at the floor. The _awkwardness_ was _unbearable. _

"You're still as _beautiful_ as the day I met you." Charlie said. Walking over to the girl and placing a hand on her cheek. "You were just _nineteen _then. I remember it all so well."

"_What do you want to talk about, Charlie?" _Charlotte asked, stepping out his grasp.

"'Charlie'?" asked the man. "What happened to_ 'master'?"_

The vampiress folded her arms defiantly. _She wasn't the weak, human girl that he had ushered into this world of darkness any longer_. "People change." she said.

"But I haven't._ I also haven't forgotten the way I feel about you."_

Charlotte shifted her weight onto one foot. "Is this all you wanted to say?_ I'm leaving then." _she said as she turned to leave. She didn't need Charlie anymore. She knew what was going on in the world now. She didn't need to rely on him.

She was about to reach for the doorknob, when a mist came floating past her, hovering just before her gaze. It was black, and smelled like death. The mist stayed there for a while before starting to take the shape of a man, solidifying in the air. The mist was Charlie, and Charlie was the mist. He stood in front of her, blocking her path.

"Don't tell me you _seriously_ only came here just so those boys could talk to me." he said, his tone was stern. "Charlotte..."

"Well, I certainly didn't come here for _you." _the girl replied. "Look, I know, you have... _feelings_ for me, but... I just _can't_ return them." She moved again towards the exit, only to have the other vampire move as well and block her path.

"Why not?" he asked, taking a step forward. "Is there_ someone else? Is it one of those boys?"_

Charlotte began to take a few steps back. "Well, _yes_, but it's not one of those two. That's only a_ small part of 'why'_, though..."

"Then why!?_ Who is it?!" _The man's eyes glowed red, and he snarled. He wasn't like this before. He had_ never _gotten angry like this. He was scaring the girl. He could see it on her face, yet that didn't make his rage die down. Charlie grabbed the collar of her shirt, forcing her to stay still. "If _you _don't tell me, _your blood_ will!"

"_Amelie!" _she shouted, much to the older vampire's surprise. His grip loosened for a moment as he stared at Charlotte in shock.

_ "What?"_ he asked simply.

"I-it's... _Amelie..." _she answered, both frightened and embarrassed. "That's why I just _can't,_ Charlie... It's not you, it's just _me_..."

"You mean... All of this time,_ you were_..." Charlotte nodded in response.

Silence loomed over them for a moment. What more was there to say? _Nothing. _There was nothing they _could _say. Thus, they simply stood in silence for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Charlie simply _snapped._ His shocked face warped into an enraged one, and his fingers found themselves around the girl's throat. He picked her up and then slammed her on the ground, causing the floorboards to give away.

Down they fell, below the floor, and into the basement of the old rickety house. they landed in darkness, lit only by the light of the candles lit in the room above them. Neither of them needed light to see. In the darkness, they can see even clearer than in the day, so everything was visible to them. The smell of death was even stronger than it was up there, as they discovered the source. Charlotte looked around the large room, and was instantly terrified. _Moving, rotting corpses that were once human beings_ were as far as the eye could see. _She was surrounded by __**ghouls.**_

"_STOP THE CAR!"_ shouted Amelie suddenly just a little ways down the street. She opened the window and sniffed the air, much to the demon's confusion.

"What the fuck are you _doing?!" _demanded Alois, rubbing his head after hitting the back of the passenger-seat.

"What is it?" asked Ciel, hoping that the wolf-girl had found something useful.

"_Follow me." _she said, unbuckling her seat-belt and opening the car door. The other's had to do the same quickly, before they lost her. The speed of a werewolf, even in human form, is certainly nothing to sneeze at.

Down the street, the wolf-girl and the three demons nearly flew, towards the site were Amelie was leading them. She smelled it in the air now. She smelled_ death. _The same stench that had nearly caused her to vomit at the man's house was now out in the _air. _Something had happened to release the Oder, and that mean's that something had happened to Charlotte, _she just knew it._ As they got closer, the scent got stronger, so strong, in fact, that the other's could now smell it as well.

_The smell of death._

* * *

**A/N: No me gusta.  
**

**I'm rushing this along, as there's shit I wanna do, and it's blatantly obvious. I could've done more with the character's development, but plead understand; I HAVE A.D.D.**

**Next time: Zombie killin'. Should be fun. (I think.)**

**I just dunno, you guise! I think I'm in a bit of a slump. I'm sorry! I'm more concerned with _disappointing you guys,_ actually... **

**I WANT to focus on this, because I seriously enjoy writing it and stuff, but I'm being _forced back into reality!_ Dafuq is up with that shit?!**

**I'm trying my best, so please forgiiiiive meeee~!  
**

**I also just really wanna get through with this part so I can get back into the funny stuff and fluff...**

**Funny stuff and fluff is fun to type.**

**UGH! I'm focusing way too much on these under-developed OCs and not on the shotas! _Damn that cock-blocking lolita-werewolf!_**

**I hope I'm not loosing you guys with this arc. It just... doesn't feel like it WORKS for me, and I really don't know what to do about it. Please bear with me a little longer! D':  
**

**I CAN'T. I HAVE LOST THE ABILITY TO_ CAN_.**

**Laters, duckies. I'll try to plan this shit better in the next chapter...**


	143. Of Neither The Day, Or The Night

As they approached, the demons began to smell what the werewolf was smelling; _rotting corpses. _The closer they got, the stronger the scent became, and then they started to her the sounds of the creatures groaning as air somehow managed to escape their decaying lungs. It sounded dreadful. It _smelled_ dreadful. They pressed on, regardless, arriving back at the old run-down building that they had arrived at earlier.

Amelie grabbed the doorknob, twisting it, but it would not open. She pushed and she pulled, gritting her teeth together, but the barrier simply would not budge.

"Amelie, _it's locked!"_ said the bluenette as he, Alois, and Sebastian finally caught up with the girl. "We'll have to find another way in!"

She was not having it. She backed away from the door before charging at it, striking the wooden wall with her cranium. She managed to cause the door to crack, but didn't get the results she desired, so she backed up again.

"This bitch is bloody _mental!" _said Alois. Just _watching_ her hit her head against that door made the lad's head hurt.

"Sebastian, _open it." _ordered the bluenette. Amelie's plan was working, but at the moment, she lacked the muscle. Without a single word, the man obliged, ramming the door with his shoulder, and stopping himself with his foot as the door flew across the room. The werewolf was inside before he was, charging forward and stopping just short of the massive hole in the floor.

She put her hand over her face. The smell was absolutely nauseating. It reached upwards and fanned outwards, filling the room with the muggy smell of decay. The ghouls could be heard below, and their glowing eyes could be seen looking upward at the posse. Amelie summoned her voice, and threw it out into the air, between her coughs.

"_Charlotte!"_ she called.

"_Amelie!" _the vampiress shouted back. "_I'm down here!"_ Charlotte was below them, in the center of all of the moving corpses. They simply ignored her, and focused on the others, clumsy extending there rotten, greenish, purplish, limbs towards them. Their mouths were gaping, revealing their yellowing teeth, as they craved for the flesh of the living. Alois was disgusted with the fact that somewhere, his own,_ original body _was rotting somewhere, six-feet underground in a similar state. He covered his mouth with his hand and resisted the urge to vomit.

Ciel's visible eye widened as he looked at the hugry faces of the deceased. He recognized those faces from somewhere. It took him a moment, but occasionally, he remembered.

"Those are the_ missing people!" _he shouted. "They've been turned into _ghouls!"_

"What do we do?" asked the blonde. He forced his eyes away from the horde of dead to look at the bluenette, which helped him calm down a bit.

These people were dead. There was no saving them. Even if Ciel _wanted_ to, he couldn't resurrect them like he did with Alois. The only reason Alois was alive, was because he was able to use the ring that had at one time, contained his soul to establish a link to his essence in order to bring it back. The likelihood that one of these people had something that they could link to was naught. They were gone, and they could never come back. It was for this reason that the Guard-dog didn't hesitate in the slightest when making his decision.

_ "Destroy them." _he said. "Both of you! Exterminate the ghouls and _take Charlie down!"_

"_Yes, my lord_." said the man clad in black, giving a slight bow.

_ "Yes, my master." _said the blonde as he readied himself for battle.

_** "Oui, mon seigneur."**_

"_Since when do you work for him?!" _demanded the blonde, to which the wolf-girl simply replied:

"I felt _left-out_." before jumping down into the pit, her red baseball cap falling off as she did. She was followed by the demons, all four of them landing in the center of the ghouls. There was only a few feet between them, and the gnashing teeth of the living-dead.

"I was afraid you'd find out this way." said Charlie, on one side of the room. "I was going to_ take you down anyway_, Guard-dog, so I guess it's just as well."

"What could you possibly hope to accomplish by filling a basement full of ghouls?" asked the bluenette, furrowing his brow.

"I'm glad you asked. You see, we of the world of darkness have been _oppressed and forced into hiding by humanity for centuries_, and I think it's high-time to_ take back _the world for ourselves! There is but one thing standing in my way..." said the vampire. He pointed a finger at the lad accusingly. "..._You."_ he continued. "You are the single person who is capable of stopping me, _'Demon Master'. _You, who abuse your powers of darkness by_ protecting _the world of light are an _eyesore!"_

"You sure like to _talk_ a lot, doncha?" sounded a voice. The demon's and both of the vampires in the room turned to Amelie, of all people. She frowned before opening her mouth to speak. "Honestly, I don't know how someone can be such a chatterbox! You seriously think these _cheap bags of meat _will stand a chance against _him? _Your _brain _must be just as _pathetic _as _you_ are! You're just a sad excuse for a vampire with nothing! No home, no friends, no _lover's heart_, or even_ your own_; you expect to take down someone who retains humanity while being still being able to tread inside the world of darkness? You can't kill him! He isn't a weak little lap-dog! _He is neither the day, or the night!"_

Everyone's jaw nearly dropped to the floor at the sudden talkative nature of the girl. Charlotte _did _say the girl knew _perfect English_. They just hadn't expected her to be _that _good with her speech.

Amelie smiled a haughty, defiant smile; the first one the lad's had seen grace her face. She crouched down low as though she was about to pounce. What appeared to be white wisps of energy seemed to surround her body as she readied herself to attack.

"I have always firmly believed that _'actions speak louder than words'_, and right now, I'm gonna _kick your ass."_ With that, she charged forward, simply running through the ghouls at such a speed, that their bodies couldn't react fast enough to try and stop her. The energy around her made her look like slow-moving lightning. She made a beeline straight toward Charlie, leaving the demons to fend for themselves.

"_Crazy bitch!" _shouted the blonde lad after her.

_ "Alois!"_ the bluenette said in a stern tone.

"What? She's a _female dog_, isn't she?" the palm of the bluenette's hand made acquaintance with his forehead at the blonde's inappropriately-timed joke. Now was not the time for jokes; now was the time for _exterminating ghouls_.

The trio readied themselves as the first few ghouls shuffled foreward, groaning as their failing muscles protested against it, being the vitims of _rigor mortis_ that they were. Ciel was sure to put on a pair of black gloves before entering the brawl, just as Sebastian already had a pair of white. Alois was just going to have to manage, as things were going to get really messy.

"Remember: aim for the head or the heart. _Striking anywhere else won't stop them_." reminded Sebastian.

"_Right!"_ the boys said simultaneously. Ciel made the first strike against a foe, punching the creature in front of him in the head with all of his might.

Bones shattered from the impact, and skin tore as the bluenette's fist made first contact with the foul-smelling creature. Blood and brain tissue now stuck to his gloves and splattered on his clothes. After the first one fell, he readied himself to strike another, while Sebastian followed suit.

Alois, however, was a bit _hesitant._ He had never killed something with his bare hands before. In fact, the times when he fought, someone else always did the actual killing. Even in the cases of Maxwell Goddard, the angel, and August Remy, the demon, he had _fough_t, but he didn't _kill_. After what seemed like an inappropriately large amount of inner-turmoil at killing zombies of all things, he psyched himself into it. He dug his feet into the ground before taking off, throwing punches and killing what was already dead at the side of his comrade's.

The sounds coming from that basement were horrible. The cracking of skulls and the pitter-patter of foul-smelling blood-droplets hitting the ground could be heard even above ground. Sometimes it wasn't even a "_pitter-patter_", as some hits proved to be more gruesome than others, causing the liquid to _splash_ against the walls and floor, painting them a deep-crimson. You could hear the gut-wrenching sounds of tissue falling to the earth, followed by the thud of an incapacitated body.

It was nearly a one-sided battle as the demons fanned out, covering more ground. They hit ghoul after ghoul, with fabric sticking to their skin with the red water that escaped the bodies. Gruesome, indeed, but necessary. The Phantomhive boy had his pistol, fully loaded with anti-freak bullets, but he was going to need them for the _final-boss_. He knew that it would take more than fists, fangs, or claws, in order to kill a _vampire_, and he wasn't going to waste such precious resources on mere small-fry. He looked over to the battle between their main foe and the wolf-girl, watching for a moment as she kept the man busy, and unable to escape.

Amelie, admittedly, missed the man most of the time, even with her absurd speed. Charlie would be able to time it right, and become a mist before she could strike him, causing her fist to go right through him; the effect of her arm slicing through the air would make the black mist shape around it, almost as though it was moving out of the way on it's own accord. None of the man's blows landed upon the girl, however. When he would make an attempt to strike, he would only hit air. They were neither loosing, or gaining ground in that section of the battle.

What the bluenette was about to do next wasn't exactly gentlemanly, or "fair", but Ciel Phantomhive never played "fair". He reached behind him, grasping onto the handle of the _Zamiel_ pistol that he kept tucked away and held it out, brandishing the weapon. He knew he would have to be fast, and his aim would have to be true, as to not hit the werewolf by mistake. It would be now or never while the man was distracted, or else he would know what was coming and simply turn into that vile, black mist again.

_ "Amelie! Move!"_ he shouted before pulling the trigger.

The gunshot echoed throughout the building and the area in it's immediate vicinity, sounding much like thunder. For a few seconds after that, it was completely silent. In the basement of that house, _someone was dying_.

Charlie stood with his eyes wide for a moment. He looked straight ahead with his fist raised to strike, but there was no one standing in front of him. He looked to the side of him to see his opponent with her usual bored expression on her face.

He coughed, and the same red substance that stained his shirt was expelled from his mouth as he fell to his knees. The pain from his joints hitting the hard floor didn't even register in his mind at the moment do to the painful sensation in his chest overpowering it. He looked to Charlotte one last time.

"You know..." he began, his voice weak. "...I really _did _love you, Charlotte... Promise me you'll be_ happy_, okay?" he coughed again, blood splattering on the floor again.

"I _will_..." she said back. "..._master_."

The man smiled one last time before the last of his strength was gone, and he finally feel to the floor. The remaining vampire looked around the room at the pile of dead bodies, and at the only standing combatants. The ghouls were dead, only the demons and werewolf remained.

Casually, Ciel walked over to her former master's body, and shot it again_, this time in the head_. It was cold in the manner with which he made sure the man was truly dead, but it was entirely necessary. The bluenette wasn't entirely sure he had hit Charlie's heart, and had he not, there was a chance that the man could survive, and repeat his offenses. Charlotte winced at the sound of the second gunshot, closing her eyes as she did so she wouldn't she the body react to the force of the bullet.

"He's dead." the boy said plainly. He sighed. "Let's go home._ I'm tired."_

"I need a _shower." _said the blonde. "...In the _worst _way."

"I suppose trying to remove these stains will prove fruitless." said the butler, examining the damage to the clothes of his, and the lads. "Such a _waste_."

Charlotte was a bit shocked in the lack of reaction from the group. They had just massacred a whole slew of ghouls, and murdered a major figure in the dark realm of London, and they acted as though it was nothing but a simple _chore_. The blonde had claimed that it was _Amelie_ who was "_crazy", _but these demons- _They were truly the frightening ones here_. So this was the famous "_Queen's Guard-dog", _the "_Demon Master"_ and his minions? They were obviously a force to be reckoned with. Charlotte's thoughts were interrupted by a hand intertwining with hers. She looked down to see the much shorter wolf girl, staring at her intently. The vampire smiled.

_ "See? I told you everything would be alright."_

* * *

**A/N: Well, isn't that lovely?  
**

**I finally checked my deviantart after god knows how long, and received like a bajillion notifications that the artists I follow/stalk have posted something, right? So I go through there, and click on the stuff by _LeeAnn-Anime-Fan_, who posts bits from the original, bestest, most awesomest_ Kuroshitsuji Facebook_, evar, right? Well, I look at one of them, and their Alois Trancy roleplayer posted about him singing "Girl on Fire".**

**Dat happened in here too...**

**It's in chapter 132...**

_**While they watched the Hunger Games...**_

**Leik, OHMAHGAW...**

_**I just thought that was one of the coolest things ever.**_

**Dunno if it's coincidence or whatever, but it was fucking _awesome._ **

**I HATE IT WHEN THINGS HAPPEN THAT MAKE ME FANGIRL SQUEE. D:**

**THAT IS A SOUND THAT SHOULD NOT COME OUT OF MY FACE.**

_**EVER.**_

**IT FRIGHTENS CHILDREN.**

**AND_ ME._**

**One of my friends actually did sing that song while watching the_ Hunger Games._ She also sang it while trying to sell prom tickets at lunch, but she didn't know the words,_ so she improvised an entire Hunger Games themed version on the spot._**

**True story.**

**Sometimes, I slip in things based on shit that actually happened to me or a friend at some point in history. **

**Trufax.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**


	144. What To Do With You Two?

The sun came up, it's gentle rays peeking over the horizon in a marvelous spectrum of reds to yellows, yet no one looked saw it. It illuminated the gardens behind a certain manor on the edge of London, casting shadows and marking the dawn of a new day, yet no one saw this. No one from the large estate, for the majority of them were sleeping with the curtains on their windows fastened closed so that the light wouldn't enter.

A certain pair of boys were a good example of this, but they, unlike the other sleeping member of the household, had their arms and legs tangled together as each simply enjoyed the warmth that the other was emitting as they both slept peacefully. The night before, they had simply planned on going to bed after a long night of solving cases while simultaneously killing ghouls and vampires, but then things got a little... _heated._ They were in the bluenette's room, with their clothes scattered on the floor once again. _I will leave the details up to your imagination._

Soundly, the lad's rested just like this, until a certain werewolf came bursting into the room, door flying open, and she flicked on the lights. Of course this startled the boys- no, "startled" is a bit of an_ understatement _of what that did to them. They shot up suddenly to see what was happening, their rest being disturbed. Their eyes were wide with fright before they narrowed in a glare, brow furrowed, at the invader. Amelie simply stood there as though nothing was the matter in the slightest.

_ "It's time to get up." _she said plainly, meeting the boys' gaze. Even though she didn't look it, she was struggling to contain her laughter at the situation.

"Would it _kill _you to bloody _knock?!"_ demanded the blonde, pausing to allow his own sight process in his mind for a moment. "_Is that my maid dress!?"_

Yes, the girl was wearing the dress that the boy was supposed to wear during Warwick's Halloween Festival. He could've sworn he put that in the very back of his closet. She was shorter than the lad by several inches, and slightly more dainty, so it didn't quite fit her correctly, but the bodice made it so it sat where it was supposed to sit, and _covered what it was supposed to cover. _

"_My _clothes got dirty." she said plainly. She grasped the edges of the skirt, lifting it slightly. "_You have good taste."_ she added with a small snort.

"You can't just go through people's closets!" the blonde boy shouted. He made an attempt to get out of bed in order to teach the girl a lesson, but he was stopped by a hand on his bare shoulder. He turned to see the Phantomhive boy looking at him in a warning sort of manner.

"Alois..." he began "...you're _naked."_

The blonde had forgotten his current status of dress, and nearly sprang forth from the covers, brandishing his _manly-terra-incognito _to the world. After rediscovering his state of affairs, with a blush, the blonde covered himself back up with the blankets once more and hid. The werewolf's expression didn't change once, refusing to give even the slightest hint of a reaction.

"_Get up." _she said.

"No!" replied the muffled voice of the blonde lad. Amelie knew Alois wasn't going to budge had she only resorted to using her voice, so she decided to use action. She walked over to the edge of the bed, and put her hands over the blanket, getting a good grip and letting out a growl. The bluenette's eyes widened at what she was about to do.

"Wait, _don't you dare!" _he ordered. He, too, was concealed by the the cloth, and didn't wish to be exposed just as much as the blonde did. He gripped the blanket as well, so she wouldn't be able to remove the barrier so easily. "We'll get up, but you have to _leave!"_

"_Tch_." the wolf-girl clicked her tongue.

Ciel wasn't sure if she was annoyed, disappointed, or both. Reluctantly, she let go of the fabric and backed away before heading for the door. She stopped just short of leaving to point at her eyes before pointing at the lad's as if to say, "I'm watching you". After that strange exchange, she simply left, closing the door behind her. When the sound of the door closing was heard, Alois came out from his hiding place and looked at the bluenette boy.

"What. The. Fuck?!" he said. "What is she even still _doing_ here!?"

"I have absolutely_ no _idea..." the bluenette replied. "I could've_ sworn I locked _that door, though."

"Great. There is a_ cock-blocking, lesbian-lolita-werewolf _that can _**pick locks **_in our house. How exactly does one deal with this? It's not like _Animal Control _can help us!"

"Calm down. I'm sure they're just staying for as long as they can for the simple fact that _it is a place to stay._" the bluenette replied. The blonde had to admit, when he looked at it from that angle, it made a hell of a lot of sense. It was a place to stay, and a pretty nice one, at that.

"I'll see what I do with them, and perhaps find them somewhere _else_ to stay." Ciel added when he saw the pout on the blonde's face.

"_Fiiiiiiiiiine." _the blonde whined. "You're just glad that there's finally _someone shorter than you _around, aren't you?"

"Shut up." the bluenette said. He was taller than the wolf-girl by only two inches, and shorter than the blonde by three. It wasn't much, but it was enough to be noticeable, especially to the bluenette. Whenever he wanted to talk to Alois while standing, he would have to look up at his face, which annoyed him to immensely.

He got out of bed, shortly followed by the blonde, and they got dressed. They ignored the girl seated just opposite of the door in the hallway. She was staring daggers at the door, but her expression changed to it's usual one as she saw the pair.

Quickly, she stood up and brushed off the dress that she "liberated" from the blonde's closet, straightening it out a bit. Amelie began to jog up to them, but was stopped in her tracks when the blonde turned around to face her. He stood on one leg, and put his arms up in the standard martial-arts pose.

"_Behold, the Crane!"_ He shouted at the girl with a completely serious face. Ciel turned to see what sort of hijinks the blonde was up to now. Amelie, however, responded by making her own strong stance.

"_Dragon-style!" _she shouted back.

Alois changed to a different pose. "_Monkey-style!"_

_ "Tiger!"_

_ "Snake!"_

The bluenette watched the two for a moment or so before coming to the conclusion that they were simply trying to _out-weird_ each other. He resumed walking away as the other demon and the werewolf had their_ outlandish duel_. As he walked to his office and opened the door, he listened to the sounds of fair-haired pair making kung-fu sound effects. Ciel simply entered the room and shut the door behind him, which only seemed to muffle the _xiao-lin wannabes._

It died down after a few minutes, and the Phantomhive boy was finally able to remember what his next course of action was to be. He sat behind his desk and picked up the phone, summoning _every last bit of courage he had_ before dialing. What he was about to do went against his pride, his morals, and values. Ciel Phantomhive was about to_ ask for help_, but not from just anyone. No, he was going to ask the_ most frightening woman he has ever known _for help_; Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing._

He placed the device against his ear, and listened to the dial tone as he waited. It seemed like a much longer wait than it was, but finally, he heard the clicking sound of the phone on the other end being picked up off of the receiver. He braced himself.

"_Hello?" _answered the voice on the other end. He nearly gave a sigh of relief when it wasn't the Hellsing woman who greeted him.

"_Seras?" _he asked. "Is Hellsing _out _or something?"

"Uhm, no. She just is a bit troubled at the moment." the blonde draculina on the other end replied. "A bunch of dead ghouls was found along with the vampire who created them late last night. She's busy trying to figure out the cause at the moment."

There was a pause before the boy spoke again. _"I have the answer to that..."_ he said.

"Huh? Uh, okay. I'll go tell her then, if you'll wait just one moment."

"Thank you, miss Victoria." Then, Ciel waited as the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. agent went and retrieved her master. He could hear muffled voices on the other end, obviously belonging to Seras and her master, but he couldn't quite make out the words. He did however, hear the authoritative woman shout a quick "what?!" before he heard the sound of the phone being passed over into her hands.

Sir Hellsing didn't offer a greeting. She, as always, went straight to the point. "_What. Did. You. Do. Phantomhive?" _she articulated. Her irritation was prominent, and actually intimidated the lad for a moment. He, however, quickly composed himself before speaking.

"_Hello to you, too, Hellsing." _he said. "In regards to the mysteirious appearance of _dead ghouls, _I would like to inform you that it was but a _mere coincedence _that I am involved."

"Just _answer the question, _demon."

Sir Hellsing was a powerful woman. She ran her orginization with charisma and patriotism, and does not tolerate failure, _especially her own_. The Phantomhive boy could somehow relate to her in this sort of sense. The woman was proud, strong, and commanding in her personality, and usually has a sort of collected attitude, much like himself. Seras was right, they _were_ similar. It was perhaps for this reason that he had difficulty getting along with her. They were, in a sense_, too similar_. He simply didn't quite know how to deal with someone like this, because it was he who was usually the only one of this particular nature. He cleared his throat before answering.

"I was merely working on_ a case of my own_." He sometimes wished he had the smooth-talking ability that Alois had so he could weasel his way out of situations like these. "It happened to lead me to the lair of that particular vampire, and to the discovery that he had been_ kidnapping human beings and turning them into ghouls_. We positively identified the victims at the scene."

The was a pause before the woman spoke again. It made the bluenette somewhat nervous, waiting for her answer. "Is there anything _else _that I should know?" she asked.

"Well, that is _precisely _why I called." Ciel replied. "You see, the ones who lead us there were two supernatural beings,_ a vampire, and a werewolf_. Recently, they've been staying at my residence because they have nowhere else to go..."

_ "Are you asking me if I can take them off your hands?"_ Integra interrupted.

"In all honesty, _yes_." the boy said with a sigh. "They're perfectly _harmless,_ I assure you. In fact, they're _idiots_. The kind of idiots who will accidentally_ destroy my home with their incompetence." _

"You aren't doing well to _sell them_, you know." Integra paused. Ciel could hear the flick of her lighter as she lit up a cigar. Why the woman lit up so many cigars, he would never know. He didn't linger on this thought long, as she continued.

"What makes you think_ I _want them over _here?" _she asked.

The Phantomhive boy grit his teeth. He needed to mentally prepare himself. He knew what he_ needed _to say, but whether or not the lad's_ nearly obscene amount of pride _would _allow _him to do so or not was an _entirely different story_. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out at first, so he had to force out the words.

"If... If _anyone_ can whip them into shape..." he began. "...It's_ you, Sir Integra_. I'm simply _no good _at that sort of thing..." It was strange how speaking a few words could make the lad feel so awful. He let out a breath as the last one exited his mouth and entered the speaker, and he waited for the woman's response. He expected much taunting, but oddly, it never came.

"_Alright." _she said, much to the boy's surprise. "But on one condition: _You must let them serve at your residence for one full month._ I don't want two _completely_ worthless staff-members. _Teach them the basics_, and I'll see what I can do."

_ He knew it_. He _knew_ there was a catch. _Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing _never surrendered so easily, if_ at all_. Still, he had no choice. It was this, or have to put up with those two for God knows how long. He could do this, and he knew it. After all, he had survived about three years with his _previous servants,_ all of which were almost completely incompetent in their duties.

"It's a deal." he said finally. "I can live with that, but are you sure that there's nothing else that you need to know about them?" he asked, thinking how it was odd to want to hire someone you knew nothing about.

"I don't know_, is there?"_ asked Integra with a tine resembling that of a rather cross teacher.

"_They're a lesbian couple." _he said, immediately hanging the phone up afterwards. He didn't even give her time to respond, and just let that linger in her thoughts for bit, and now incapable of saying "no". The thought of the look on that woman's face somehow_ tickled _him. He smirked to himself at his actions. He was starting to notice himself developing these odd, moments of whimsy lately. He wasn't sure if he liked it, or if it unsettled him. He jumped when Alois came bursting into the room while being chased by the wolf-girl while she was growling and howling at him.

"She's crazy! She's too weird! _Too weird, Ciel!"_ shouted the blonde as he hid behind the bluenette.

"Exterminate! _Ex-ter-min-ate!"_ shouted Amelie. She had her hands out like claws and snarled in a manner that wasn't threatening at all, but only _comical_. With a sigh, the bluenette opened his mouth to confront the girl.

"Amelie," he said. "How would you and Charlotte like both a _job, and a place to stay?"_

_ "What?!"_ the blonde interjected, only to be hushed by the Phantomhive boy. The silver-haired lass, however, nearly _sparkled_ (in a figurative sort of sense) upon hearing the question. He had piqued her interest.

"I have an acquaintance who deals with the paranormal, and employs supernatural beings such as you and Charlotte to do the job of protecting Britain from otherworldly threats. She has offered you both of those things." Said Ciel. He noticed her attention fading as he mentioned that they wouldn't be staying at his residence, but her then added. "She's much more capable of providing for each of you individual needs than I am. Being a non-human creature of the night becomes _much easier_ when you have an entire organization to provide for you."

Amelie's face lit up again. That made all of their problems seem to disappear. The girls wouldn't be starving all of the time, would have schedules that would be suited to their own sleep-schedules, and she wouldn't have to worry so much about _full-moons._ While she was fully aware of what she was doing, and completely in control of her actions during the full-moon, it was really bothersome to travel on a full-moon safely, as they would be easily spotted in a crowd. With Charlotte being nocturnal, they would often have to travel at night, and it was a pain to have to deal with transforming against her will in public places. While she would switch between forms whenever she pleased at any other time, it was on a full-moon that she lost that ability._ Hiding a giant wolf-monster in a large city without a primary base of operations is much harder than one would think_.

"But there's a catch." the boy continued. "She says that if you can serve me for one month, the _job is yours."_ The wolf-girl saluted in response.

"Does that mean she needs my maid uniform?" asked the blonde.

"It's not like _you_ need it." said the bluenette.

"_You know you think it's hot."_

"_Shut up..."_

* * *

**A/N: 'Sup, dawgs- er, _duckies?_  
**

**I'm glad you guys are liking Amelie and Charlotte so far. There is a reason why I set up this situation like this, though. That's because_ I don't know whether or not I want to keep them in the Phantomhive house._  
**

**I could probably make that work, but I don't know if that's what YOU guys/gals/Grells want me to do. So tell me what you think about that. I seriously need to know that shit. **

**MAID-MOE WEREWOLVES, WAT.**

**_"Cock-blocking werewolves"_ has become a popular subject amongst my friends, lately. _Probably because that's a really, really, really stupid combination of words._**

**I've also had the idea of putting extra information about the characters, _written by the characters,_ below the Author's notes. Tell me what you think about that too. I just thought it would be funny to write that shit. Starting with the main shotas...  
**

**Maybe it'll be funny, maybe it won't be. It was in my head, but that doesn't mean it's actually interesting on the screen.**

**Peace out, duckies.**

* * *

_Alois Trancy  
_

_Age: 15_

_Height: 5'5''  
_

_Birthday: Nov. 5th  
_

_Favourite Colour: Purple  
_

_Favourite Song: "Judas" by Lady Gaga... Or maybe "Girl On Fire" by Alicia Keys... Just because it annoys the shit out of Ciel.  
_

_Favourite Show: CIEL'S FACE  
_

_Ciel Phantomhive_

_Age: 126_

_Height: ...5'2''..._

_Length (If you know what I mean): Wait, **WHAT?!** Alois, did you put this here?! I'm not answering it..._

_Birthday: Dec. 14th_

_Favourite Colour: Blue_

_Favourite Song: "The Diabolic Waltz" by Taku Iwasaki_

_Favourite Show: Doctor Who_

_Favourite Position (If you know what I mean): **GODDAMMIT, ALOIS!**_


	145. Oddly Appropriate Music

"_No!"_ declared the vampire, who had just woken up.

It was evening at the Phantomhive estate. All signs of the sun that had shone so enthusiastically before were now gone, and replaced with the gentle glow of the moon as the single, solitary beacon through the now dark sky. Now that the nocturnal guest was now awake, the quartet of supernatural beings had an appointment with someone that you've already been well-acquainted with. Alas, of all times, Charlotte had chosen now to be stubborn.

"Why not?" asked the blonde lad. "It'll be fine._ Kristopherson's gay_, so it shouldn't be _awkward when he measures you."  
_

"That's not the point." the girl argued. "The point is, that I will _not wear a skirt! _I don't _care _if it's part of the _uniform!"_

The head of the house rubbed his temples as he conjured a response. They had to go soon if they wanted to get this done. The pink-loving lad couldn't stay up all night, you see, especially on a Sunday night. If he tried, Monday morning was going to be a night mare for the girl needed a servant's uniform, but she refused to wear a skirt.

"I'm sure Kris can think of _something_." Ciel insisted. He looked up at the vampire, slightly annoyed by the fact that she towered over him. It made menacing people that much more difficult. "We need to _get going_, though. We don't have all night." Charlotte simply crossed her arms in protest.

"Fine, then. _We have ways of making you cooperate_." said the blonde. _"Amelie! I choose you!"_

With those words, a storm sprang forth. The wolf-girl seemingly came out of nowhere, attacking the other girl. She latched onto her back, wrapping her arms around her neck and her legs around her torso. Charlotte nearly fell over from the assault, and was barely able to stop herself from hitting the ground, shifting her weight and the new weight on her back in order to right herself. The vampiress reached backwards to try and get the girl off, ignoring the laughter of the blonde menace in the room.

"Amelie, get Charlotte and get her in the car._ We're leaving_." said the bluenette on his way out the door. He was followed by Alois, who was still struggling to stifle his laughter.

"_Oui, mon seigneur!" _the werewolf replied. She let go of the other girl with her feet while maintaining hold on her neck, the sudden imbalance made her fall over backwards, and when Amelie's feet hit the ground, she shifted herself so the vampire would fall on her shoulders. When she was finally apprehended, the wolf-girl raced out the door and to the awaiting vehicle, protesting vampire in tow.

Before long, they were once more outside the Miles household. The building was smaller than the Phantomhive estate, and far more modern in appearance, but didn't lack in style in the slightest. The four walked up to the front door, and knocked. It opened and the faux-blonde stepped into view. He was wearing a pink v-neck T-shirt and a pair of shorts, which was unusually ordinary-looking for the boy. Kristopherson's hair was also noticeably different, as while it was in the same style as before, the brown roots were now becoming more and more visible, as though he hadn't bleached his hair in a while.

_ "Took you long enough."_ he said. It was a normal greeting for the boy. "I was starting to wonder if you'd show up at all!"

"Sorry about that." replied the bluenette. "We had difficulty getting everyone ready. Oh,_ this is Charlotte, and Amelie, by the way_."

"_Hey, I'm Kristopherson_." the faux-blonde greeted.

"_Charlotte is my wife!" _shouted the wolf-girl. No one could quite figure out _why _she had to say this every time she met someone new, but she _did, _apparently.

"Right..." answered Kristopherson. He wasn't even remotely sure how to respond to that. He moved out of the way of the entryway, and motioned the others to follow him. "Well, come in, then. Let's get to work."

They walked into he living-room, where there was a semi-familiar face seated on the couch as he patiently waited for the faux-blonde to return. He had short, blonde hair and blue eyes, and was sturdily built, but that is to be expected, since he was a _rugby player_. Yes, the rugby player from _Tamworth _Academy, _Cameron Gully,_ was seated in Kristopherson's living room, twiddling his thumbs as he waited for the other boy to return. He looked up at the group, and smiled awkwardly at them, and was met with a smile from the blonde menace and the vampire, and a slight nod from the bluenette as greeting. Amelie just seemed to ignore him, and focused on the living room itself instead.

"_This is Cameron_." Krisopherson said finally, introducing the boy. "Cameron, this is Ciel, Alois, Charlotte, and Amelie."

"Hi." the other boy said.

"I have to take measurements on one of these two chicks. I'll be back." replied the boy in pink. The Tamworthian nodded, and the other lad motioned for the supernaturals to follow him to his room, where all of his things were.

The room was just as stylish and modern as the rest of the house, but slightly less tidy. It had rolls of fabric and sketches in the floor in a sort of "organized mess", and the desk was full of clutter as well, but with just enough empty space to work on. It had white walls, with splashes of pink here and there to sort of give small accents, with pink curtains and a pink bedspread and other various pink items scattered throughout the room, like the lamp that was in the corner and even the lad's cell phone that sat on it's charger on the nightstand. The boy sat down in the chair in front of the desk that was against the wall, and spun it around so that he was facing the group.

"You you need a _'servant's uniform'?" _he asked, quoting what the bluentte had told him over the phone. _"Do you have anything in mind?"_

There was a pause before anyone answered, but finally, being the man-in-charge that he was, Ciel spoke up. "We need a uniform for Charlotte." he began, gesturing towards the vampire. "The problem is, she refuses to wear a skirt of any sort. _Any ideas?"_

Kristopherson thought for a moment as he eyed the girl over. He analyzed the style she had on now, with her grey dress shirt and black vest. From the looks of her, she already looked like a servant of some sort, just a masculine one. With this observation, his analysis was complete. "I could make a_ men's uniform_, but _'girl it up' _a bit." he said. "How's that?"

Ciel looked to the girl for a moment to see if that worked for her. He honestly didn't care in the slightest, as long as she had on _a_ uniform. The girl nodded in agreement, but her arms remained folded as though she wasn't quite done protesting.

"That sounds fine." said the bluenette, looking back to the faux-blonde.

With that, Kristopherson clapped his hands together, and spun his chair around to face his desk. "Right, then. I'll start measuring." He grabbed the measuring tape out of one of the many piles on his desk, and looked to the group. He hesitated be fore saying what he did next. "Uhm, _don't take this the wrong way_, but I'm going to need you to disrobe so they can be accurate." The vampire's face went red at the news, while the werewolf's seemed to light up.

"No way! Nobody said I had to get _naked!" _Charlotte argued.

"Hey, I said nothing about being naked. You keep your underwear on. _I don't care for seeing that."_ the fashion-savvy boy responded.

"Like I said, _Kris is a total homo." _Alois chimed in. For some reason, that was reassuring, but at the same time, it wasn't _convincing._ However, Charlotte didn't really have a choice in the matter, for _Amelie_ was in the room. The wolf-girl put her hands up like claws, and walked towards the other girl.

"_Strip."_ she said. And with that, she _pounced._

"I think that's our que to _leave." _said the bluenette. He covered the blonde lad's eyes, and ushered him outside the room, closed the door behind them as they left. The vampire's screams could be heard in the hallway, so to escape the shear awkwardness of the situation, the demonic duo decided to retreat to the living room to resume their waiting, yet the awkwardness lingered, for the faux-blonde's "new friend" was there as well. Regardless, Ciel and Alois sat on the couch across from him. Expecting there to be a long, nearly suffocating silence, Alois opened his mouth to speak, spouting the first thing that came to mind.

"Y'know, I saw these couches, and expected them to be really hard, but they're surprisingly comfortable." he said to the bluenette.

"No matter how many times you complain about it, _I'm not changing the couches in my office, _Alois." replied his companion. "In fact, these_ not-so-subtle hints _of yours make me want to keep them _even more_."

"You _sadist! _A_ cinder-block _would be more comfortable than those things!" whined the Trancy boy.

"_Then go get a cinder-block to sit on. I'll leave it in there for you_." said Ciel with a slight smirk. ''

_ "Wanker."_

_"I love you too, muffin."_

The rugby player across from them nearly jumped in surprise at hearing that. It wasn't because the bluenette had taken one of the blonde's favourite phrases. No, he knew nothing of that, however, what bothered him was the fact that the two lad's would so openly say such things. He blushed a bit at the thought, and opened his mouth to speak, and, hesitantly, he asked the question that had been bothering him since the two had arrived.

"Hey... Are you two... _You know_..." he began. He couldn't quite force the question outward due to his embarrassment.

"_Together in a romantic sort of sense?" _Alois asked for him. "Yeah." he answered casually, leaning on the bluenette's shoulder. Cameron simply stared at them like a deer in headlights for a moment before coming back to his senses.

"How do you do that?" he asked finally. _"How are you able to say that so easily?"_

"Easy. Step one: _don't give a fuck. _Step two: yell_ 'I like men!' _from the rooftops _because you don't give a fuck."_ the blonde said, listing off the steps while counting on his fingers.

That, of course, was only the_ abridged _version. It didn't account for any emotional, or social obstacles in the way. It could be assumed that the- _ahem, "don't give a fuck_" step was in place to give a bit of insight of how to get _around_ those obstacles. It, however, wasn't entirely accurate, because unlike _Alois Trancy,_ most people aren't capable of simply _"not giving a fuck." _There would be things like_ fear and doubt _blocking their path. In fact, even he, the _blonde menace himself_, was afraid of telling the bluenette how he felt at first. He hesitated, and he stumbled; both of them did.

"I _think _what Alois is _trying_ to say is..." began the bluenette, responding to the confused look on the rugby players face. "... that when you get to the point where you are _completely comfortable _with the fact, you will be able to admit to it."

The Tamworthian boy just looked down at the floor to avoid eye contact with these people in response, lacking the confidence to look at them. He twiddled his thumbs and tried to think of something to say, but his mind was completely blank. Of course he had many questions to ask them, but he didn't want to be _rude_. He had just met these two, after all.

Silence hung around them like an evil sort of presence that seemed to be trying to suffocate the three. Cameron looked at the floor while Ciel and Alois looked around the room, awkwardly. It was as though they weren't sure what they were supposed to be doing. The never-ending silence began to get on Alois' nerves. At last, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey_, do you like Kristopherson?" _he asked the other blonde, as though the situation wasn't already difficult enough. Instinctively, Cameron lifted his head to look at the demonic duo, his face red all the way up to his ears. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound would come out.

"I'll take that as a _'yes', _then?" asked the Trancy boy. "It's alright, mate. Just don't break his heart, 'cause if you do,_ I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish_." The way the boy said that with a serious face was absurd. The Tamworthian couldn't tell if he was joking, or if he _really was_ serious because of it. Somehow, he felt more at ease all the same.

"You know, I'm a bit_ jealous_." Kristopherson said to Charlotte in the other room. "You have the perfect model figure." He couldn't stop thinking about how odd it was that he was so calm while in a room alone with a vampire and what would seem to be a _rather unruly _werewolf. He statement got a thumbs up from said werewolf, but the immediate denial from the other girl.

"Huh? No way." she said. "I'm too pale, and my chest is way too small. In fact, I look like a _man..."_

"What magazines are _you_ looking at?" said the faux-blonde. "I'm not talking about models in any _teen-fashion magazines_, I'm talking about models for _major brands._ They're completely different._"_ He wrapped the tape-measure around his neck and wrote down his final measurements. He dug around on his desk for a magazine while the girl got dressed. "It's a shame you _won't wear a dress._ It's such a _waste_."

"Well, _excuse me_ for preferring to keep my business _covered."_ replied Charlotte.

"Hey, I would _kill _to have your looks. You only look 'mannish' because you _allow _yourself to look that way. It could easily be fixed by putting on some clothes with a womens' cut, and letting your hair down."

"A _'womens' cut'?"_

Kristopherson sighed. "Look, when it comes to clothes, there are many kinds of cuts, but the main two are _'for men'_ and '_for women'_. A mens' cut is somewhat square, but a womens' cut has a different shape. A womens' cut goes inward at the waist before going outward again in order to show off your _curves."_

He couldn't believe he had to explain this. He really was a bit jealous of the girl, because quite frankly, he was_ growing up_. His voice was getting deeper, and he was starting to look more and more like an adult male. His days of being able to cross-dress, and pass himself off as a girl were numbered. But this girl, _didn't age_, and she looked like she could easily fit in with the girls in practically any issue of _Vogue _magazine_._ She simply didn't know how good she had it, and it more that just "kind of" peeved him.

Then he looked over at the other one; Amelie._ She was wearing the maid dress that he designed_. While it was a little big on her, he had to admit, he liked it. Kristopherson liked making clothes, not only for himself, but for other people for two reasons. One: He simply liked clothes, and two: _He liked seeing his ideas take shape and be worn_. If he could somehow make not only himself happy with clothes, but other people as well, he felt like he could be happy in life. That's why he stays up in the wee hours of the morning making costumes for school festivals, and why he took such outlandish requests in the early evening.

"Hey, do you like that dress?" he asked the wolf-girl. She simply nodded in response, and while it didn't look like an overly enthusiastic response, it was enough to make Kristopherson smile wholeheartedly.

"_I'm glad,_ I made it after all." he continued. "I can make it fit you better if, you want." This time, the girl perked up, and nodded very enthusiastically. "Okay, stand over there on the stool that Charlotte was standing on earlier, so I can figure out were sew it."

The girl hoped up off the edge of the bed where she sat, and stood where she was instructed. Kristopherson followed her, picking up one of the pin cushions on his desk as he did. When he looked more closely at the girl, however, he frowned.

"Are you seriously wearing_ sneakers _with that dress?" he asked.

"_Couldn't walk in high-heels_." she replied simply.

"Rubbish! _No girl is properly armed without her high-heels!_ Take those off!" the lad instructed.

_ "No!" _Amelie hopped down from the stool and ran to the door. She swung it open, and the boy in the pink shirt followed.

"_Get back here!"_ he shouted, chasing the girl into the living room. "You are _not _wearing a dress of _mine_ with _those shoes!"_

"Kristopherson..." Alois said from his seat on the couch, ignoring the werewolf hiding behind it. "...That has got to be the _absolute gayest thing _that I have_ ever heard come out of your face."_

"Quiet, Trancy! _You have no right to talk!"_ retorted the faux-blonde. "And it's your fault in the first place for_ letting her wear it!"_

"Hey! I didn't _'let'_ her wear it! She stole it!" the blonde menace argued.

"I didn't _steal_. I _liberated."_ corrected the silver-haired girl from her hiding place behind the modern-sofa.

"_You went through my stuff and took it!"_ shouted Alois. He was going to say something else, but then Ciel suddenly stood up, distracting him.

"If you're done with the measurements, Kris,_ I think it's best if I get these morons out of here quickly while your house is still standing."_ he said to the boy. "_I need to stop this before they get out of hand."_

"That sounds like a good idea..." he said, rubbing his temples. He didn't mean to sound rude, but he really didn't want a werewolf, vampire, and a blonde demon wrecking havoc in his house, especially while his parents were out, as they often were. "I'll have some designs ready by tomorrow to show you." he added.

"That's fine. Just take your time. I wouldn't want you turning into a _zombie_ from lack of sleep or anything." Ciel said in an unusual jest. "Come on, kids, let's go home." He gestured for the others to follow him out the door.

"By the way, if I ever have a fashion show, do you think I could possibly _'borrow' _those two?"

"Be my guest. It's _your_ show in jeopardy!" And with that, they were gone. They had walked out the door and disappeared into the night- or rather, into the Phantomhive estate's black Rolls Royce.

They drove home in the dark. It was mostly quiet, with only the sound of the radio keeping the maddening silence away. Sebastian sat in the driver's seat, with Charlotte in the passenger seat, and the others sat in the back, with Ciel and Amelie in the window seats and Alois in the middle. The girl had the window open, regardless to the fact that it was rather nippy outside, and had her head hanging out of it, much to the amusement of the other passengers. The quiet among the five was broken, however, when a certain song came on the radio. They all laughed, even Ciel laughed, at the fact that the song _"Werewolves of London_" by Warren Zevon began to play, completely ruining the serious atmosphere.

They laughed even harder when the girl began to howl at it.

* * *

**A/N: I almost couldn't find a place to end the chapter!  
**

**The shotas are going back to school in the next chapter, so Charlotte and Amelie won't be there. I want to focus on the shotas! THE SHOTAS! So, I think I'm just going to make those two take a backseat for a chapter or two until I figure out what I want to do with them.  
**

**I've been having trouble coming up with what I want to do next, so if you guys have any suggestions... *hint-hint* Though, Kristopherson having a fashion show sounds cool, and I probably will do it, I think I want to make some distance between that chapter and this one, because tere is no way in hell that the kid can organize a whole damn fashion show in just one chapter!**

**And thus, we return to the demonic shotas...**

**...in the next chapter, my duckies.**

* * *

**MOAR CHARACTER SHET.**

_Kristopherson Miles  
_

_Age: 16_

_Height: 5'6''_

_Birthday: May 10th_

_Favourite Colour: Really? You don't know it by now? It's PINK._

_Favourite Song: "Wish You Were Here" by Stephani Germanotta_

_Favourite Show: The Catherine Tate Show_

_Cameron Gully_

_Age: 16  
_

_Height: 5'7''_

_Birthday: March 26th_

_Favourite Colour: I dunno. I kinda like green, though._

_Favourite Song: "Better Man Than He" by Sivu_

_Favourite Show: Top Gear_


	146. Dear Diary, Fawk Yo Shet

It was an ordinary afternoon at Phantomhive manor, and the demonic duo had returned from a long day at school. Ciel sat at his desk in his study, making an attempt to complete the homework that he was assigned that evening while the blonde simply sat on the legendary uncomfortable couch of the Phantomhive office and whined about being required to complete such a task. He sat there, scratching his head over the problems on the paper. The blonde simply couldn't fathom why the one subject that he hated with a passion had to have homework assigned on it nearly every single day. You see, Alois Trancy, simply hated maths.

"_Ciel~! _This doesn't make sense at _all~!" _he whined, looking over at the bluenette.

"How can it not make sense? Maths is pure logic. It makes sense." replied the othe boy.

"It doesn't if you don't understand the rules!" the blonde argued. "What is this _'x times four equals seven times three'_ bullshit?!"

"That, my blonde friend, is _algebra_."

"_Algebra sucks."_

"Algebra doesn't _suck,_ because_ if it did,_ you would probably_ like it much, much more_, now wouldn't you?" said Ciel, looking at the blonde with a smirk.

_"I see what you did there..." _Alois replied. "_Touche', _Phantomhive, touche'..." He turned back to the paper that was sitting on the small table in front of the couch, and stared at it for a long while.

At first, Ciel started to wonder if he should actually make an attempt to help the boy, but to his surprise, he started to hear the sound of the blonde's pencil rubbing against the paper. The bluenette let his eye wander over to the area where the blonde sat, eying his paper, and, to his surprise, the boy wasn't simply doodling, and was actually working for a change. After discovering this, he went back to his own work, and the sould of sharpened graphite scraping against parchment filled the air.

This lasted only a few minutes, however, as the Trancy lad reached yet another problem that he didn't know how to find the answer too. "What the fuck!? Now there's letters on _both _sides!" he shouted. He then turned to the other boy and whined at him_. "Ciel~! Help me~!"_

With a sigh, the bluenette motioned for the other boy to give him his paper. "Let me see it." he said. "I'm not going to do this for you, but I will show you how to do it, okay?"

"Right!" Alois jumped up from the awful couch, picking up his paper as he did, and pranced over to the bluenette. He placed the paper in front of the other boy, and looked over his shoulder as he explained the procedure to him. With one look at his face, Ciel could tell that the blonde wasn't retaining a single bit of information.

"_Are you even listening?" _he asked the boy, snapping him back to attention.

_ "Yeah_, well, I _was, _but then after awhile, my brain started to say _'no'_ to what you were saying, and simply shut down." the blonde replied.

"I know maths isn't exactly the most interesting subject, but at least_ try _to pay attention."

"I was paying attention! I did my best to hang onto every word, _but then my grip on your words started to slip, _and I lost track of what you were saying. There was a period there, where it didn't even sound like _English_, Ciel."

The Phantomhive boy had to sit there and think about that for a moment. The way Alois had worded that was so odd and yet brilliant at the same time. It was times like this, that the bluenette thought that the blonde could be _very _intelligent had he the interest in being so. He couldn't quite wrap his head around how the blonde could basically refuse information when he had the perfect capacity for understanding it. He just didn't seem to care.

These thoughts were silenced, however, as the bluenette felt the string of his eyepatch loosening, and light suddenly invaded his "bad eye". Quickly, he turned around to face the perpetrator, only to be pecked on the lips by the blonde boy. Ciel gave him a stern look, but was only met with a grin.

"Tell you what, _we'll play a game_." said Alois, dangling the eye-patch in front of the other boy. "You get your eye-patch back from me, and I'll let you talk_ nerdy _to me 'til your heart's content, and I will sincerely listen to _every word."_

Before the Phantomhive lad could say "no", he took off, running out of the room and down the hallway. Ciel clenched his fists and ran after him, shouting profanity the whole way. He chased the other boy all through that house, up hallways, down hallways, around furniture, around _butlers,_ into rooms and out of them again. Every time he nearly had the blonde, he would weasel out of the bluenette's grasp and take off again. Finally, he simply lost the boy all together.

Now Ciel was fuming. Not only had Alois wasted his time, he had made a fool of him, and for that, the lad would have to pay. The bluenette walked around the house, listening for the blonde's footsteps or giggles, but heard nothing. "_He's probably hiding somewhere." _he thought to himself, and went in search of the boy.

He checked the blonde's room first, because the blonde was completely illogical. According to Alois un-logic, it was likely that the bluenette would think his own bedroom was silly and an overly-obvious place to hide, therefore wouldn't check it, making it, ironically, the perfect place to hide- _or so the bluenette thought. _Alois logic, by nature, is hard for anyone but Alois to understand. Sometimes, Ciel could imagine the blonde as practically any character from Lewis Carrol's _Alice in Wonderland_, where ordinary logic doesn't apply.

Nothing. The blonde wasn't there. Either he un-Alois-logicked himself, or he simply figured that_ it was a silly place to hide_. The bluenette felt kind of silly for over-thinking it like that. It was times like this when the boy wondered if the Trancy boy was starting to have some wort of_ weird effect _on him.

Regardless, he took the opportunity to rummage through the other boy's things, perhaps to find a hostage of sorts in case he needed to resort to_ hostage negotiations _in order to have his eye-patch returned to him. _It could happen._ He started with the desk, then moved to the dresser, finding nothing of any real interest; just some little trinkets that the blonde had collected for no apparent reason. Ciel stopped to think for a moment.

"_Where does a teenage boy hide all of his possessions that he doesn't want anyone to find?" _he thought. After a moment or so, it finally dawned on him. _Under the bed. _

He felt foolish for crouching down and looking under the blonde's bed, but he felt as though it was nessecary to find the lad's deep-dark secrets. He found none. All he found was a few dirty clothes and a water bottle, along with a dust bunny or two. _Why was his room so clean of deep-dark secrets?!_ To answer that question, it was perhaps because he knew that if he kept his secrets in places like that, _they would only be found by the butler later_. As such, he had to be a little more clever.

Next, Ciel thought about slightly less obvious ways to hide things. He looked at the bed itself for a moment. And tried to imagine any possible place on it where things could be hidden. "_Of course!"_

From his sitting position in the floor, Ciel lifted the mattress slightly, sticking his arm underneath it. He groped around for a bit, before his fingers brushed against a solid object. He extended his arm further and grabbed it, pulling it out to look at. It was a _book._

It was unfamiliar to him. He had never seen this book before, so he had no idea how it came into the blonde's possession, or why he had hid it. He opened it up, and flipped through a few pages, noticing from just a glance that it was completely hand-written. He turned to the very first page, and read the first sentence.

"_Dear fucking, mother-fucking Diary..." _it said.

"Well..." the boy couldn't help but say aloud. He could tell right away from the unnecessary foul-language that it was Alois'. A pang of guilt shot through him at the realization that he had just taken a peek at the other boy's diary, but he pressed on anyway.

"_Dear fucking, mother-fucking Diary,_

_ The school counselor has decided that writing down my 'feelings' will somehow 'help' me in some shape or form, so I will make a attempt to humour her. I will warn you in advance, however, that you'll probably end up in the trash or in the back of the closet or somewhere. Just sayin'. I'm not even sorry."_

The blonde was equally as weird in the diary as he was in real life. Since that was a short passage, the bluenette simply had to look at the second half of the page to find the next one.

"_Dear Diary,_

_ I don't mean to brag or anything, but I got not one, but TWO parts in the school play. Uh-huh. One of them's a Prince! It's gonna be so awesome._

_ Bad news, however, Kristopherson will be playing my brother. What is that kid's malfunction? He's a prick for absolutely no reason, and his tie makes him look like a total woofter. Just sayin'. I'm not too worried about him, though. He may be a bully, but he isn't a GOOD one._

_ My dreams of being Little Red Riding Hood, however, remain unfulfilled..."_

Ciel chuckled a bit at the memory. That was back when they put on the musical, Into The Woods, and they weren't even remotely friendly with Kristopherson. He remembered first real starting to acknowledge his feelings for the boy around then. He skipped forward a few pages, and came across the following:

"_Fuck. I'm not even going to bother saying 'hello', Diary. I'm too busy thinking about how I almost __**kissed **__Ciel! That was __**hours **__ago and I still can't calm the fuck down! I couldn't even look him in the face at supper... I hope he doesn't get weirded out by that. I didn't mean to do it, it just almost __**happened**__..._

_ What the fuck is wrong with me? I admit, he's cute for a boy, and that I admire him, (tell anyone that, and I will fucking end you) but do I really see him in that sort of way? I just can't get him out of my head! I feel sick when I think of him, but not 'sick' in a literal sense, but more of like a 'this-is-not-a- normal-physical-sensation' sort of way. My heart feels like its going to jump out of my chest and I feel nervous. The fuck is this bullshit?! There's no way the shit in those retarded romance stories can be true, right? I'm not sure what to do about this..."_

A blush started to form on the bluenette's cheeks from reading that. He remembered that, and how it was just as much his fault as it was Alois'. He hadn't realized how _awkward _Alois really was. He had to admit, he found it to be cute. To his knowledge, the blonde menace, who seemed to have unbridled self-confidence in everything he did, occasionally felt shy or inferior, but this was like a completely different side to the boy. He kept reading, now that he was unable to stop. He had completely forgotten about the game that he was supposed to be playing.

"_Dear Diary,_

_ What the actual fuck?! Ciel asked me if I 'fancied' him while we were watching Billy Elliot. I couldn't even pretend to focus on the movie after that. Like the idiot that I am, I actually said 'no'. Why the fuck did I do that?! Afterwards, he said that it would be 'okay if I did', and I felt like a bloody pillock for that. At that point, it's not like I could've just turned around and said, 'psych! I totally think you're hot!' or something. I had the opportunity to finally get that off my chest, and I blew it. Why can't I just not give a fuck like normal? For some reason, I am rendered completely incapable of doing so with that blue cyclops, and here I am, bitching about it in a fucking diary like a girl. Note to self: grow a pair, me. Your'e a man, aren't you?! ...A man who fancies other men... Good luck with that, me..."_

_ "Dear Diary,_

_ Apparently, they're selling the stuff from my old house in an auction. Part of me wants to see what all's getting sold, and the rest of me is saying 'good riddance!' I feel this weird conflict of emotion right now, and I can't quite describe it. On one hand, shit happened to me there, and on the other, it sort of makes me who I am today. I want to let go so badly, but I just can't..."_

"_'Sup, Diary?_

_ Victory, thy name is Alois! Ciel Phantomhive is finally __**mine! **__WHOOOOOOOOOO!"_

_ "Dear Diary,_

_ Meet Steven. Steven is a platypus. Diary, Steven; Steven, Diary. Sometimes,I think Ciel is just so cute, that I could just explode. How he thought of a platypus, I'll never know, but it was really sweet. You 'd never know that it you didn't know Ciel. Hell, even if you did, it would be hard to figure out. _

_ I really wanted to kiss him for that, and like the idiot I am, I asked before I did. Still, I'm glad he went for it. My first real kiss was everything I expected, and more. While it may not have seemed like the in the movies, I liked it. I can't wait to kiss him again."_

The bluenette smiled to himself while reading the blonde's thoughts. He remembered his side as he read Alois', replaying them in his head. He read page after page of that book, becoming so absorbed in it, that he didn't even notice the door open.

"_Augh!"_ Alois shouted in surprise. He hadn't noticed the bluenette there because he was sitting in the floor, hidden behind the bed. Ciel jumped and looked up_. He had been caught. _

_ " Is... I-is that my..."_ the blonde began. He was speechless. Ciel had seen it, all of his most intimate thoughts and feelings that he hadn't the courage to convey to the public gaze. His face turned red just remembering the things he had written in there.

"Uh, yeah..." That was all the bluenette could say. He stood up and brushed himself off, before presenting the book to the other boy. The Trancy boy took it, and skimmed the pages before holding it close to his chest.

"How much... did you see?" he asked.

"_Enough..."_ Ciel replied. "I only was going to _skim _it just to see what it was, but... that didn't happen..."

The blonde looked down at the floor. He couldn't look the bluenette in the eye. While he was furious, he was insanely embarrassed as well. He didn't know how to react to this. He knew that it was a stupid idea to keep a record of your private thoughts and feelings, and regretted writing in it. It just made him feel better when he did, sometimes. When something big happens, it helped him sort of collect his thoughts and understand them a bit better himself.

Ciel simply stared at him, ashamed that he had violated the blonde's privacy. He knew that some things aren't meant for other people to know. He knew that people need a certain amount of space, yet he looked inside anyway.

"_I'm sorry_." he said finally. "It was _wrong _of me. I know why you wouldn't want me to read it, and I did anyway. It's just... It's just not often that I get to see you so _honest_ with everything. I don't get to see that vulnerable, sweet side of you all of the time..."

"_You're awful..." _the blonde said back with a pout. "How am I supposed to act _manly and tough _when you keep pointing out how_ girly and weak _I am?"

"I'm not _trying_ to. I just like seeing you act all _cute_."

"I don't wanna be _'cute'."_

"If it makes you feel any better, in regards to the stuff you stand about me: you make me feel_ the exact same way." _said Ciel. His face was red as well at this point. He lifted his hand to cup the other boy's cheek.

"_I make you want to explode?"_ Alois asked.

"That too." said the bluenette, pausing to peck the blonde on the lips.

"Fine, I will forgive you just this once, _but don't go reading my shit again."_

"Yes sir, but can I have my eye-patch back?"

"Yeah, but you're going to have to get it yourself."

"Where is it?"

"_In my pants."_

"..._I see what you did there..._"

* * *

**A/N: When you don't know how to end a chapter, end it with a dirty joke. IT WORKS EVERY TIME.  
**

**I had no ideas for this one. It just sort of morphed into this at some point. I actually wanted a discussion with the seven, but I couldn't think of a topic...  
**

**How many of you were like "He's gonna find porn!" when Ciel started looking around? It's okay. That's what I would have immediately thought... **

**Needs some ideas for tomorrow~! Ah, _I'm so tired..._**

**Until the next duckies, my chapter!**

* * *

**MOAR CHARACTER** **SHET.**

_Audrey "Bones" Baines_

_Age: 15  
_

_Height: 5'5''_

_Birthday: June 4th_

_Favourite Colour: Black_

_Favourite Song: "The Monster Is Loose" by Meatloaf_

_Favourite Show: Firefly._

_Daniel Westley_

_Age: 15  
_

_Height: 5'6''_

_Birthday: July 22nd_

_Favourite Colour: YOUR MOM_

_Favourite Song: YOUR MOM_

_Favourite Show: YOUR MOM_

***EDIT_ :_**

_Hello, this is Daniel. I've been told to correct my submission, and apologize to both you, and your mother._

_Favourite Colour: Blue_

_Favourite Song: "I'm Not Afraid" by Eminem_

_Favourite Show: Top Gear_

_I'm sorry..._


	147. One Thing Is Certain

"You have _maids _now?" asked a certain brown hiared boy.

It was yet another fine day at Warwick, and the seven were once again discussing this, that, and the other without any idea where the conversation was going to end up. It would seem that most of their conversation's turn out this way. Kristopherson had shown the bluenette his concept designs for the uniform that he was commissioned to make, and Daniel had caught sight of it, and asked for an explanation, only to discover that the Phantomhive boy had a pair of new female servants.

"Yes. They're a bit _odd_, and are slightly incompetent, though." replied the bluenette, absent-mindedly viewing the sketches. He didn't really care about what the end result looked like, as long as it wouldn't cause anyone's whining.

"Are they _hot?"_ Daniel asked. Of course he would ask that. He was _Daniel._

"I don't know about _that,"_ chimed in Alois, "but _they _seem to fancy each other quite well."

"Of course..." the politician's son said. "...they're lesbian's aren't they? How come all the homos can get a date and _I can't?!"_ He sat down in his desk in a huff and rested his chin in his palm.

"I believe it may tie into your _outstanding immaturity_." suggested Audrey.

"How am _I _immature!?"

"Daniel, simply trying to list off all of the reasons would take the_ entire day." _said Kristopherson. "I think it's just _more wise to leave it at that."_ The brown-haired lad scoffed at the other boy's statements.

"I could get a girl if I _wanted_ to!" he said defensively.

"_Then go get one_." said Preston, and the boys laughed at the irritated Westley boy. Their laughter didn't last long, however, as the classroom door opened, and a man walked through, only it wasn't _mister Irons _who came out from behind the door.

Ordinarily, the students would be excited about a substitute teacher, but this man, he was different. They could tell just by looking at him that his presence didn't mean a "free day". No, this man was serious. He had a stern look on his face, and neat black hair parted to the right. He wore an ordinary black suit and a pair of eyeglasses. He looked as though he belonged in an office building rather than a school. This wasn't his most odd feature, however. The man's most peculiar aspect was his_ yellow and green eyes_.

He turned to the large, dry-erase board at the front of the classroom that replaced the more traditional chalkboards, and picked up a marker. The mysterious man took off the cap of the writing utensil, and raised his arm to write. He wrote in big, neat, cursive letters, his arm zigging this way, and zagging the other. Finally, he stopped, and capped the marker before setting it down. He moved to the side so that the children could see it. The man had written his name on the board. "_William T. Spears."_

"_Good morning, class." _said the man who the children now knew as "mister Spears". His gesture was returned by a few students, but the rest of them simply stared. His voice had an odd quality to it, in that it wasn't entirely monotone, yet it was close. It was like that in which one would imagine an accountant or someone of a similar occupation to speak.

"As some of you may be aware,_ Mister Irons was involved in a car accident recently_. " he went on. "_He's going to be alright_, but has to recover in the hospital for a few days. So, for the time being,_ I will be your substitute teacher."_

The demonic duo glanced over at each other. While Alois had never seen the man before, he knew that only a grim reaper could have eyes like his. Audrey and Kristopherson noticed it too. Something wasn't right. If there was a grim reaper here, then that means that someone was going to die on campus, but _who?_ The lads looked around the room at the faces of the other students with this thought. Perhaps it was one of those very faces that would dissappear from their lives forever. They looked to their classmates, they looked to their _friends, _and then, Kristopherson and Audrey looked at _each other_. Practically anyone in that entire building was fair game at that point. Death became a whole lot scarier when you knew it was coming far sooner than you expected. The man had said that he would be there for a few days, meaning that it may not be today, or tomorrow, or even the next day, but it was _soon._

Ciel and Alois knew that they had to find out what was going on, but they knew it had to wait until after class. They didn't know William very well, in fact, the blonde didn't know William at all, but what they could tell just by the looks of him, he was going to be a strict teacher. No sending quick texts to Sebastian during _this_ class period. Their only option was to sit and wait while the man lectured. Yes, he was a substitute who_ lectured_. Mister Spears pushed up his glasses so that they would sit on the crook of his nose.

_ "Get out your textbooks and turn to page three-hundred and ninety-four..."_

* * *

**A/N: And suddenly, A HARRY POTTER REFERENCE.  
**

**Ugh, this was a short chapter! If I try really hard, I might be able to post another really short one before tomorrow. I will make no promises, though. **

**There was no reason for the lack of update yesterday, other that I simply didn't feel like writing. No matter how hard I tried, no words came to mind at all, so I spent the day drawing instead. In other news, new pictures of the seven on my deviantart~! My username is "wimpyninja". Look it up, yo!**

**HOORAY FOR SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION! :D**

**I got a pretty good idea now, though, (I think) and I'll be rolling with it. Hopefully it doesn't suck! We'll see~! (No promises)**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

**_MOAR CHARACTER SHET_**

_Preston Omid_

_Age: 15_

_Height: 5'4''_

_Birthday: Sept. 25th_

_Favourite Colour: Blue_

_Favourite Song: "Children Of The Revolution" by T Rex_

_Favourite Show: Star Trek: The Next Generation_

_Travis Sullivan_

_Age: 16  
_

_Height: 5'8''_

_Birthday: Jan. 30th_

_Favourite Colour: I like yellow, but it can be overpowering in large amounts..._

_Favourite Song: "Undo" by The Half Pennies_

_Favourite Show: Ramses' Kitchen Nightmares_

_Lawrence Rose_

_Age: 16  
_

_Height: 5'6''_

_Birthday: April 15th_

_Favourite Colour: Green_

_Favourite Song: "Por Ti Violare" by Andrea Bochelli_

_Favourite Show: **Devil Butler-** Just kidding~! I'm not that vain. It's actually "That Mitchell and Webb Look"._


	148. Emergency Meeting

As soon as first period let out, the demonic duo and the two of the seven who were also in on their secret held an emergency meeting. They meet in the secluded area in the courtyard that was concealed by both a tree and a wall that were oddly close to each other. They needed to talk about the new substitute, "Mr. Spears".

"He's a _reaper_, isn't he?" asked Kristopherson. He folded his arms across his chest and frowned. He looked at the two demons in a way the gave them the impression that he hoped that he was wrong. Sadly, he was exactly _right._

_ "Yes." _said the bluenette in a serious tone. He pulled out his cell phone and began pressing buttons. He was texting Sebastian, his thumbs moving at an absurd rate. Ciel had never cared for calling. He preferred to text, and had become quite good at it.

_"We have a situation. We've spotted a grim reaper, _

_and after the bomb incident, I don't want to take any chances. _

_Send the werewolf, and have her sniff around for anything suspicious._

_-CP"_

_ Send._

"Texting Sebastian?" asked Alois.

"Yeah. I'm having him send _Amelie._ If there's a bomb like last time, she'll probably be able to find it." Ciel replied, slipping the device back into his pocket.

"Bomb-dogs?" asked Kristopherson, arching an eyebrow. He was somewhat skeptical as to the how helpful the girl would be. Sudrey, however, was immensely confused.

"Wait, wait, wait. Who's _Amelie?"_ he asked.

"She's one of the new maids." said Ciel. "She's a werewolf."

"Like, a howl at the moon, _tear people limb-from-limb werewolf?" _the boy in the skull beanie inquired.

"_The very same_." said the blonde lad. "So what's the plan, exactly? Don't tell me we're just going to just sit on our asses and let the dog do all of the work?" He folded his arms across his chest in didn't like this plan. He wanted to be a bit more involved.

"Well, there isn't much else we _can_ do at this point." replied the bluenette. "If we did perform a search, we'd have to skip class, and there's no guarantee that we wouldn't get caught."

"I guess telling them 'we saw a grim reaper and someone's gonna die' wouldn't work as an excuse, would it?" asked Audrey, jokingly.

"I don't care if I get caught." said Alois. "Just don't make me sit idle. I can't sit in a stuffy classroom when I know there's gonna be death. I can hardly do so _without _the death!"

"As ridiculous as it sounds, I actually _agree_ with Alois. I don't want to sit by and wait, either." said Kristopherson. The others simply stared at him for a moment.

"Are you sure you don't just agree because it's Alois?" asked Audrey, causing the faux-blonde to furrow his brow and frown.

"I've given up on him. There's simply no way I can beat Satan himself."

"Wait, since when am I _'Satan'?"_ Ciel asked.

"Since you _gained control over demons._" said the boy in the pink tie. "Now I, for one, refuse to simply sit back and let things happen. _Anyone else agree?"_

_"I do."_ answered Audrey.

"_Aye!" _said Alois. The lads look to Ciel, who at this point, couldn't exactly say "no", now could he? With a sigh, he finally spoke again.

"_Fine,_ but if any of you get caught by the teachers,_ you're on your own_." he said as warning. "We'll meet back here at the next bell, got it? I'll search the North wing."

"Roger that." said Bones. "I'll search the West wing."

"I'll go _down south_, then~!" chimed in Alois, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

_ "Too much info, Trancy. We don't need to hear about your and Ciel's exploits." _Kristopherson said, causing the bluenette to blush as he suddenly got the joke of the blonde menace. "Guess that leaves me with the East. See you before third period then?"

"Let's head out!" Alois declared. He then turned to his assigned sector and took off running, shouting along the lines of "_To Narnia!" _as he did. The other boys followed suit, heading off to their own wings.

They didn't even notice a certain silver-haired girl sitting on the wall outside the school with a bored expression. Amelie was out of uniform, now wearing her "civilian clothes", and she was rather excited. She jumped down from the wall, and landed on her feet, before casually walking up to the nearest building.

_ "Je sens la poudre ..."_

* * *

**A/N: Uwah! Another short one! I'm soooorrryyyy! My computer was acting all wonky, so I needed to hurry it up!**

**Please for give meeee!**

**I don't even know if what Amelie says at the end translates right, so forgive that too. I had to use Google translate, and it isn't nice to me a lot of the time...**

**I'm sorry that not much happens here, really I am. Things will get better!**

**...I hope...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET**_

_Amelie_

_Age: 205  
_

_Height: 5'0''_

_Birthday: J'ai oublié..._

_Favourite Colour: Bleu_

_Favourite Song: "Comme Un Enfant" by Yelle_

_Favourite Show: CHARLOTTE_

_Charlotte_

_Age: 53  
_

_Height: 5'9''_

_Birthday: Oct. 28th_

_Favourite Song: "Fly Me To The Moon" by Brenda Lee_

_Favourite Colour: ...Red..._

_Favourite Show: I don't watch TV that much, so I don't really know..._

_Sebastian Michaelis_

_Age: That's a secret.  
_

_Height: 6'1''_

_Birthday: That's also a secret._

_Favourite Song: I don't listen to music that often, but I do occasionally while working. It's mostly for background noise, though, so I'm not sure I can say I really have a preference._

_Favourite Colour: I'm quite fond of black._

_Favourite Show: It's quite entertaining to watch the young master get teased by others. His reactions are quite humourous._


	149. Behind The Locker Door

The halls of Warwick Academy's East Wing were almost completely silent, with only the faint sounds of the lecturing taking place in the nearby classrooms. Audrey could hear the sounds of his feet, regardless to the fact that he was making an attempt to walk as quietly as possible. The linoleum floor simply didn't like his sneakers, it would seem. As he prepared to round the next corner, he thought he spotted someone, so he quickly retreated. He peeked around the corner to see _Mr. Spears._

_ "Shit." _he thought. Of _all _of the people it had to be, why did it have to be the _reaper?_ He watched the man for a moment, trying to figure out why he wasn't in his classroom. Then, he noticed the bespectacled man peek into the janitor's closet, before sighing with what appeared to be relief. He looked around for a moment to see if anyone was watching, and Audrey quickly moved himself out of sight. _What was the man hiding?_

Soon, Mr. Spears left, leaving Audrey able to do some investigating. Bones quietly sneaked over to the janitor's closet, and looked inside. There was nothing of interest, really. Just your ordinary cleaning supplies and a mop and a broom or two. There was but one somewhat out-of-place item, however, and that was a pair of _long-reach trimmers,_ used to trim high-up or otherwise out-of-reach plants.

"_Looking for something, Mister Baines?"_ said a stern voice from behind the boy. Audrey turned, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the reaper standing right behind him. He was somehow able to sneak up on the lad on the very same floor that had betrayed the lad's sneakers and caused them to echo throughout the hallways. The boy stared at William through a gap in his bangs, his multi-coloured eyes on the man's.

_ "Well... I, uh..."_ was all he could spout. His mind simply couldn't think of a lie that he knew the man would accept as truth.

_"I suggest you get to class before I escort you to the headmasters office_." the older reaper said, adjusting his glasses. "Am I _clear,_ Mister Baines?" The boy swallowed hard at the grave tone in the man's voice.

"Y-yes sir." he replied. With that, he briskly began to walk away, but then, he was called out to again.

"_Wait a moment." _said Mister Spears, causing the poor lad to jump again.

"Y-yes?" Audrey sounded like a broken record.

"Do you, by chance... wear _contacts?"_ asked the man, much to the boy's confusion.

"Yeah... I'm _near-sighted_. Why?"

_ "Just curious."_ replied William. "I will see you in my classroom first thing tomorrow morning, then."

"Yes sir?" Audrey half-said, and half-asked. That was really weird. Did he see his eyes? Is that a common condition for grim reapers? Audrey didn't know. All he knew, was that William T. Spears knew what he was as well.

The reaper found it odd to see such a young reaper in this mortal world, and would have to do some digging into it when his mission was over. As long as the boy wasn't a _deserter,_ though, a reaper who had abandoned his duties, the man thought it was safe to assume that he was harmless, at least for now. He walked back to his own classroom as the boy retreated to another section of the building.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on campus, the others were finding nothing. Not even the slightest whiff of anything hazardous. Nothing. They checked the gymnasium, the library, the cafeteria, and other high-traffic areas. They checked in janitor's closets, they checked in bathrooms, they snuck into the teacher's lounge and checked it of all places, yet still came up with _nothing._

Now they were starting to walk around in circles, and even venture out into each other's assigned areas just in case, and even ran into each other several times. Class period after class period went by, and things continued in this manner. At last, they were starting to become a bit paranoid, and even the slightest sound in the hallway would startle them. _One often meets their destiny on the path to avoid it, right?_ Who's to say that it wasn't one of them?

The bluenette was searching the corridor, trying to think of any possible location that anyone could possibly hide weaponry or explosives in. Suddenly he heard it; the faint sound of quickly-paced footsteps coming towards him. He turned, but saw nothing but an empty hallway.

_ "They must be around the corner..." _he thought, and he slowly walked towards the corner where hallway met hallway at a right-angle, and stood there.

The footsteps sounded erratic and hurried, and grew louder, and closer by the second. Who was running down the hallway at this time? None of the others should be in the North wing, so it couldn't have been any of them. His mind started racing as the sound got closer, and louder, and then finally, it was right on top of him. He stepped out from his hiding place to confront the mysterious force, only to be knocked to the ground with a thud.

_ "Oof!"_ he let out, as air escaped his lungs. He quickly came to his senses, only to open his eye to see none other than Alois Trancy on top of him; worse: _straddling him._

_ "Jesus, Ciel! You don't do that to people!"_ said the blonde menace as though he was completely unaware of their current position. All the bluenette could do was blush.

"_Get off!" _Ciel ordered, causing the other boy to just look at him confusedly for a moment.

"_Oh_, uh... _S-sorry." _said Alois, standing up and brushing himself off. He reached out a hand in order to help the bluenette up. When the boy in blue took it, however, he noticed a slight pinkness in the blonde's cheeks.

How could someone like Alois be_ embarrassed _by such an occurrence? Usually, Ciel would've expected the boy to tease him about it, saying something along the lines of "well this is different,_ maybe we should switch it up like this?" _ but there was nothing of the sort. Just a small "_sorry_" and a blush. If they weren't in the middle of business, the bluenette would have _teased_ Alois acting so out-of-character, calling him "_cute"_ or "_such a girl_" but alas, _it would have to wait._

"What are you doing here?" Ciel asked finally. "You were supposed to check the south wing..."

"I did. I checked all over that shit, but didn't find a thing." replied the blonde. "I figured you might could use some help."

"Are you sure you didn't just get _lonely?"_ asked the bluenette with a smirk. He couldn't help it. He had to tease the slightly taller lad just once.

"I did _not!"_ Alois said indignantly. "_There's just a lot of lockers in this particular end, and I didn't know if you could search them all!"_

"_Lockers?_ You searched people's _lockers?"_

"Well, _duh,_ Ciel! If you were going to put something of value, or that you didn't want anyone to find, where would you put it? In a _locker,_ or in a _bathroom?"_

Why didn't the bluenette think of that? It was so obvious! He kicked himself internally for that, but there was one thing that bothered him.

"You didn't_ damage _other people's lockers while getting into them, did you?" he asked the blonde. Knowing Alois, he may or may not have.

"_Psh! No!_ They don't change them out_ that _often you know, and if you_ hit _them _just _right, they just come right open." The blonde boy said, as he demonstrated. He walked right up to a locker, and punched it, causing the latch to become undone. The door simply came open with nothing to hold it in place. He was able to look inside with no problem at all, and when he was done, he gently closed it back, and the latch on the inside caught, so it stayed closed. The Trancy boy really had this whole "delinquent" thing down quite well.

"Impressive. We should get started, then." the bluenette responded. He looked down the long hallway that was lined with navy-coloured lockers. It would take them quite some time to find anything at all at this rate.

Then they heard it. That same erratic, footsteps approaching at an insane speed. Humans don't move that fast. The boys prepared themselves for battle, each taking a defensive stance. Whatever it was, it now had to face two demons.

They saw a blur round the corner before charging towards them, cutting through the air. Then it stopped. It stopped right in front of them, the air following it still moving as some sort of back draft, and they looked down to see a silver-haired girl that was even shorter than Ciel. It was Amelie. She raised an arm, giving the boys a salute.

_ "Sir! J'ai trouvé quelque chose d'intéressant!"_ she said to the bluenette.

"_What?"_ asked the blonde, looking to the other boy with a confused expression.

"She said that she found _'something of interest'."_ Ciel explained before turning his attention to the wolf-girl. "Lead the way." With that, the girl did just that, but at a more reasonable speed so that the others could keep up.

She lead them to another section of the very same building. The girl silently pointed at a locker. "_That's it." _she said. The lad's simply looked at each other dumbfounded, before the bluenette gestured for the blonde to open the container using his "secret technique".

Alois raised his arm, cocking it back before letting it go, and after the metal door gave a _clang_ in protest, it opened all the same. The demonic duo was even more surprised at what they found inside. _Weaponry._

There were pistols and other small firing arms, as well as knives. The metal on every single one was polished and clean, as if they were well-kept. How someone could gain access to this many weapons was beyond them, and how they somehow managed to inconspicuously stockpile them in this small locker was even more dumbfounding. This person obviously had a reason for this, and it was anything but good.

"How... did you find this?" asked the bluenette. He could have sworn he walked by this exact locker nearly fives times. What they were looking for was here the entire while.

"_L'odeur."_ said the wolf-girl.

"Did you smell _gunpowder?" _The girl only nodded in response. Not only were these here, they were also _loaded._ He thought for a moment. "_Can you find the person who owns this locker?"_ he asked.

With that, the girl took off again, and the demonic duo had to run at full speed in order to keep up. They ran through the hallway and out of that building and into the sun. The were wondering where she was headed, but then it dawned on them. She was heading to the cafeteria, and it was lunchtime.

When they first got there and opened the doors, they had thought that the girl was simply messing with them, however, that soon turned out to not me the case. The girl changed direction, and charged straight toward a nearby boy who was walking with a tray to his seat. Quickly, he turned around, dropping his tray. He pulled something out of his blazer, light hit reflected off of it, giving the lads the impression that it was metal. _Three shots were fired, and the girl with silver hair fell to the ground._

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, DUUUUUUN!  
**

**Whatchoo think gonna happen? Don't worry about the little lolita loup-garou. She's a _werewolf._**

**I had other stuff to say here, but I forgot what I was going to type when I finally got to this point...  
**

**Look forward to the grand chapter 150, my duckies!**

**HOLY SHIT! 150?! WHEN DIS HAPPEN?!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Robert Irons (Mister Irons)_

_Age: 32  
_

_Height 6'2''_

_Birthday: Feb 4th_

_Favourite Colour: Orange_

_Favourite Song: "Elanor Rigby" the Beatles_

_Favourite Show: Top Gear_

_Anastasia Miles_

_Age: 17  
_

_Height: 5'7''_

_Birthday: March 18th_

_Favourite Colour: Light Blue_

_Favourite Song: "Firework" by Katy Perry_

_Favourite Show: Queer-Eye For The Straight Guy_

_Walter Hackett_

_Age: 17  
_

_Height: 5'7''_

_Birthday: Sept. 23rd_

_Favourite Colour: Black_

_Favourite Song: "Another Brick In The Wall" by Pink Floyd_

_Favourite Show: Devil Butler_


	150. What Tomorrow Holds

The sound of screaming echoed throughout the cafeteria, yet the demonic duo didn't hear them. As the other children fled, they were too focused on the body that now lay motionless on the floor. It was only moments ago that Amelie was up to her usual hijinks, but now, she was completely lifeless. Not a single muscle of hers even twitched as crimson began to drain out from her head and torso onto the linoleum floor. Ciel and Alois were shocked.

The boy who had pulled the gun out on her simply stood there, staring down at the corpse. His eyes seemed simply reflect the image, as it would appear that he wasn't really seeing what he just did. His face held no remorse, nor anger, or even fear; All there was is simply _nothing_.

He had round, dark eyes with dark circles around them as though he hadn't slept in ages. He had black hair that was so short, he barely had any bangs at all. He looked almost _ghostly_, as if he had already given up on life. After a while, the boy looked up and stared at the boys with a surprised look on his face, as though he didn't expect them to be there. Alois furrowed his brow and grit his teeth. The blonde took a step forward, only to have the boy quickly raise the gun at him. Ciel put his hands up and spoke.

"_Let's talk." _he said calmly. He spoke as though nothing had happened. He spoke as though Amelie was still standing. "What's your name?"

"_J-Jonathan." _the other boy replied, never lowering the weapon. "_Jonathan Beatie."_

"Alright, Jonathan, let's talk." Ciel never lost his cool, much to the blonde's disbelief. He didn't know whether to watch him as he talked or the kid with the gun. "Now that you've revealed your weapon, you can't just pretend that you're an ordinary student. You're now an official _criminal,_ understood?"

"_So?_ This is what I_ wanted! _I'll shoot you, then move on to the others! No big deal! I want to see them suffer!" replied human boy. He laughed nervously as he spoke, waving the weapon around the room. This lad was obviously unraveling.

"And _then?" _asked the bluenette. The boy's smile turned into a frown very quickly. Regardless, the Phantomhive boy continued. "Do you intend to go to jail, or do you intend to kill yourself?"

"I guess I'll go to jail. It's just a few years, right? _No big deal..." _

"It's a _very_ big deal." said the bluenette. "Once that girl that you just shot _gets up_, I'm going to have a hard time keeping her from _tearing you limb-from-limb_."

"And I thought _I_ was the only _crazy_ one!" Jonathan's smile returned. "Listen, I go through_ beatings every single day_. I think I can handle a little girl! Especially a _dead _one!"

"Is that why you're doing this? Because of those beatings?" asked Ciel.

"_No." _said the human boy. "That's only part of it. I'm doing this because of the _humiliation."_ He raised the barrell of his gun to the bluenette. "_Dad_ always said that _guns_ can solve all of your problems! _'When there's an obstacle in your way, it's best to remove it'!"_

That's when it clicked with Ciel. The boy's father was a _weapons dealer_, _Reginald Beatie_. _That's how he got all of those guns_. That's why he was so sure of himself. Weapons dealers have a knack for getting their people out of trouble. If the kid gets arrested, he'll be out in no time. The bluenette was pulled away from his thoughts, however, by a _voice_.

"Ciel! What are you doing!? _Run_, you _idiot!" _shouted_ Daniel_.

Yes, _the Westley boy didn't flee_. It wasn't in the nature of the politician's son to flee from the scene of all of the excitement. This however, presented them with a new problem. They had an _innocent bystander_. This problem was only made worse when the gunman's attention shifted from the bluenette to the brown-haired lad, and _he pulled the trigger._

Down the boy fell, landing on the floor with a gut-wrenching _thud _after the screaming bullet that cut through the air made contact with his body. Now the Phantomhive boy was actually _concerned_. Daniel wasn't a werewolf. He _could _die from an ordinary bullet. Ciel signaled for the blonde to go check on him and get him to safety.

Right when the blonde lad moved, more shots were fired in his direction, but luckily for the blonde, it's harder to hit a moving target, especially one that wasn't a mere _human._ Alois dodged Jonathan's bullets, and appeared by the side of the human boy.

"_Daniel! Are you alright?!" _he asked the boy with every bit of urgency as he lay on the ground, clutching his wounded shoulder.

"_Fuck no_, I'm _not_, you idiot! I've been bloody_ shot!"_ retorted the son of a politician. "Augh! The movies _lied! _This _hurts!"_ From the obvious joking around, it would appear that Daniel was indeed, _going to be fine_. He did require medical attention, though. The blonde looked up at the gunman, wondering why the shots had stopped.

By this time, the sound of gunfire was replaced with the small _clicks_ of an_ empty weapon_. Jonathan reached into his pocket for more bullets, but was stopped by the sudden sensation of someone grabbing at his ankle. The boy looked down, his eyes widening in fear as he saw that the girl he had shot before had _moved._ Quickly, he backed away, shaking loose the grip of Amelie and freeing himself. He fumbled around for more bullets, only to find himself unable to control the shaking of his hands as the girl stood up, and looked at him.

He had shot her in the head, hitting her left eye socket. Blood obviously remained from the injury, making it appear as though she was crying crimson tears, but that wasn't what the boy was so focused on about the girl. No, what had filled him with horror wasn't this, or the fact that she stood back up. Right now, what he was so terrified of at the moment was the sight of _the girl's eye regenerating itself_. The sight of the optic nerves and blood vessels reassembling themselves and intertwining as the lens and the iris became visible once more. Finally, the girl was complete once more, her eye and the holes in her chest now repaired. The small _clink_ of the bullets hitting the floor echoed throughout the room. The boy with the empty gun had his mouth open, and he struggled to force out enough words to form a coherent sentence.

"Wha... What..._ are _you?" he finally managed to ask.

"_Je suis un loup-garou."_ she said, slowly walking toward the boy. While her expression hadn't changed from her usual one, her eyes seemed _darker_ now. They seemed to hold_ killing intent._ She was stopped only by a hand suddenly on her shoulder. She turned and looked up at the Phantomhive boy.

"Thank you." he said. "You've done enough. Sorry, but I can't let you kill him." With a pout, the girl complied, walking off to assist Alois with Daniel as Ciel confronted Jonathan. Alois watched Ciel, eying his every move as though he was afraid he would miss something important. While the blonde did this, Daniel's eyes never left Amelie as she walked toward him. He began kicking his feet as though he was trying to get away, and he shouted.

"What the _hell?!_ How did you _do_ that?! What _are_ you?!"

"_Secret_." replied the girl. "_Can only tell if the Boss says so."_ she pointed to the bluenette, causing the human boy to follow her finger.

"What?! Phantomhive is your boss?!" he shouted. "I demand an explanation- _OW!"_

"Stop squirming. You're going to make it _worse_." Alois warned, tearing his eyes away from the head demon for a moment to do so.

"Why aren't _you_ freaked out by this, Trancy?" asked the brown-haired boy. His voice wasn't as loud as it was when he spoke this time. It sounded more hurt and confused.

"You get _used_ to it." replied the blonde. He said no more, and looked back to the bluenette again. Daniel stared at the Trancy boy for a moment longer before doing the same. His mind was reeling at the possibilities. He tried to make sense of it all, but just _couldn't._

Ciel was currently trying to stare down the boy in front of him, his sapphire eye on the lad's onyx ones. The boy was shaking. He grit his teeth in an attempt to look menacing, but his eyes reflected his true amount of fear. Ciel could see it. The boy was very afraid now.

_ "W-what are you people?"_ Jonathan asked one more time. He was in a cold sweat at this point, and his face was concerned and fearful. The bluenette, however, was completely calm. He casually put his hands in his pockets and said:

"Isn't it obvious? We're _monsters."_

The other boy's eyes went wide at that word. "Monster". How could this small, calm boy be a monster? Sure, the even shorter girl had just regenerated, but what could this ordinary-looking student do? Jonathan's brow furrowed, and he snarled as he reached into his blazer again, pulling out a knife. The Phantomhive boy didn't even flinch as light glinted off of the shiny, well-kept blade. This wasn't a simply pocket knife; it wasn't a switchblade, either. No, the boy had a military-grade dagger, that was made specifically for hand-to-hand combat that would result in _death._

"_Careful_." said the bluenette. "Knives are sharp._ You could hurt yourself_."His hands stayed in his pockets, and he simply stood there as the other boy prepared to attack.

Jonathan swung his arm, the blade attached to it. He made broad, careless moves, slashing only the air as the Phantomhive boy simply moved out of the way. Again and again, he swiped at the boy, narrowly missing him every time. They danced this way throughout the cafeteria in a completely one-sided effort to defeat their foe.

Ciel's disinterested face only made the boy angrier, and suddenly, he switched from slashing in order to perform a stab, lunging at the boy with all of his might. The demon simply stepped to the side, and did so at such a speed that the human boy didn't have time to correct his mistake, causing him to fall towards the earth. He put his hands out to cushion the impact out of natural impulse, still keeping the knife firmly gripped in his hand, protruding upward from his fist as the rest of the boy's body came crashing down on top of it. _He had fallen on his own knife._

Only the sound of the boy's agony could be heard as he screamed, and clawed at the weapon that was now sticking out of his stomach. It was buried to the hilt, and warm blood soaked his clothes and spilled out onto the floor as he squirmed, becoming cool to the touch after time had passed and the heat from it was gone. His face was was flushed and tears streamed down it. The only time the screaming stopped was when he had to stop and cough up blood.

Daniel and Amelie couldn't take their eyes off the scene, but Ciel and Alois couldn't _look_. They couldn't _bear_ to look. They had been here before. Not this exact scene, but it was similar. the cries of pain and the pleas for help were_ exactly the same_. Ciel was about to walk to his friends, when a blood-covered hand grabbed his ankle.

"Hey..." Jonathan said, looking up at him. The bluenette didn't dare return his gaze. "Help me... _Please!"_

"_Mister Spears, if you're going to evaluate him soon, please hurry_." Ciel said, before shaking off the dying boy's grip and walking away. He and the others left the boy alone as he bled there.

_Later that evening, Jonathan Beatie would die in the hospital_. The very same one that _Daniel_ had checked into for his gunshot wound. He did not smile, and he did not crack jokes to ease his own nerves. He simply sat there and waited for tomorrow to come. After they had left the cafeteria, the demonic duo had told him that they would explain _everything_ to him.

They would explain the mysterious girl and her powers, and they would explain how they knew what they did. They would also explain why they simply allowed that boy to die. His mind was racing, and his heart ached at the coldness of of his friends. How could they do such a thing? He just simply didn't understand. He would wait for tomorrow, as the night went on, and the sound of Jonathan's heart monitor going flat echoed through the hallway.

_"Name: Jonathan Beatie. Cause of death: Stab wound." _said a somewhat familiar voice in the dead boy's room. The man pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose as he took notes. "_Analysis complete."_

* * *

**A/N: Y'know, I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter. I dunno if I like it or not. It seems odd. Maybe because of the somewhat depressing ending...  
**

**Ah, well, maybe tomorrow will be brighter! Sunshine~! Sunshiiiiine~!**

**It's chapter 150! WHOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

**How the fuck did that happen!? It's stillllll a mysteryyyyy...**

**I haven't been too talkative in the last few chapters, huh? I dunno why. I just can't think of anything to say!**

**BLAME IT ON THE HATE WEASELS.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET: Dead Baddie Edition number JUAN  
**_

_Maxwell Goddard  
_

_Age: 128  
_

_Height 5'6''_

_Birthday: Aug. 8th_

_Favourite Colour: Gold_

_Favourite Song: Anything from the good ol' days, really_

_Favourite Show: The Vicar of Dibley_

_August Remy_

_Age: Isn't it rude to ask a woman her age? _

_Height: 5'5''_

_Birthday: Can't remember_

_Favourite Colour: **Blue**_

_Favourite Song: The screams of my enemies_

_Favourite Show: The suffering of my foes_


	151. Daniel's Dream

Today, Warwick recovers from the attack. The students were given the day off as police investigated the scene of the crime. They managed to find Jonathan's arsenal of weaponry in his locker, and managed to tie him to the school's previous bombing incident. Notebook after notebook was found among the deceased boy's things, describing the details of his daily torture, explaining how he was beaten bloody some days, and how he was held down and forced to eat bugs, going as far to give a list of names as to who his tormentors were. Every single person who was on that list was promptly expelled from Warwick. Rumor has it that those same students now have difficulty getting into another school after they caught wind of what the children had done. Today, Warwick takes time off to recover, and the students who still choose to attend stay home to rest their racing minds after the incident.

One group of boys, however, didn't. They instead ventured out to visit their ailing friend, Daniel Westley, at the hospital. The group didn't consist of the entire seven, though. Only the ones who knew of "the secret" arrived that day to visit the boy. They had all agreed to be present in order to let Daniel in on their little secret, just to show him who it was actually _okay _to talk about it with. It was uncertain whether or not that the brown-haired, son of a politician would e able to keep his mouth shut. Still, it was best to show the lad that they trusted him.

At the moment that the four walked up to the front desk of the building to see if they could make a visit, Daniel himself was laying in his hospital bed, recalling what he had seen yesterday. He remembered the grisly image of seeing the silver-haired girl's eye regenerate, and had not even the faintest of ideas as to how that was even possible. He wanted to pretend that he hadn't seen it, but he did. Moreover, what the blonde had said after he asked the first time bothered him.

_ "You get used to it."_ Alois had said. What did _that_ mean? Does that mean that the blonde had seen stuff like that _before?_ If that is the case, what did he see, and how? _Why?_

The lad jumped at the sound of the door opening, causing pain to shoot through his left shoulder. He turned to see his friends in the doorway, much to his surprise. None of them were in uniform, and all of them had a peculiar look on their faces. He couldn't quite find the word for it; the word "guilty" came to mind, but that wasn't quite right.

"Is there no school today?" asked Daniel, as the four invited themselves in.

"No, they're cleaning up from yesterday." said Kristopherson. " The campus is absolutely _crawling_ with news vans right now."

"Hows your shoulder?" asked Audrey.

"_Fucked up_." replied the injured lad from his hospital bed. "The doctor said I'll be fine, but I'll have a scar from where the bullet hit me. There is a bright side, though..."

"And that would be?"

"I hear having a scar can earn you _major points _with the _ladies_." Daniel smiled his usual, goofy smile. His friends had only been in the room for mere moments, and had hardly said anything, yet he was already smiling again. The others simply rolled their eyes in response. "So what's up?"

"We came here to talk to you about _what you saw yesterday_, as promised." began the bluenette. Daniel's smile faded and the atmosphere around the room suddenly became serious. "You saw_ Amelie- that girl who was shot, get back up, heal her wounds and regenerate her eye, _right?"

"So I really_ did _see what I thought I did..." answered Daniel, his voice soft. "How is that even _possible?"_

"It _isn't_, as far as _you_ know." said Alois, placing a hand on his hip. "The fact of the matter is, there are many things in this world that are completely unexplainable my science and _ordinary_ logic."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" asked the injured boy.

"It means basically this: everything you know to be true in this world, things like boogeymen and monsters not existing, are all a _lie_." Ciel explained. "The girl from yesterday just happens to be a _werewolf_."

"Alright, alright, seriously though, _what really happened?"_ Daniel asked again. He shook his head from side to side and smiled slightly. He had thought that the bluenette's entire statement was a _joke._ The others, however, weren't laughing.

Kristopherson frowned and said: "It is exactly as he just said, she's a werewolf! An honest-to-God, bond-fide _werewolf_."

"Yeah, and these two are _demons_." added Audrey, pointing to the bluenette and blonde.

"Guys, _I'm not falling for it_. I'm not an _idiot!" _insisted Daniel. Kristopherson's and Audrey's palms made acquaintance with their foreheads at the lad's statement. When they thought about it, however, it really was quite a difficult thing to accept.

Ciel cleared his throat for a moment in order to grab everyone's attention, which he was swiftly granted. Once all eyes where on him, he began to reach behind his head and untie the knot that fastened his eye-patch. Daniel leaned forward to get a better look at this. He had always secretly wondered about what the boy was hiding, yet he never expected to see this.

The bluenette's concealed eye revealed itself to be of a purplish hue, and bore the marks of a pentacle across the lens and iris. Even the thick-headed Westley boy could tell by the slight glow that it gave off, that the other boy wasn't simply wearing a contact lens. Daniel opened and closed his mouth as he tried to form a coherent sentence with the the intent of asking Ciel what on earth the mark was, but that eye was almost _bewitching._ Instead of waiting to be asked, the bluenette simply explained.

"It's called a 'diabolic signature'." he said. "It signifies that one has made a contract with a _demon_. In my case, I signed one with the demon that would become _my butler,_ _Sebastian Michaelis_." He paused for a moment in order to gauge the boy's reaction before continuing. "I obtained this before I became one myself, courtesy of _the_ Alois Trancy."

Daniel stared at the boy in front of him for a long time. He had to allow what the bluenette had just said register in his mind. He allowed his eyes to stray from the purple eye, to the bluenette's "good" eye, only to see that it was now red, it's pupil slit. He jumped at the sight.

Over the next hour or so, all four lads took turns explaining their own stories, the demonic duo's taking up the majority of the conversation. Audrey and Kristopherson explained how they came to discover the demon's secret as well, and they branched out even further from there. They explained other things as well, such as _the group's adventure at the Trancy mansion_, they explained _why Ciel, Alois, and Sebastian all had black fingernails_, they explained_ why Ciel never took his shirt off when they all went swimming together_, and Daniel didn't interrupt them _once._ The boy was almost completely quiet, only speaking when he had a question. It was so uncharacteristic of the boy, that it was almost _disturbing_.

After the lad's four individual stories came to a close, they all looked to Daniel for a response. At first, there was _nothing_. Daniel simply stared at the four with the look of a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle plastered across his face. Then he sighed, and ran his good hand through his hair in order help himself get over the initial shock. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak to the others.

"Alright," he said. "I believe you now. That explains _a lot_, actually. My biggest concern is, however..." the boy paused for a moment and furrowed his brow. "_Why didn't you let me in on it earlier?!"_

"Really!? _That's _your concern?! We didn't tell you because we didn't think you'd _believe_ us!" the blonde menace shouted back.

"But you guys got to go on _all sorts_ of _cool supernatural adventures! _How could you _leave me out of the excitement?!" _asked the brown-haired boy.

"It's not like it's a _hobby_, or something, Daniel." Ciel said. "We only do half of the stuff out of _requirement."_

"Yeah, we have to prove we're_ good little demons_, or else they'll sic the _Hellsing woman _on us." added Alois. "She's so _scary!"_ He shivered in an exaggerated manner to get a laugh out of the others. "Audrey wants to join her scary-ass organization!"

"Well, I don't want _this to be it, after high-school, _y'know?" explained Bones. The way he phrased that seemed to bring the mood down a bit.

The demonic duo would be around forever, but the humans wouldn't be. Even _Audrey,_ who was partially a _grim reaper_, only had a _lengthened_ life-span, not an _eternal _one. As for the remaining two boys, Kristopherson and Daniel, this new world may not be open to them if the Sensational Seven part ways after graduation. Now that they knew, they couldn't simply let go of this world. It was the _real _world. They had the chance to see the world for what it really was, and now, they didn't know if they could simply go on without having had the chance to fully explore it.

Daniel paused before looking to his friends friends again. This time, he wasn't wearing his signature goofball expression. No, the look on his face was a rare one, the look of serious determination.

"I've decided!" he said suddenly, calling the others to attention. "I want to know _everything _about the supernatural world! When I do, I'm gonna make this country safe for _both humans, and supernatural beings!"_ The others simply stared in astonishment at the lad's passionate declaration. After a moment of quiet, the Phantomhive boy spoke up.

"Are you _mental?"_ he asked the Westley lad with a confused look. "How the _hell _are you going to do _that?"_

"By becoming..._ Prime Minister!" _shouted the boy with brown hair.

"Do you think he's on _painkillers?" _asked Kristopherson.

"I dunno, but this is retarded even for _Daniel_." said Bones.

"Daniel, whatever _planet_ you're on, _please come home_." suggested Alois.

"I'm not kidding! _It could happen!"_ insisted Daniel. Many years from now, he would in fact, _run for Prime Minister_. That, however, _is a story for another time._

* * *

**A/N: Daniel Westley for Prime Minister, bitches.  
**

**I actually had to look up how a prime minister is appointed, (I KNOW they're different from presidents! I'm just not sure HOW.) but quickly gave up because I couldn't find it dumbed-down enough so that I could understand it. I'm not in school right now, so can I please have a vernacular version?! So, in the end, I basically said: "Who cares if it's inaccurate?! AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!"**

**I seriously wonder how the rest of the world sees us sometimes... I just dunno how government in the U.K. works! **

**_It's not my department._  
**

**ANYWAYS, back to Warwick tomorrow~! This time, there's another kid in on the secret! WHOOOOOOO! So look forward to dirty jokes and stuff! **

**Haha, there's not gonna be JUST dirty jokes. They have to boost the schools morale, and fix Warwick's image. How are they gonna do that?**

** You'll see. It probably won't be a host club, though. Sorry~! (Maybe some other time.)**

**Have I noticed some people ending their fics by calling their readers various types of birds? _Oh, you guys~!_ **

**That's _two_ things I don't understand about my fic. Why I called it "_Devils Like To Dance"_, and _why on earth I call you guys ducks_. I have a theory as to why I chose "duckies", and I think I've told some of you in private messages, but I still don't think my explanation really makes sense...  
**

**Parody me all you want. _Feels good, man. ME GUSTA._**

**...Or I could be imagining things.  
**

_**"It was then, at that very moment that HateWeasel made yet another life-changing discovery... She was a total asshole."**_

**And yes, I do read ALL of your reviews, and I do so OFTEN. I love you guys so much! Hearing what you have to say makes RAINBOWS APPEAR IN MY HEART.  
**

** As always, until the next chapter, my duckies! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧**

* * *

**MOAR CHARACTER SHET:  
**

_I'm out of ideas for character shet, actually... So I'll leave it to you guys to ask the characters the things you want to know._

_...Or don't. _

_I don't really care either way, and you might not either. I just get bored and thought it could be funny to see what you all come up with.  
_


	152. How To Save Your School

Warwick Academy; It was considered one of the greatest learning establishments in all of Britain, as far as high schools go. Alas, the school's reputation as a top-notch academy is now in jeopardy following the incidents that occurred only a few days prior. Students return to school today, but not all of them did. There were some children who's parents had about enough of Warwick's lack of security, and failure to act. Parents have every right to be upset, as their children could have very well been victims of violence themselves. It was quite fortunate that there was but one fatality, and one injured.

Speaking of the lad, Daniel returned to the academy after a few day's recovery in the hospital. His movement was now hindered a bit by the sling that held up his arm so that it wouldn't put any stress on his injury, but fortunately for him, he wasn't left-handed. He could still do schoolwork and things, much to his dismay. The lad had apparently been hoping for an excuse to get out of assignments. Warwick may be scarred, but Daniel hadn't changed a bit. Even now, when he knows the true dark nature of the demonic duo, he still treats them as he would on any other day, laughing with them, and teasing them. It was nice to see that at least one thing wasn't different.

"This _sucks!"_ shouted the boy. "I can't move an arm, and _half the class is missing_, and we _still_ have to do a _worksheet?!"_

"What? Do you want a _medal_, or something, _'Miser Miserable'?" _asked Kristopherson as he pushed various buttons on his pink cell phone. "We have to work too, you know. Also, the class isn't _'missing',_ they've just_ transferred_."

"How do _you _know?" asked Preston.

_"Cameron _said that_ Tamworth has been receiving a bunch of transfers_, lately. All of 'em _Warwick _students." replied the faux-blonde as he sent his text. He had been texting quite a bit lately, something that the others teased him about.

"Good job, getting your _boyfriend_ to _spy_ on the Tamworthians for us, Kris!" Daniel gave the lad a "thumbs up" signal for his work.

"He's _not_ my _boyfriend_." the boy in the pink tie articulated indignantly, closing the cellular device and placing it carefully in his pocket. _"We're just friends_."

"Is that why you text him almost _nonstop?"_ teased Audrey.

"Well, it doesn't really _make sense _for him to text _us_ like that since he can just _talk_ to us if he wants to, now does it?" chimed in Alois, oddly being the voice of reason.

"Sure, 'just friends'..." said Daniel, resting his chin in his good hand. "...and _I'm Frankenstein's Monster_." The other's simply laughed at the blatant sarcasm, the other four lads who knew of the demonic duo's "secret" were also treated to an extra joke in there.

"It's really weird seeing the classes so empty, though." said Preston. "This whole thing has made a real mess of things."

"Yeah, I bet the school is going to_ loose funding _too, with all of the transfers." said Ciel. Leave it to the cyclops to only see the material gain in the situation. At the same time, Alois saw it too, which can be assumed that it's just how they are able to see things. They look at what can be _gained_, and what can be _lost _in a situation, and usually not in a moral sense.

"Oh! What if we do that 'Host Club' thing again?! Would that work?" asked Daniel, sitting up in his seat as he expressed the idea.

"Probably not. We'd need something on a _much larger scale _than that, this time." said Audrey. The seven thought for a while as to what that could be. They thought for a long while, occasionally looking around the room for inspiration. Suddenly, the icy blue eyes of the _Blonde Menace_ fell upon the faux-blonde, and he was struck by an idea.

"Now this is going to sound really, really _dumb, _you guys..." he began, calling the others to attention. "...but Kris, didn't you say you wanted to do a_ fashion show _or something?" The boy in the pink tie could only furrow his brow and frown with a slight blush at the thought.

"No way. That would_ never _work!" he said to Alois at the true-blonde's idea. "What good would that do?"

"I dunno, but a _Host Club _seemed to relax everyone a bit, and with a _fashion show_, we could show the public that _they can come to our school without dying."_ Alois explained. He gave a small shrug. "_Just a random thought_."

"Okay, let's say for a moment that that is somehow a feasible solution," began Preston, making gestures as he spoke. "_how _are we going to get people to come here if they're _too afraid of getting blown up or shot at?_"

"What if we had, like, a _security team?"_ asked the son of a politician. "A bunch of _bad-asses_ who can make sure that nobody's getting shot or blown up at Warwick!"

"Alright, where are you going to find these supposed _'bad-asses'?_" asked the Indian boy. He wasn't entirely sure about this plan. It sounded utterly ridiculous and absurd, but then again, he had thought the very same thing about the _Host Club_. Daniel's eyes lit up, and he turned to stare at the demonic duo with a goofy grin. Ciel didn't like that grin. That grin meant bad things for him.

"_No."_ the bluenette said simply. He wanted no part of running any form of security. He didn't really want to be involved in the first place. Of all of his blonde companion's ideas, _this had to be one of his more ridiculous ones._

"Fine." said Daniel. "Can we borrow your _weird maid_, then? What's her name... _Amy?"_

_ "It's Amelie, _and that all depends on_ whether or not you can actually pull this off or not_. Do you really think that the_ headmaster _is going to allow such an event while he's _busy trying to keep the press at bay?"_

"Phantomhive's _right_. It can't be done." said Kristopherson, folding his arms across his chest.

_ "I_ might not be able to persuade the headmaster, but I know _someone _who_ can." _said Daniel with a grin.

"Oh, God, _you don't mean..." _began Preston.

"Who?" asked Audrey. After keeping the others in suspense for a while, the boy with brown hair decided to finally answer the questions.

"_Lawrence Rose_." he said.

"This plan is _doomed _to fail." said the bluenette, rubbing his temples in order to fight off his eminent headache.

"Yeah, but look on the _bright side,_ Ciel..." began the Trancy boy, resting his chin in his palm and looking at his fellow-demon. "... you might get to see _me_ in a _dress _again." The Phantomhive lad blushed at the thought, much to the amusement of the others.

"Wait, wouldn't all he have to do is _ask_ you to wear one?" asked Audrey.

"Yeah, but the cyclops is kind of _shy_." Daniel teased.

"_'Shy'? _He's not_ shy!" _argued the blonde menace. "Why, _just the other day, he-"_

"Finish that sentence, and_ I will end you_, Alois." interrupted the embarrassed bluenette. He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow, glaring daggers at the boy. He did this, yet the blonde just kept smiling at him.

"Watch out, Alois, he might_ punish you _later." said the son of a politician, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. The remark was followed by several "oohs" from the others as they teased the demonic duo. "_Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more_."

"Can we _please _change the subject?" Ciel asked, rubbing his head again. The blonde answered by leaning over and resting his head on the other boy's shoulder.

_"I love you, muffin_~!" he said sweetly. The bluenette couldn't help but smile slightly at it. This was ruined when the others had to open their mouths.

"_Satan_." said Daniel.

_ "Satan_." Audrey agreed, giving a nod.

"Alois is in love with_ Satan_." Kristopherson stated.

"Wait, how is Ciel '_Satan'?" _ asked Preston, being one of the only two of the seven who were ignorant to the reason for the joke.

"_He just is_, Preston." answered the politician's son. "If you look closely, _you can almost see it in his eyes_."

By the end of the day, the seven had come to the conclusion that the Phantomhive boy was "_Satan", _and that the whole "_Fashion Show_" idea was silly. They would still try, however. Perhaps, like their _previous attempt_ to quell the fear in the parents, students, and faculty, "_silly"_ and "_outrageous_" was the way to go.

* * *

**A/N: Yep, the gang is still exactly the same...  
**

**Every attempt to save Warwick MUST be silly in theory. It is a REQUIREMENT.**

**I wondered after typing this: When all of them are aware of supernatural stuff, will that make them "The Supernatural Seven"? Or maybe "The Seven Sins"?**

**Then, after wondering that, I thought of another question: If each of the Sensational Seven were each assigned one of the Seven Deadly Sins, who would be what? Personally, I'm convinced that Ciel would be "_Wrath"_, but that's as far as I got on the thought...**

**Speaking of sins and shit, congratulations to SisterOfScarletDevil for being the one to post the 666th review! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧**

**Also, thank you for helping explain to me what a "Prime Minister" was, because I seriously had no idea. I just knew that it was LIKE a "president", but NOT. **

**DANIEL WESTLEY FOR PRIME MINISTER! WHOOOOOO! (_My apologies to readers in the United Kingdom._.. _I do not really wish such an ill fate upon you._)**

**Anyways, I love your reviews. They help me write this thing a WHOLE LOT. I wouldn't be able to do it without you!**

**I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH.**

**Oh, and as for your questions, I loves them too! I just picked the one that I thought would be easiest to answer, and that would take up the least space. I'll get to the others the next time around, promise~!**

**Until the next chapter, my dear sweet adorable duckies~!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER** SHET_

_Question: **"For Alois-Ciel is dead, which of the 7- now 6 would be your next true love?"** by Emeraldpaw  
_

_Answer by Alois: "Uh... I dunno? First of all, I don't think Ciel would die very easily, and secondly, I dunno if I **could** love anyone else. If I **have** to choose, though, I suppose maybe** Kristopherson?** He's the only gay member of the seven, not counting me an Ciel (and I am completely bisexual, mind you), so he would be the next** logical** choice. He's a total catcher too, so I'd probably be able to 'dominate' him, **if you know what I mean**..."  
_

_"**Alois..."**_

_"Oh... uh... H-hey, **Ciel! **H-how are you?" _

_"You. Come with me.** Now.**"_

_"...O-okay..." _


	153. A Hot Piece Of Tail

Warwick Academy: 'Twas a fine school, one that could have very well been the best in all of the United Kingdom, but due to several recent incidents of a violent and deadly nature, it has since lost credibility. Headmaster Horton has been trying for weeks to get the press off of his back, and has been so focused on it, he unknowingly approved a downright ridiculous proposal.

The Sensational Seven made the right decision in having _a certain child actor _talk to the man for them about the fashion show idea. Lawrence Rose had a certain, disarming nature to him that allowed him to sway the hearts of practically anyone. It is even rumored that the boy could_ make roses bloom around him at will. _He agreed to help on the sole condition that he may be included in the show as well, which was also beneficial. Having a reasonably well-known actor advertise your product would help them draw a crowd.

With so much going on, the seven had absolutely no time to loose. There was simply so much _planning_ to be done! There was set-up, location, catering, advertisement, security, and then finally, the actual design and creation of the various fashions that would be displayed. Eventually, the lads had decided to split up into groups and tackle various tasks individually. They had_ Preston and Daniel _in charge of set-up, getting the stage and other things together, _Travis _in on catering,_ Lawrence _on advertisement and public relations, as well as_ in _the actual show, as he would be wearing_ several _designs. Ciel had put his two maids on security,- well, primarily the_ werewolf_, as Kristopherson had_ insisted _that the vampire _model. _Speaking of the boy in pink, he would be designing the outfits, and was also in charge of _making_ them.

This was perhaps the point where everything seemed to fall apart. While Kristopherson could easily design outfits, he simply couldn't possibly make them all by himself, and thus needed assistance. At this point, the lad had enlisted the help of his sister and all of her friends who had helped him make the the outfits as they had during the Halloween Festival, offering them places on the catwalk along with his current models, which consisted of Charlotte, Lawrence, and the Sensational Seven,_ including Ciel, _of all people.

Of course, the bluenette wasn't entirely _thrilled_ about the idea. He rather detested the idea. In fact, he tried to _weasel _his way out of it at every given opportunity, only to be called out by the faux-blonde, who was _not_ going to budge on the matter.

Kristopherson could be almost _scary_ when it came to fashion. The boy was constantly arguing with his sister about her methods of production, which he would often apologize later for. He wasn't sleeping well at all during this time. He often looked tired, and had even started caring less about his own appearance, wearing clothes that didn't quite match perfectly as they usually did, and forgetting to shave his legs as he usually did. The boy had even neglected to_ bleach his hair _again, causing his true colours to grow in, revealing that he is, in fact, a _brunette, _as it now covered the very top of his head, standing out loudly against his usual blonde. He would probably fix this and straighten himself out the day before, allowing himself to be ready for the performance. He, and the others who were aware of the demonic duo's supernatural status were currently in his room, and almost everyone was cross.

"_What?" _the lad nearly growled, as he made adjustment's to the bluenette's wardrobe for the show. This outfit was so close to being done with, and Kristopherson found the staring of a certain _Daniel Westley_ to be immensely unsettling.

"Nothing." the son of a politician said plainly from his seat at the lad's cluttered desk. "I've just never seen you look so...

_ "'Masculine'?" _suggested Audrey.

"Yeah. _'Masculine'." _said Daniel with a slight nod. "Been neglecting your _beauty treatments_, have you?"

"_Shut it."_ ordered the faux-blonde. "I just haven't had _time.._."

"_Ow! _Could you pay attention to what you're doing?!" demanded the almost equally grouchy bluenette on the stool after Kristopherson had unintentionally poked him with a pin.

"Well, _stop squirming_ and I won't stick you!" Kristopherson snapped back.

"It's hard _not _to squirm when I've got you _fondling _me!"

"I am _**not**_ _fondling_ you!"

_ "Girls_, please, _calm down."_ said Alois in an attempt to ease tension. "You're_ both __**pretty."**_

"You have _no right_ to call _me_ a _'girl',_ Alois..." said the bluenette, giving the blonde a look before getting jabbed again. "_Ow!"_

"_Oops,_ _sorry."_ Kristopherson said half-heartedly.

"Rubbish! _You did that on purpose!"_

"Guys, Alois is right._ Calm down_." said Audrey at last. It was plainly obvious that things should definitely not escalate any further. "Let's not get worked up. We have stuff we need to do."

"That's easy for _you_ to say! _You've_ hardly got anything at all to do!" the boy in pink accused.

"_Give me something to do, then_." said Bones.

"_Alright,_ I need everyone to _shut up_." said Kristopherson. As soon as he did, everything remained silent for the longest time. Silence hung in the air like some sort of miasma, slowly suffocating everyone in the room. Finally, Alois had decided that he had quite enough of this unsettling quietness, and had decided to entertain himself.

As of late, the blonde demon has discover how to only partially transform into his demonic form, to the point where he doesn't do the entire "costume change", or to where he can only develop certain traits of demonity at times of his choosing. Ciel, too, has this ability, but doesn't find it nearly as amusing as the blonde does. Alois was especially fond of his _tail_, and used it often to pick things up around the house like a monkey, much to the annoyance of the bluenette. Ciel had often claimed that it was "ungentlemanly to take ones tail out in the presence of others", yet that didn't stop the blonde from doing so.

With a grin, Alois summoned the appendage, his eyes glowing crimson. When it appeared, he took to amusing the others with it, _putting it across his upper lip in order to resemble a mustache._ When Daniel and Audrey noticed, they immediately started to snicker, both covering their mouths as to not make much noise. When _Ciel, _noticed, however, he frowned.

"Alois, what have I said about the tail?" he asked with a stern tone, immediately causing the faux-blonde to look in the blonde's direction. He was immediately speechless.

With a sigh, Alois answered. "That_ 'showing your tail is for animals, not gentlemen'_." quoth he. "I don't see what the_ big deal _is. Everyone here knows we're _demons_."

"That's not the _point..." _replied the Phantomhive boy. "The point is, it's incredibly _rude_ to show your tail in public!"

"But _why?" _asked Daniel.

Ciel simply folded his arms in response. "_It just is._"

"Well, I guess it's kind of like showing your _'naughty bits' _in public, isn't it?" asked Audrey. "Because they're both always _hidden?"_

"Oh my God! Alois! _Put that thing away!" _joked Daniel. Alois simply stuck out his tongue in response.

While this was going on, Kristopherson had finished his adjustments, leaving Ciel to go get changed. The bluenette stepped down off of the stool, and headed for the door, as he wouldn't get changed in front of all of these boys for obvious reasons. He would instead get changed in the bathroom down the hallway, but before he did, he stopped just short of the door.

"Your tail is your_ biggest weak point,_ that is why it's_ unwise _to show it. It's _rude,_ however,because it's also an _erogenous zone."_ he said before turning the knob and leaving. He left the four to dwell on that as he went and changed into his usual attire. The three humans simply stared at the blonde with blank faces, as the boy's face turned red.

"What?! _I didn't know!"_ he shouted indignantly as he shifted his form to that of a complete human being.

"Trying to _seduce Ciel_ again, are you?" asked Daniel.

"I guess that's what's called, _'passive seduction', _huh?" inquired Kristopherson, his face as pink as his T-shirt.

"We don't understand all of your _gay-terms_, Kris..." replied the politician's son.

"I wasn't trying to seduce _anyone!" _Alois insisted. "I thought it was _just_ a tail!"

"Oh yeah, you're _new _to this whole _'demon' _thing, aren't you?" asked Audrey. "You know, you aren't very demon-like, actually."

"_Shut up!"_

* * *

**A/N: Oh my~!  
**

**I would have gotten this done sooner, but my internet was down for most of the day! _The world without internet is a scary place..._**

**Alois is just naturally, and unintentionally pervy. Is it a skill or something? Who knows...**

**After talking about the seven deadly sins, I wanted to do something demon-y, and this is what happened. It was an idea taken from roleplay with my friends, which is what this was originally roughly based on. (In the end, it turned out to be something completely different, but still.)**

**As for the deadly sins, I rather liked _Shadow Veli's_ list, and while you said that you couldn't place Audrey or Preston as either Greed or Gluttony, I _could._**

**I'll put the list with the Character's name, the sin, the latin for the sin, the associative demon, and the explanation as to why in the "Character Shet" for this chapter. I'll have them answer your question's next time!_ Promise!_**

**_I'm so sooooooorrrrryyyyyy! D':  
_**

**I'm starting to think that these bonus things are getting to be WAY too long, so I don't really know if I can should keep doing them. What do you guys think? Do you like them? I have absolutely no idea...**

**_Until the next chapter, my duckies..._**

* * *

**_CHARACTER SHET  
_**

_Ciel: Wrath_

_Latin: "Ira"_

_Associative Demon: Satan (or Amon)_

_Explanation: Because he's Ciel Goddamn Phantomhive, that's why. He is "captain vengeance", as we all have seen in the manga and anime. He still feels the need to get revenge when he is pranked or beaten at something. Old habits die hard, I suppose. What a tsundere. I also thought it was kind of funny that the associative demon for wrath was in fact SATAN. I didn't plan that, you know..._

_Alois: Pride_

_Latin: "Superbia"  
_

_Associative Demon: Lucifer_

_Explanation: I actually thought this was an interesting one. More than one of you actually said that Alois would be pride, and I didn't get it at first, but now I do. Alois has started to stand up for both himself, and his friends, and has even developed the ability to **feel embarrassment**, as opposed to earlier in the fic. I think Alois developing a sense of pride after declaring himself as "someone without shame" is kind of significant, in that he now seems to have gained some inherent sense of value in himself. I think Alois has grown up quite a bit since the beginning. I'm so proud!_

_Kristopherson: Envy_

_Latin: "Invidia"_

_Associative Demon: Leviathon_

_Explanation: Kristopherson has always been envious of other people. It has been said that he was envious of both Ciel's relationship with Alois, and Alois' overwhelming sense of confidence. He has also said to be jealous of Charlotte's figure when he was measuring her, because of the fact that he wouldn't be able to continue cross-dressing for long. Kristopherson as "envy" is just perfect._

_Daniel: Lust_

_Latin: "Luxuria"  
_

_Associative Demon: Asmodeus_

_Explanation: Daniel and his dirty jokes... Need I say more?_

_Audrey: Gluttony_

_Latin: "Gullia"_

_Associative Demon: Beelzebub_

_Explanation: A few of you said that you weren't sure if this one would work, but it totally does. Think about it: Audrey has the ability to manipulate all of the information in Warwick Academy, as well as tell you what he knows, but for the price of not money, but **Pixie Sticks**. The kid has a sweet tooth that just might rival Ciel's..._

_Preston: Greed  
_

_Latin: "Avaritia"_

_Associative Demon: Mammon_

_Explanation: I thought Daniel might fit in this one as well, but then I thought about Preston. I deliberately said that Preston only became friends with the Seven in the first place for what he could gain from doing so. That being his ONLY reason for doing so, that makes him greed. (He's now there because he enjoys the company.)_

_Travis: Sloth_

_Latin: "Acedia"_

_Associative Demon: Belphegor_

_Explanation: Travis hardly says or does anything. 'Nuff said._


	154. In Catwalk Limbo

It was only a few days before the unveiling of Warwick's grand fashion expose', and the lad's were busily debating on how they were supposed to travel down the catwalk. They debated on the order in which they'll be going on, the way that they would be walking, even how they posed at the end before walking back along the path that they had just ventured. One would think that this is all insignificant, but it _wasn't. _The future of Warwick depended on how the lads and lassies presented themselves to the public.

Be that as it may, Daniel didn't see it that way. He simply believed it all to be as simple as walking out, and walking back, which is what most people's assumptions would be. Most of the boys felt silly walking back and forth without ever seeming to make any progress. It was all a fruitless venture.

_Kristopherson_, however, disagreed. In his experience with attending fashion shows, he had noticed that the model's walks held a great influence over whether or not the crowd liked you or not. If you walked too fast, you were considered impatient, if you walked too slow, you were too cautious. Either way, it gave the audience the impression that you don't want to be there, and if you don't, why should _they?_ To do it properly, one needed both confidence, and grace, and right now, the lad's were lacking in both of those departments.

"What the hell was_ that?!" _asked the boy in the pink tie from his seat in front of the stage. "Why are you walking so fast?!"

"Because you've made me walk this stupid thing _a million bloody times!" _shouted Daniel from the stage.

"Doesn't matter! Walk like you _want_ to be here, got it?!" ordered Kristopherson. "Do it again!"

"_FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKK!"_ shouted Daniel as he walked back to his starting position.

"That doesn't _sound_ like _'wanting to be here'!"_

Meanwhile, backstage, a certain pair of demons were conversing about this, that, and the other, along with nothing in particular. The topic would occasionally drift to the show itself, only to sway in another direction again. When it finally did turn back to the matter at hand, they would talk about how silly Kristopherson was being with his persnickety ways and his staying up all night making clothes. They would talk about the clothes themselves as well, talking about who's outfits they liked, and who's they didn't, saying thing like how "Daniel's suit looks like Doctor Who meets James Bond", and such. They also discussed their own attire, which they were pretty content with, as the faux-blonde was sure to design their wardrobe with their personal comforts at heart.

"I must say, you look _well fit _in your suits." said the blonde with a smile. "I expected lots of black, blue, and some white, but I really didn't see the _red_ coming."

"I guess. The _heel _on that outfit is somewhat bothersome, though." replied the bluenette.

"It's only to make you look _taller_ than me. I'll be wearing _a dress _while you're in that costume."

"I haven't seen any of your _dresses_ yet..."

"_Before you ask_, they're all an _appropriate_ length." interrupted Alois. "I wanted _those _to be a surprise for you."

"Should I be worried?" asked Ciel. "I don't need any more difficulty with keeping my composure in public."

"I promise not to embarrass you... _much."_

_ "Get a room, will ya?" _asked Audrey. He made the duo jump in surprise because they hadn't recognized him at all.

Bones had his bang out of his eyes, held in place with a hair-clip with a tiny rabbit on it, and was dressed completely different than usual. He had on a leather jacket with many studs on it that served no purpose other than to look cool, a white T-shirt with what looked like a charcoal drawing of a skull on it, and red, plaid pants tucked into black combat boots. He looked like some sort of punk rocker. The boy also appeared to be more cheerful than usual, but that could very well be due to the fact that they could see his _entire face_.

"Whoah, _Bones!_ You look great!" said the blonde boy as soon as he figured out the boy's identity.

"You figured out it was me, huh? _You're the only ones who did_. And here I thought I could be a _jerk_ to you two_ without consequence_." Audrey said jokingly with a smile.

"It was pretty obvious when we saw _your eyes_." stated Ciel. Those yellow and green eye were unmistakable. Unless there was a new reaper in town, it had to be Audrey.

"Yeah, but not that many people have seen them, y'know?" said Bones. "I wonder if Kristopherson would let me _keep _this outfit."

"I bet he would. I highly doubt that he would wear something like that." said the Phantomhive boy, unable to imagine the faux-blonde in such attire.

"Yeah, it's not _pink _enough." said Alois.

"Too much _punk_ and not enough _pink_. I can definitely see that." joked Audrey. "Are you wearing a _dress_ again, Trancy?"

"Hell yeah! It's a _tradition!"_ the blonde joked back.

"We were just talking about that, actually. He says he won't show me his dresses because he wants them to be a '_surprise_'." spoke the bluenette.

"Sounds like _you're_ going to be having _fun_." said Audrey before turning his attention to the blonde boy. "So you have to cross-dress _every_ time you're on a stage?"

"_Yes._ Especially when it embarrasses Ciel."

"_Finally!"_ shouted a certain politician as he ran into the offstage area. Daniel was at last free from _"catwalk limbo_", as the lads refereed to it was.

When one was in "_catwalk limbo", _one is forced to walk the catwalk back and forth, over and over again until Kristopherson is satisfied with your _competence_ in _walking_. The process was almost maddening, with each moment that passed by, you would start to feel less and less comfortable on the stage, and make even more mistakes because of this. The process is absolutely exhasperating, especially for _Daniel,_ who was the one who had spent the most time in limbo. The boy's train of thought didn't run on a particular track for long, so he lost all interest in the venture quickly.

"_Audrey!_ The_ fashion diva _wants you to do on next!" declared the brown-haired boy. "Go! Quickly!_ Before he changes his mind and makes me go back out there!"_

"Alright. Calm down. _I'm going." _said Audrey as he began to walk in the direction that the other boy had just came from. As soon as he was out of sight, the Westley lad turned his attention to the demonic duo.

"_He's going to die."_ he said.

"What?" asked the blonde with a laugh. "How?"

"I highly doubt Audrey is going to be able to get it on the first, or even_ fifth _time." Daniel explained. "Catwalk limbo is _no joke."_

"Then maybe you should try to do what Kristopherson tells you to the first time." suggested the Phantomhive lad.

"I thought I _did!"_ argued Daniel, only to see Bones walk back up to the group. "I thought you were going to walk?"

"I did." replied Audrey. "_One and done_."

_ "You ass!"_

"It's okay, Daniel." said Alois, putting a hand on the lad's shoulder. "_Walking _is a _difficult skill to develop."_

"You _all _are _asses!"_

* * *

**A/N: Shameless Filler! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! **

**I just had absolutely nothing for this chapter, so I just quickly whipped up a random conversation. Next chapter will (hopefull) be the beginning of the actual fashion show.I started working on it last night, but my brain was all like: _"NOE!"_  
**

**I've been tearing through issue after issue of _Vogue_ magazine (or what my family refers to as "_clothing porn_". No, I don't read that "_Teen Vogue_" crap. I'm talking about the good shit.) for an idea of how I'm going to do this. **

**Yes, I BUY FASHION MAGAZINES. That's partially where Kristopherson's character comes from. I like fashion and clothes, but only sort of quirky, geeky shit. I don't like the standard "popular girl" look. It's so _boring_. It's not where my interests lie, so I go for a "geek chic" sort of look.  
**

**Fashion is just taking your artistic abilities, and letting them manifest in the form of clothing, rather than in a drawing or in literature. It isn't _just_ for the popular girls at school. I wear mostly geek-oriented outfits, for example, my favourite outfit has a_ Superman_ theme, while another one has a_ Grell_ theme. Design should reflect your interests, and fashion is just a way to say "I like this shit" to the public without the use of words.**

**The only problem now is that the popular girls at school have been stealing my looks. I started wearing blazers _first!_ Superhero stuff too! _YOU BITCHES!_**

**Oh, and the question for the bonus stuff this time will have to be continued in the next chapter so it won't be too long. You know how it is...  
**

**_Anyways, until the next chapter, my duckies~!_**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"How about anything to do with their childhood a bit like a draw my life, but without the drawings."** by woooimmafox1305  
_

_Answer by Ciel :__"I'm going first this time, so Alois can't mess with my submission again!  
_

_Well, when I was little, I would play with Lizzie and my parents a lot. We would play outside in the garden, and my mother and aunt, Madame Red, would sing to us. Sometimes, in the summer, the pollen from the flowers would irritate my allergies, causing an asthma attack which is how we found out that I had even had asthma, like my mother did._

_When it was too cold, we'd play inside by the fireplace with various toys and my dog, Sebastian, would try to climb on the furniture an accidentally knock us over if he got too excited. (In hindsight, I'm not sure why I named Sebastian after that dog in the first place. They aren't alike at all.) Lizzie and I would play until we fell asleep and then my father would carry me upstairs and tuck me into bed. I always got a little freaked out when I woke up the next morning and found out I had been moved. _

_There wasn't anything particularly special about my childhood, really. I haven't been a child since I was ten..."_


	155. That Foil, Fashionable

Warwick Academy in the eventing ordinarily took on an eerier atmosphere just as any other location would under the silent veil of night. The dark always brought on a natural sort of primeval, almost _childlike_ fear in the hearts of human beings, yet on this particular night, it wasn't quite so. Lights illuminated the academy's exterior in the area where the stage was set, and music played, the kind of music that could be found in your average techno club. It sort of made the lads backstage uncomfortable, with it's great, booming sound; A sensation that was only heightened when the Westley lad joked about how it was "the sort of music that could be heard in only three places: a fashion show, a techno club, or a _strip club_."

His statement was met with glares from the others for making them even more anxious and self-conscious than they already were. Everyone backstage felt extremely uneasy, due to several factors, the most prominent of which being _stage fright_. Every time one of them caught a glimpse of the crowd from their hiding place, the butterflies in their stomachs only seemed to increase in their unrest. The audience outside was composed of many important individuals in their lives, their parents, their peers, including teachers and fellow students, and not to mention that some of the people could very well be future investors in their families' businesses, putting not only themselves on the line, but their _parents_ as well.

Kristopherson, however, bore the worst of the sickness gained from overwhelming anxeity. It was _he_ who had the _most _at stake, here. It was his designs, his entire future career in fashion that was at risk. The faux-blonde knew full-well that in the audience were high-profile designers and and owners of popular brands that had sacrificed their time to be here, and should he dissappoint them, _he could kiss his fashion career goodbye_. He didn't know how well he could take their eminent criticism. His ego probably couldn't bear being crushed with such intensity and force. He felt sick, but looked fabulous.

The boy wore what he called, "something simple that he threw together at the last minute", that he wasn't entirely thrilled about either. He wore a black dress shirt with two of the top buttons undone, with a loud, pink vest over it. His pants were white, and his belt was black, matching his shoes. Kristopherson had also taken the day before the event to clean himself up, finally shaving and re-bleaching his hair so that it had it's old pale blonde hue. He used concealer to mask the dark circles that had formed around his eyes in the weeks leading up to the event from lack of sleep, as well as other things so that his face would appear under the harsh lights on the stage. He swore he could hear Alois Trancy in the other room screaming and protesting about having to wear make-up for the very same reasons, but disregarded it as heavier thoughts weighed on his mind. The boy in the pink vest was, however, surprised to look up and see _yet another blonde _standing in front of him with a smile.

"_Hey." _said Cameron as greeting. "Nervous?"

"Hey..." said Kristopherson in return. "I think 'nervous' is a serious _understatement_ of what I'm feeling right now..."

"I don't think you really need to worry. All of your designs look great, and as long as your models are able to convey how much time and effort you put into making them, I'm sure the audience will love them too." said the Tamworthian, his cheeks a slight shade of pink.

"_Uhm, thanks..." _Kristopherson, however, wasn't quite sure what to say in response. He felt his face start to get a little hot, and the butterflies in his stomach seemed to do a different dance now; one that wasn't an anxious one, but a _happy _one. The boy liked it when someone took time to appreciate the work that he did when making clothes. A simple "they look good" was insufficient to the pink-loving boy. There seemed to be an imbalance between the work he put in, and the recognition he received. Admittedly, he found it quite frustrating when he wasn't fully acknowledged, even though that isn't the true reason why he does what he does.

"You bleached your hair again." said the slightly older boy, pulling the Warwick student from his thoughts. "I was kind of wondering what you would look like as a brunette. _I bet you would've looked pretty cute_."

The pinkness of Kristopherson's cheeks immediately switched to a more red hue at those words. Unconsciously, he played with his chemically abused hair.

_ "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" _he asked so softly that he might as well whispered. Before the other boy could answer, however, a yelling was heard from the room in which Warwick's "blonde menace" was getting his make-up put on, directing the attention of both lads to the door.

"_You almost jabbed me in the bloody eye with that thing!"_ Alois shouted at the girl who was trying to put on the boy's eyeliner. He didn't like putting on makeup. Not one single bit. He disliked it with the same intensity of the bluenette that was in the next chair over from him, who was currently undergoing the same process. The only difference being that Ciel could sit still and bear it, while Alois could _not._

He furrowed his brow, moved his head away from the applicators, flailed about and otherwise behaved ill-mannerly. His struggling only made the process take much longer than necessary, and in that time, his bluenette companion was already done, and was now just waiting on Alois. Ciel had to admit, it was quite amusing to watch.

The bluenette had on a black, double-breasted suit with military-stly accents such as small fasteners on the shoulders, one of which held a silver rope that wrapped underneath the lad's left armpit before wrapping over the shoulder again. The buttons on the coat were silver as well, standing out against the black with great prominence, and a silver stripe going down the side of the boy's left leg, reaching down at his black shoes. The pants were made slightly short on purpose so that the lad's white socks could be visible for whatever reason. Why it was that Ciel always had to be dressed in what appeared to be military dress-uniforms, will never be known.

He looked over to the blonde with amusement, who's own outfit didn't seem to match the boy's rude behaviour at the moment. Alois was simply wearing an inverted version of the other boy's wardrobe, his suit being white with all of the silver trimmings being replaced with gold. He even wore a black dress shirt and a black pair of socks, with a white tie and pair of shoes along with a surgical eye-patch on his right eye in order to contrast Ciel's own. It was as though they were dressed with the intended purpose of mirroring each other. Detail such as the side the buttons of the coat, the ropes, and the eye-patches appeared on however, remained unchanged for the purpose of maintaining what Kristopherson had referred to as "order", as the sides that the buttons appeared on were different for men's and women's coats, and the shoulder-ropes where traditionally worn on the side of the wearer's non-dominant hand. The lads simply didn't question it any further so the faux-blonde wouldn't go on a _two-and-a-half-hour-long rant _about the _significance_ of such _minor _details.

While much has changed since the last time Alois had to undergo this ritual of getting ready for the stage, the blonde still loathed it. How much he has matured since then didn't make even the slightest difference, causing the two boys to be a bit behind schedule.

"And to think," began the bluenette with a grin, "You'll have to do this _again_ when you they switch to the dresses. Then you'll have to wear _even more_ make-up."

_ "Why did I sign up for this?!" _the blonde boy asked no one in particular.

"Because you're an _attention whore."_ said Kristopherson as he peeked into the room to investigate the screaming. He looked incredibly annoyed. "_Quit taking a piss and get back to work!"_ and with that, he left again, slamming the door as he left. The lad could be quite_ scary _when stressed.

Eventually, the make-up crew was able to get the Alois' eyeliner on after resorting to having the bluenette hold the boy's head in place so that he would stop squirming, and with that, they were on their way. Alois went to his point of entry on stage right, and Ciel to his on stage left, and they awaited their queue to go on. They would be walking at the same time for this particular set before returning backstage for a quick change before repeating the process. Sometimes, they would be together, sometimes they would be with someone else, and sometimes they would go alone, just as planned.

It was incredible how many unique designs that Kristopherson was able to produce in under a month. That alone was impressive by itself, but that meant nothing if the crowd didn't like the fruits of his labor. As the show began, he was in a cold sweat backstage by the time Lawrence walked out on stage in order to welcome the audience and announce the models. He was glad Lawrence was so generous to involve himself in this entire venture, as without him, there wouldn't be a show. Even if they did somehow miraculously receive the headmaster's "OK" on their own, they still wouldn't have such a large crowd. The actor was a valuable asset to the team.

Lawrence's duty was to go on, get the audience warmed up, introduce the men's line, then leave again before he went on again to introducing the women's. He would also be in the show itself wearing several designs, and he was glad to do so, as made obvious by the way he walked onto the stage with absolute confidence. He was obviously in his element, and was happy with his wardrobe, which consisted of a light grey dress shirt and a dark grey tie tucked into a grey sweater-vest with a blazer that matched the lad's eccentric personality. It started with dark grey at the top before changing into a lighter shade in the middle and then ending in a light yellowish-green at the bottom, breathing life into the boy's otherwise drab attire, giving it a fun sort of appearance. The actor's pants were a light grey as well, but were set off by his shoes, which weren't dress shoes at all, like one would expect, but sneakers, of all things, that were a combination of yellows and greens. While the lad's outfit was mostly grey, it held an essence that was very joyful and energetic, and when the audience saw him, they lit up and applauded.

"_Hello~!"_ he said into the microphone, performing the first of his first sacred duties. "How is everyone? My name is _Lawrence Rose_, and I'll be leading you all through this whole experience!" he paused for a moment in order to allow the audience to applaud. He was very good at working them, as it is what he does as a career.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm so glad you were all able to make it here." he continued. "Y'see, Warwick is a wonderful school filled with wonderful, talented people, and I should know. I come here every day!" He paused a moment to allow the audience to laugh. He wasn't entirely sure _why_ it was funny, but he just went with it. His tone suddenly got serious. "But Warwick, ladies and gentlemen, has been exposed to some really _difficult scenarios _over the past year, and we are all doing our best in order to turn this _misfortune _into our _strength,_ in order to prepare ourselves for a _better_ tomorrow. This past does _not_ define Warwick. Warwick is my school, and I hold it very close to my heart. Warwick is full of_ strong, talented, intelligent _people, and tonight you will be getting a taste of the _true_ Warwick! _My_ Warwick!_ Our Warwick! This show, _ladies and gentlemen, _**is Warwick!"**_

Lawrence's speech seemed to move the audience, as they clapped and cheered. He had done his job perfectly. After that, he introduced the men's line as planned, having Ciel and Alois walk out on stage first.

The duo walked in sync, placing the same foot in front of the other as they walked side by side. It was unintentional at first, but they went with it, as it made the whole "mirror" theme of their designs that much more _so._ Alois was incredibly uneasy about walking while wearing an eye-patch. He couldn't even see the boy at his side due to his right eye being covered. He felt somewhat exposed while being conscious of only his own location, yet he still smiled and pretended that he wanted to be there.

His mirror image, the bluenette, was unnerved as well, and could see the discomfort that the blonde was currently experiencing from the look on his face. Ciel's eye could see the true contents behind practically anyone's mask, no matter how good they were. With his hands at his sides, he gently brushed against the other boy's hand, guiding his fingertips to the inside of Alois' palm, coaxing him to move his had a certain way.

When the fair-haired teen looked over at the other boy in order to see what he was doing, Ciel did the same in order to mirror him. Then it occurred to the lad what the bluenette was doing. They extended their arms, touching the palm of their hand against that of the other, so that they could both be aware of where their companion had gone at the end of the stage. Still touching, they both took their free hand at the same time and placed it over their chest before bowing to the audience. They then turned, disconnecting at last and walked back along the stretch of stage.

It was odd to the bluenette how such a simple touch could easily calm the nerves of his foil. He saw the expression on the blonde's face change from a forced smile to a genuine one in mere seconds, but that smile was now gone from his line of vision as the blonde was now walking on his right side. While he could no longer see it, he could still tell that the boy was grinning that silly, childish grin of his. Alois did feel much better now that he could see the bluenette again, and was practically giddy over the slight gesture that he had initiated.

They returned to the places from which they originated, Ciel to stage left, and Alois to stage right, then their places were taken by two others, Audrey and Preston, who were then replaced by Travis and Daniel, and so on. During this time, the Ciel and Alois had gotten changed into their next outfits. When Ciel saw the outfit that he was to wear next, his heart dropped down into his stomach at what he was to wear.

_It was a dress_.

* * *

**A/N: Aaaaaaaaaaaaw yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!  
**

******A "Foil" is a character in literature that serves to contrast the protagonist, and highlight their better qualities. Alois, for example, to Ciel. That's the explanation for the title.**

******Also, I was thinking about the "Seven Sins" thing, and then I came across the "Seven Virtues" which is the "good" version of the sins. Wrath into Patience, Pride into Humility, Envy into Kindness, Lust into Chastity, Gluttony into Temperance, Greed into Charity, and Sloth into Diligence. I think it would be cool if that is the kind of person that each of the seven becomes by the end. They all grow up by the end. Dunno. Just a random thought.**

**The only reason I cut it off here, was that I don't have a design for the dress. I have a hard time designing dresses, really. If it's anything else, I'm good, but dresses; Nope. _I just can't_. It'll be in here, I just need to get an image of what this shit looks like. **

**Originally, there wasn't going to be any cross-dressing Ciels, but then I read the reviews, as I do often, and saw a comment by jellyfish'confetti, and was like: "OMAHGAW, that'd be funny as hell!" So be sure to say thank you to your fellow reader.**

**As always, your reviews make this story better, and as always...**

**._..I'll see you at the end of the next chapter, my duckies!_**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARCTER SHET  
**_

_Question: __ **"How about anything to do with their childhood a bit like a draw my life, but without the drawings."** by woooimmafox1305_

___CONTINUED_

___Answer by Alois:_"_Ciel is a wimp, and didn't let me answer first again! I wanted to mess with him!  
_

_Anyways, up until I was like, five or so, I actually lived with my parents. We weren't rich or poor or anything, just... ordinary. We we also quite happy and content as we were. _

_But then they died..._

_After that, I lived on the streets and scrounged for a living. I stole things.** Lots** of things. How else was I going to survive? I had to eat **sometime**, y'know! Things were miserable for a bit, and then I met Luka, and things got less miserable. While the villagers treated us like shit, we still had each other, and we were happy that way. While we'd help each other get food and pool our resources, we'd also play together. Sometimes we'd pick bluebells and put them in our hair and pretend we were ladies. We'd pretend to act all proper like 'normal people' when we did. _

_'Oh, **Lucine,** my good woman, would you care for a scone?'_

_'Why yes, Miss** Jane,** indeed I would!"_

_It was hilarious. I STILL think dressing like a lady is funny. We'd play jokes on the villagers too. One time, we found this huge beetle, and we put it in this crabby old lady's laundry as it dried. The look on her face when she picked up that pair of knickers and saw that bug was so awesome!_

_Anyways, we'd have fun like that. I loved that kid. I still miss him sometimes, but now it feels like a fragment of him is still here, kind of like how I got Hannah's 'plant-bending' powers. Now whenever I think of him, I don't feel sad anymore. I just smile and remember all the good times we had._

_That's all I really feel like sharin'. I don't wanna talk about the bad stuff that happened. I only want to look at the good."_


	156. The Devil Wears A Skirt

It was a dress. A. Dress. The bluenette boy felt nothing but horror at the cloth item that he held in his hands. Surely this wasn't for _him_, was it? Alois or someone must have put it in his things as a _joke,_ right? These thoughts did nothing to quell his growing unrest when he discovered upon further examination, that this outfit didn't suit Alois at all. It was far too plain for him, thus it couldn't belong to the blonde at all. It _was_ for him. The bluenette swore that he was going to _murder_ the faux-blonde for this.

Slowly, he put the thing on, first the flowing white skirt that stopped just below the knee, the white tank-top that was covered by a black, draping top that fastened at the base of the neck, revealing the wearer's back and shoulders. He put on the long, beaded necklace with small white beads and large blue ones, along with somewhat over-sized dark-grey belt and sandals that went with it. He put on the long, black wig with pigtails that he had found with the outfit, parting the faux-hair to his right in order to cover up his contracted eye. The bluenette felt disgusted with himself as he looked at the image in the mirror. To his disappointment, he really did look like a girl. The shame he felt on that night at the Viscount Druitt's party rushed back into the front of his mind, causing the lad to feel a bit ill.

How could Kristopherson do this to him; _why _would Kristopherson do this to him? Surely the boy wasn't _that _cruel. Before he could dwell on this any further, the door opened, revealing his blonde companion in a dress and wig of his own.

"Jesus, Ciel! What are you doing?! I've been knocking forever! We need to go-" the blonde stopped talking as soon as he caught a glimpse of the bluenette. He stared, mouth agape, eyes wide, and his face red at the bluenette as he took in the sight of him in drag. Ciel stared back at him with equal amounts of shock. _Alois had seen him._

Suddenly, Alois tensed his leg muscles in order to quickly flee the scene, but his arm was caught by the slightly shorter boy, and he was pulled into the room. Ciel swiftly shut the door and locked it. He then turned to the blonde and glared at him, causing shivers to run down the spine of the latter.

"_You... saw..."_ was all the bluenette could say. His face was crimson all the way up to his ears.

"_Yeah..."_ replied the blonde as he eyed the other boy. "B-but I won't tell anyone! _Honest!"_

_ "I don't care! I don't want anyone, including you, thinking that I have some kind of weird hobby! I do not, I repeat: __**do not **__cross-dress!"_ Ciel declared, clenching his fists.

"But... you're _cross-dressing now,_ aren't you?" asked the blonde. "Why are you wearing _someone else's_ outfit?"

_ "What are you talking about?" _asked Ciel. "This was in _my_ things..." Both boys just stared at each other for a while longer before the blonde burst out giggling. He was laughing so hard that tears threatened to ruin his make-up. He held his sides in a vain attempt to control himself. Ciel simply frowned, furrowing his brow.

_ "What's so funny!?"_ he demanded. He had to wait until Alois finally managed to force out a coherent sentence between laughs.

"_Yo-you!" _he said finally. "That's not _yours! _Tha-ha-hat's _Kristopherson's! _Someone put it in here by _mistake!"_

_"WHAT?!" _the bluenette shouted, grabbing the blonde's shoulders. "You've _got_ to be _kidding!_ Wait, how do _you_ know?!"

"H-he-hee... He sho-ho-howed it to me while I was being fitted for _mine!"_ the blonde said, tripping over his own laughter.

_ "Stop laughing!"_ Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, interrupting the duo's argument. Alois was sure to put his hands over his mouth as to not make any more sound. He could see the terror on Ciel's face at the situation he was in.

_ "Ciel? Are you almost done?! It's almost time for you to go on!" _sounded the voice beyond the door. It was the voice of a rather angry Kristopherson.

"_I'll be done in a moment!" _the bluenette shouted back in as firm a voice as he could muster under such stress. He quickly turned to the blonde and whispered. "You go and stand over there while I get changed. You have to leave _after _I do so people won't think we did anything _weird_ in here, _got it?" _Alois soundlessly nodded as his reply before doing as the Phantomhive boy instructed. Ciel, however, went back over to the clothing rack and grabbed the correct costume that he was to be wearing. Alois' eyes never strayed from him as he did so.

The blonde watched while Ciel hastily tore off the wig, and tossed it off to the side before he started removing his clothes. First the the black top, then the tank, and so on. The sight of seeing the bluenette in in a dress-, or more accurately, removing a dress right in front of the blonde seemed to be too much for Alois, as he suddenly felt warm liquid trail down from his nose and toward his chin. He caught the leak with his hand before any of it spilled onto his own, _pure-white_ dress and dyed it _crimson_. Ciel looked over to see the blonde before turning red in the face yet again.

_ "Did you just get a nosebleed?!" _he asked in a hushed sort of _almost-yell_.

_"I can't help it!"_ the blonde said back in a similar tone, his voice muffled by his own hand. He had to quickly move his other hand up to catch what was now leaking from the first one.

Ciel frantically looked around for something to wipe the blonde's face with, now only wearing his black pants the belt that went with it. He found nothing. There was nothing in that room that He could fix this with. He looked over at his own clothes, at the black T-shirt that he had arrived in, particularly. Finally, he grabbed it and threw it at the blonde.

"_There. Wipe your face with that_." he ordered, before going back to getting ready. He reached for the red shirt on the clothes rack, pulling it off the hanger before throwing it on, and buttoning it. (Yes, he had learned how to button his own shirts over the years.) The blonde just stared at the boy for a moment before heeding the bluenette's advice, and wiping the blood from his face.

"_Sorry..." _he said looking down at his lap, causing the other boy to look at him with slight surprise. Ciel sighed before answering.

"Don't worry about it. _It wasn't your fault." _he said, tucking his shirt into his pants. He finished putting on the rest of his accessories before walking over to the other boy and checking his face. He took the shirt from him and wiped away any stray smudges that the blonde had missed. He checked Alois' attire as well, making sure that no stray blood droplets had stained his dress.

Kristopherson had obviously been doing a theme of contrasting them. The blonde's dress made him resemble some sort of _divine_ being, with flowing lace and gold trimming. He had feather-like projections in his hair, and appeared to be based on some goddess of myth, or an angel, like the ones in many renaissance paintings-, the ones that_ didn't _want to kill people.

Ciel, on the other hand, was based on the image of the devil himself, with black pants tucked into black knee-high boots, and a belt with the word "sin" across the buckle. His shirt was red and baggy, like a crimson version of some kind of poet or something, and it had no buttons torwards the top, so it revealed part of his chest. Fortunately for him, it didn't threaten to reveal the brand underneath his left pectoral. Ciel wore a long, black coat that he was specifically instructed to put only his right arm through the sleeve, allowing the other side to only hang onto his left shoulder. The icing on the cake, however, was the boy's eye-patch for his costume, which was only a red, half-mask that cover his right eye, part of his cheek, and his forehead. It had what appeared to be a black horn protruding from the part of the mask that covered the forehead. For some reason or another, it felt as though the pink-loving, faux-blonde had put much more thought into the Phantomhive boy's outfit, oddly. It could have been attributed to the boy's recent discovery that the demonic duo was, in fact, _demons._

"I'm just... _embarrassed,_ is all." Ciel said finally.

"But I think you're _cute _when you're_ embarrassed_, though." Alois replied, giving the other lad a smile. The bluenette caught the boy's chin in between his index finger and his thumb, forcing the blonde to look directly at him.

"I'm _'the devil', _I'm _not supposed_ to be _'cute'."_ he said with a smirk. The blonde could only stare at him for a moment longer before smiling again.

"But that's not _my_ devil." Alois said. "_My_ devil is _cute_. He can also be kind of an _arrogant prick _sometimes, but I still think he's _cute_."

The demon stood up and began walking to the door, his smile never wavering. He turned back to the other boy with his hand on the door knob. "I'll show you _just _how _'cute' _I can be when this is over." he said. "You should _learn_ by now that you _shouldn't tease_ _'The Devil'_." With that he left, leaving the blonde alone in order to try to calm down a fretting Kristopherson.

Alois simply smiled to himself. He would follow behind the other boy in another moment or so in order not to raise suspicion. In a few moments, the show would begin to draw to a close.

"I _like_ teasing _'The Devil', _though. _'The Devil' _is _most fun_ when he does_ devilish _things."

* * *

**A/N: Oh my~!**

**Fanservice? Maybe. I dunno.**

**I'm sorry for not putting him on stage. I just thought that might've been too cruel...**

**I also STILL can't design dresses... I didn't want it to be like the one from the series... Don't judge me...**

**Next chapter will be the awesome (maybe) finale of the fashion show! WHOOOOOOO!**

**Uh... L'see... There's always other stuff I wanna write at the end of these, but I always forget what they are by the time I actually get here...**

**I guess I'll see you all next chapter then, my duckies!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Does Alois always have to wear his ring? Since that IS what Ciel used to tie Alois' soul mortal world."** by ReadAndWriteButMostlyRead._

_Answer by Alois: "Nope. It's pretty much useless now. (Either way, it's still kept hidden in a top-secret location along with Ciel's,** just in case**.) My soul is permanently tied to this body. It's really quite nice to have my own body again. (Being in Ciel's felt super freaky, by the way. ***shudders*** YOU try and wear someone else's SKIN, why don't you!?)_

_Oh! And a few of you have also asked if I still have my contract mark! **I don't**. The bond between my soul and Claude's was severed when he died, so it's not there. I'm contract-free, inside and out! Ain't life just grand~?"_


	157. Wolfwalk

The boy's couldn't believe what they were looking at, here. While the demonic duo was busy getting ready to go on, their place on stage had been stolen-, or rather, they were the wolf girl posed and strutted on the catwalk-, or "wolfwalk" it would seem.

Amelie had on a blue work shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a black tie. The word "Security" was on her armband, and likewise, she had on a police-officer-like hat on the seemed to be intentionally a little big for her head. Instead of a star or other symbol of law enforcement on the front above it's visor, the Warwick crest was in it's place, giving proof of the place that she was supposed to be guarding. Her shorts were black, and even shorter than those of the Blonde Menace, reaching above her mid-thigh. On her feet were black, knee-high combat boots, and in her hand was a stop sign for whatever reason. Not even Kristopherson, who had designed and giving her the uniform could explain _where on earth she squired the sign._

In fact,_ he didn't even tell her to go on_. She just_ did._ The boy in the pink vest, however, didn't really care since the crowd was loving her, and he was simply thankful that there wasn't a blank space due to the demonic duo being late. When he saw the pair in the wings of the stage, he furrowed his brow and frowned, mouthing something along the lines of "_I am going to kill you"_ at them.

As though sensing the arrival of the pair, the wolf-wolf girl walked back towards the wings, passing them as she went to return to her post. She gave them a "thumbs up" as she did, and with that, the lesbian-lolita-lycanthrope went back to her own duties. Her expression hadn't changed in the slightest the entire time.

Ciel and Alois watched her leave for a moment before a certain faux-blonde had gotten impatient, and, placing a hand on the backs of each boy, gave them a haughty shove forward. The demonic duo recovered from the initial surprise of being pushed, and began to walk, moving their feet to the beat of the obnoxious, booming music.

The lads costumes held a twisted sense of irony that only they and the members of the Sensational Seven who are aware of the supernatural world would understand. Ciel, the "demon master" was in a sort of artistic representation of The Devil himself, while Alois, his fellow-demon, was supposed to be some sort of angelic being.

Needless to say, the bluenette quite _liked_ this set. While he hadn't walked in shoes with a heel for quite some time, he didn't falter, and because of the few extra inches, the Phantomhive boy gave the appearance of being_ taller _than the Trancy lad. He would never admit to it, but this was a major part of why he liked the set. The boy also appreciated being able to see the blonde in a dress again, since he wasn't able to thoroughly enjoy the sight over the previous few times the blonde had dressed in drag. He would never admit to _that _either.

A haughty, arrogant smile graced the demon's face as he walked side by side with the blonde menace. He had concocted an idea that would allow him to see the blonde's embarrassed face at the same time. The evil little cyclops did so enjoy teasing the blond lad, forcing him to make expressions and remarks that he otherwise wouldn't.

Thus, he simply placed his hand in the small of the blonde's back, chortling a bit to himself as he felt Alois shudder at the slight touch. With his free hand, he grabbed the hand of the flaxen-haired teen that was closest to him, giving the appearance that he was escorting Alois to some sort of ball, as if the blonde were actually a woman. The act seemed to noticeably annoy the other boy, as the lad's eyebrow twitched slightly, momentary breaking his mask. He cheeks were also noticeably more pink.

When they returned to the side wings of the stage from which they had originated, Alois' mask broke completely. He allowed himself to frown and furrow his brow as he looked to the rather smug bluenette as he made his vain attempt to look threatening. A male simply cannot look threatening in a dress.

_ "Stop treating me like a girl all the time!"_ he said in a hushed tone that oh-so desperately wanted to be a yell.

"I don't treat you like a _girl." _Ciel whispered back. "I treat you like an _Alois_. Since when have I ever treated a woman so _nicely?"_

"_Whatever."_ Alois said, folding his arms. He couldn't exactly argue with the bluenette, now could he? Ciel had worded his reply just so, so that he may not be able to answer in the manner that he wanted to.

"What happened to _mister flirt?_ The one who used to say things like _'I'd be your princess any day'?"_ the Phantomhive lad teased, playing with a strand of faux-hair from the other lad's wig. "_Someone's _developed a bit of _ego_."

"Is that bad? If memory serves, _you're_ the one with the _gigantic ego_."

_ "_At least _I'm _not the one in_ a dress_."

_ "You were several minutes ago."_

_ "Speak of that to anyone, and I may just have to kill you."_

"You wouldn't dare! Who else would take care of your '_special needs'?"_

"Oh, _there_ it is! Is this what Kristopherson called, _'passive seduction'?_"

_"How the hell would I kno-"_ Alois was cut off when the bluenette pressed his lips against his. Ciel lingered there for a few seconds before pulling away and smiling, leaving the blonde with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"I don't do it to _belittle _you, you know." said the Phantomhive lad. "I do it because I think you're cute, and I just _want_ to. Not _everything _I do has some sort of _dark agenda_."

"Fine." the blonde replied finally. He couldn't remember the last time someone was able to make him feel self-conscious before Ciel Phantomhive. The bluenette made  
"the boy without shame" actually feel _embarrassed._ That, my friends, is no small feat.

Shortly afterward, the show began to draw to a close. Lawrence, the "host" for the evening walked back out on stage and said a few words before introducing the designer, calling Kristopherson out on stage. The look on the boy's face when he heard that was absolutely priceless. Kristopherson immediately turned to run in the opposite direction, desperate to avoid the scornful eyes of the crowd, but he was stopped by the demonic duo, and promptly escorted out onto the stage. His efforts to break free of the demons' grasp was all for naught. The poor boy's face was pink all the way up to his ears, yet the applause he received from the crowd put him at ease a bit. They liked his work. They actually _liked_ it.

The faux blonde was glad that Lawrence was able to notice his discomfort, as the actor gently gave him gentle nudges in the right direction when it was his turn to speak. He asked questions about the designs, the models, as well as the show itself, and cracked jokes while making observations. He made it feel like he was simply talking to the boy on any other day like the audience wasn't even there. Finally, as it was almost time to end the performance, Lawrence asked his final question.

"So what inspired you to make these designs, Kris?" he asked. His question seemed to completely catch the boy off-guard, as he jumped a bit. Then Kristopherson's face shifted from surprise and general discomfort to that of concentration.

"_My friends_, I guess." said the boy sheepishly. "I just tried to make designs that I thought they would like. Stuff that might make them _happy."_

"I'm sure happy with mine!" the actor replied. "You don't see stuff like this just anywhere!"

"Well, you're welcome to _keep _the outfit, you know." said the faux-blonde with a smile. "Personally, I prefer _pink_ to_ green_."

After they exchanged for a while longer, Lawrence bidded the audience farewell, and the show ended. There was a party afterward, that most of the seven were too tired to actually attend. Kristopherson stayed behind of course and mingled with the guests, but he didn't get lonely even in the slightest, regardless of his friends' absence. Cameron stayed with him, after all.

While the demonic duo didn't necessarily need sleep, the lads still felt a little drained from the experience, and retreated to the black Rolls Royce in the parking lot before riding home. Ciel was in his suit from earlier because of the blonde's blood on his T-shirt from that whole _embarrassing situation _in the dressing room, and the blonde did the same for no reason, really. They arrived home; demons, werewolves, and vampires all returned to their "normal" lives once again, readying themselves for whatever came their way next...

* * *

**A/N: Yea...  
**

**Dunno what I'm gonna do next. I have two ideas, one of which is filler and I might just go with that one because I haven't gotten the other one quite sorted out in my head yet. **

**Hooraaaaay Filler!**

**My friend, Jman asked me why the word "Judas" is on Alois' belt-buckle while he's in his demon-form, and I'm not sure if I was able to explain it well, since I was walking away, on my way to my car in order to go home to write fanfiction-, I mean, DO HOMEWORK. **

**Anyways, the explanation is as follows:**

**Now, this isn't a conscious-decision on Alois' part, but the reason is because Judas Iscariot was the disciple of Jesus who sold him out to the Romans (at least I THINK it was the Romans. I'm not sure. I haven't stepped in a church or touched a bible in years.), thus getting him crucified. Judas is perhaps the most infamous traitor in all of literature. **

**Now, how does that associate with Alois? Well, think about the nature of Alois' death. He died do to the betrayal of someone he trusted dearly, meaning Claude. Claude is basically Alois' Judas. The name is associated with betrayal, that's why it is on him in his demon-from.**

_**Also, it just looked cool.**_

**I noticed in this chapter that Kristopherson has begun to take on the characteristics of "Kindness", one of the "Seven Heavenly Virtues", and the one that is opposite to "Envy". I think I've already said this, but I think it would be cool for the seven to sort of change from the people they were in the beginning into more "grown-up" versions of themselves. I think I'm going to do this by having them go from "The Seven Sins" to "The Seven Virtues" on some level. I'm still going to call them "the sins", because that just sounds cooler, and more demon-ily-appropriate.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question for Alois: **"Does Ciel ever show his softer side when he's just with you?"** by Wooimmafox1305  
_

_Answer by_ Alois: _"Of course he does! He can be very sweet underneath that 'authoritative dictator' facade he's always trying to put on. Sometimes he'll even talk about his (Le gasp!)_ **feelings.**_ He's also still so very awkward when it comes to **'that'** (if you know what I mean); things like asking for 'permission' before doing 'this and that' (If you know what I mean). It's cute._"

_Question for Ciel: **"Would you ever let Alois top?"** by LongerWalks-and-ShorterWalks_

_Answer by_ Ciel (When Alois is in the room): _"**No."**_

_Answer by Ciel (When Alois **isn't**__ in the room):_ _"Uh... well... that's... I dunno... Maybe if I get more... y'know... comfortable with the whole situation... I might **consider** it... (I actually quite like the dominance, really...) ***Ahem*** I don't think I am required to go into detail about '**that'** aspect of our relationship. Besides, I'm still not quite used to '**that', **yet..."_


	158. The Effects Of A Full Moon

It was a fine Saturday at Phantomhive Manor with the sun shining over head, yet even with it's warm rays, the cold autumn air negated it's heat and chilled the manor's inhabitants as they stood out back near the garden. They were almost done with tonight's preparations, putting up a small, temporary shed. You see, tonight was a _full moon_, and one of the servants of the house was, in fact, a_ werewolf_.

Amelie's vampiric companion had explained the details of her-, _ahem_, "_medical condition" _ for her to the master of the house_, _as the silver-haired girl wasn't much of a fan of verbal communication. Contrary to popular belief, werewolves are in full control of themselves, even under a full moon. They can even cycle between their forms at will on any other occasion. For some unknown reason, however, the night of the full moon is the exception. It may never be fully understood, for science has never had the ability to study a lycanthrope before.

To prevent the girl from tearing anything up, she will have to spend the night in the shed out behind the manor. As a giant wolf-monster that is almost twice the size of an average human-being, she simply will not fit in the manor, much like the demon-hound that had lived there at one point. The only difference was that Amelie was a tad more... civilized. That is what differentiated the two species.

One was civil, the other was not; one was born a monster, the other was not. Let me make the distinction clear right now: Demon Hounds, and Werewolves, are two completely different monsters. The master of the Phantomhive household once sat trough a nearly full-hour lecture on the subject by Sir Hellsing, leaving the encounter with the impression that the woman was a "_monster-obsessed fiend_", to quote him.

Regardless, the lad now knew what he was dealling this and, in theory at least, the situation should be fairly easy to handle so long as they have the wolf-girl's cooperation. This, however, wasn't entirely the case, as the girl continuously hid from them throughout the day, much to the bluenette's annoyance. Charlotte continuously apologized for the girl, saying that she gets sort of excitable around the day of the lunar phase.

"It's alright, _we'll find her_." Ciel replied. "The real problem is how would we catch her if she were to run?"

_ "Put her on a leash?" _asked his blonde companion as he assisted in the search.

"We'd still have to _catch_ her for that..."

_ "I've got nothing, then..." _The bluenette simply rolled his eye at the other boy's silliness.

They searched both inside, and outside, splitting up and reuniting a few times, only to come up with nothing. It isn't as though the girl could completely conceal her supernatural presence, so finding her should have been easy, however the Manor's grounds covered a large area, and Amelie could be hiding in any single one of it's many nooks and crannies. Soon, it was just the lads who had came across one another, only to report that neither of them had anything to show for their efforts. At long last, though, the demonic duo was approached by a familiar face.

It was Sebastian, of course, and it seemed as though he had just come in from the outdoors, presumably from adding last-minute touches to the structure that the missing girl was supposed to stay in, as he smelled like the autumn air. He gave a polite bow to the bluenette boy and smiled before opening his mouth to speak.

"I'm finished with all of the preparations, my lord." he said. "Is there anything else that you require?"

"Yes, actually..." replied Ciel. "...Amelie has apparently decided to run off. Our search for her has proved to be absolutely pointless."

"She's _missing?" _asked the butler. "But I just saw her, _sitting in the shed_ before I came in." The Earl couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance at the news.

"She was there the _entire time?!" _whined the blonde, asking the very question that Ciel wanted answered. "That _bitch!_ I could've been doing something worthwhile!"

"I'm pretty sure_ looking up random videos on youtube _hardly counts as 'worthwhile', Alois." said the bluenette. He rubbed his temples in order to fight off a headache and sighed. "That will be all for now, I suppose. Tell Charlotte that Amelie has been found."

"She_ already knows_, sir." replied the man clad in black. "She's_ in the shed with Amelie_." Ciel's eyebrow twitched at the implication behind that before disregarding it. He began walking down the hallway again, on his way to his office.

"Then you're free to perform your other duties, Sebastian." he said, absent-mindedly waving the man off as he walked away.

He knew he was being followed by the blonde as usual, since he could hear the other boy's erratic footsteps that always seemed to change tempo every once and a while. Sebastian, however, did as he was told, and returned to his work, but not before watching the pair for a moment longer with amused eyes. It never ceased to amuse him how the blonde childishly clung to his master, and how his master held such attachment to the bizarre boy. As perverse as that may sound, it wasn't in the slightest. He simply found it somewhat endearing, if that makes any sort of sense. It was as though the demon had started to feel very _human_ emotions such as _attachment_ to this house and it's occupants, even though it was the very place of his imprisonment. Perhaps Sebastian was starting to come down with a severe case of _Stockholm Syndrome,_ but one thing is clear: he would never be able to let go of this place with any sort of ease.

Meanwhile, the lads were in the bluenette's office, actually working, of all things. On occasion, the blonde would help Ciel with his paperwork in relation to the Funtom toy company, or a modernized version of the original that Alois knew. The company was still prospering, even with the change in eras. It nearly had to be rebuilt from the ground-up when the Phantomhive boy returned from his supposed "death", but was doing extraordinarily well.

"Oh, yeah, when's your meeting?" Alois asked suddenly, recalling the bluenette mentioning something about it. He put down his pen for a moment and rested his cramping hand, shaking it like that would somehow shake the tension in his muscles, before passing the finished paper in his hand for the other boy to look over and sign.

"In a few hours, why?" replied Ciel, taking the paper from the other boy.

"I dunno... I get _bored _when you're not around..." said the blonde as he picked his pen back up and began jotting down information on the appropriate documents.

"_Lonely, _you mean?" said the Phantomhive boy, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You're so_ clingy_." he teased and the blonde pouted.

"Well, _pardon me _for wanting some form of friendly interaction!" the blonde said back in a sarcastic tone. He knew his companion was merely teasing him. He was starting to get used to this kind of kidding from the bluenette.

"To be honest, I'd rather stay here and mess with you, but alas, I have to _work _sometimes."

"You don't call _this_ 'work'?" Alois asked, holding up several papers that needed filling out.

_"_Not when I have _you _to do it_ for _me." Ciel said with a smirk. He chuckled when the blonde tried to look menacing, but failed miserably. The Phantomhive boy was starting to see why the blonde enjoyed to pester people so much.

"Why am I even helping you with this!?" the blonde asked.

"Because you _offered?" _replied the other boy as her looked over another document.

He heard a small "_hmpf_" from his companion, and assumed that was the end of it and smiled to himself at his "victory". He hadn't however, noticed the other boy getting up and walking over to his desk until the lad placed his hands on it's surface and leaned forward, staring at the bluenette. Ciel looked up from his paper at the boy.

"_Yes?" _he asked. "Can I _help _you?" His smirk faltered a bit when the blonde placed a hand on his cheek.

"You're so _mean,_ Ciel." said the blonde menace. "I haven't gotten to play with you all day because of Amelie, then we have to do paperwork, and then you have to leave me for a meeting." Alois leaned in to whisper in the bluenette's ear. "Hey, remember the _last time _we were like_ this? _At the costume party? I wonder, if you had _really_ _'seen through my female disguise from the beginning' _like you said, _why _did you allow me to touch you_ just like this?"_

"Is this your feeble attempt _assert_ yourself, _Jimmy?" _asked the bluenette, calling the other boy by his favourite pet-name. He never used any traditional nickames for the blonde because they both sounded silly and didn't press the right buttons.

"Could be..." replied Alois. "...Or I could simply be pointing out an observation. I _wonder _about these things, sometimes, you see?"

"_Is that so?" _now Ciel simply sounded amused. He didn't really perceive the blonde as a threat to his ego at this point, as he was usually capable of countering whatever the blonde said with his own wits.

"Yes, and I've also wondered... Why exactly do you _insist_ on being the pitcher? Is it to _make up _for your own-,_ ahem, short-comings?"_

Ciel stood up suddenly at that. He grabbed the boy's wrist and glared at him, a slight blush visible on his cheeks. He stayed like that for a moment longer, staring at the blonde's smirking face as he pondered his next move.

"_Maybe." _he said finally. "Maybe _not._ Maybe I just like watching you _squirm_."

"That's a lot of _'maybes'." _said Alois.

"Maybe I _like_ 'maybes'." Ciel let go of the blonde's wrist and walked around to the other side of the desk were his companion was standing.

They both simply stood there for a moment, both trying to stare the other down. For a moment, it looked as though they were evenly matched, but after a while, the blonde's gaze began to show signs of faltering. Under the bluenette's gaze, he couldn't help but feel somewhat vulnerable. That's how the Phantomhive lad made everyone feel, but this was different. This sort of vulnerability wasn't _frightening_, per se, but rather, it bruised his ego a bit. As soon as he could no longer resist the urge to look away, the bluenette pounced, snaking an arm around the boy's waist, and holding his chin in place with his thumb and index finger.

"You know, you aren't that good at the whole _'menacing' _thing." said the Phantomhive boy.

"And _you _aren't that good and this whole _'maintaining composure' _thing as you used to be." Alois said back, mockingly. "Tell me, why is it that when I'm around you that we always end up like this? Is the _'guard-dog' _actually a complete _'horn-dog'?_ Pervert."

_ "I'm _the _'pervert'?_ Who is it that's always relentlessly flirting with me and saying dirty things?"

"Only because you look like you'd appreciate it. Tell me, what's it like being trapped going through _eternal_ _puberty _for_ a hundred years?"_

_ "Infuriating;_ much like _you_ are. Exactly how long to you plan on _pretending_ to play this tug-of-war for dominance?"

"For as long as you plan to _pretend_ that it belongs to only _you_."

"I have_ a few hours _before my meeting, so why don't we play a _'game' _to find out who's right?"

"Prepare to _lose_, Phantomhive."

_ "Not even in your dreams, Jim."_

* * *

**A/N: Oh my~!  
**

**Have some filler! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ **

**Yeah... I don't even... I'm just stalling until I know what I'm gonna do next...**

**I had a very vague idea, but I just haven't gotten it to work yet...**

**Most of the time, I only PRETEND to know what I'm doing...**

**Speaking of perversions, I had a dream last night that I logged on, and all of the newest entries in the Cielois section were M-rated fanficeptions of DLTD. DAFUQ?**

**Not that this is a bad thing~ *wiggles eyebrows suggestively***

**Yeah, I'm not sure what to say about that... I'm probably gonna get accused of being perverse by my friends at school, however, that's nothing new, so I'm not too worried.**

**Usually, I dream about CLAW MACHINES. I have no idea why. Night after night, I dream of claw machines. _What the fuck, brain?_**

**I haven't been sleeping too well, actually. I keep finding beetles in my room, and they freak me the fuck out, so I keep having to sleep in the guest bedroom...**

**It's hard to sleep well in anything but your own bed...**

**Laters, Duckies. I hope I know what I'm doing tomorrow~!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"How would Ciel react if he found Alois cheating on him with Kristopherson?"** by InvaderPhantom16_

_Answer by Ciel: **"I would murder both of them into oblivion."**_

_Question for Sebastian: **"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?"** by LongerWalks-And-ShorterWalks  
_

_Answer by Sebastian: "I have been cleaning, preparing meals, tending to the garden, organizing the master's belongings, sorting out his paperwork and schedule, answering calls, and acting as the family driver, among other things, why?"_

_Question for Alois: **"Which side of Ciel do you like the most? The shy/embarrassed side, or the flirty side?"** also by LongerWalks-And-ShorterWalks_

_Answer by Alois: "Ooh! That's a tough one! I like both of them for their own reasons. Shy-Ciel is absolutely adorable, but Flirty-Ciel is really sexy. I'm not sure if I can really decide between the two! I just like **Ciel!"**_


	159. A Disturbing Find On The Thames

The city of London was veiled in fog on this day, and the remaining leaves left on the trees shook violently at the slightest cold breeze that autumn would so wickedly and unexpectedly puff out of nowhere. Police cars gathered around a bridge along with an abulance due to the unusual discovery that several local children came across as they played by the river. It was cold, pale, and completely devoid of life as it floated on the water's surface. It was a body; a body that the authorities were busily fishing out of the water before any other children saw it and went home crying, never to return to their play-place again. At first it had looked like an ordinary suicide, but no, upon further inspection, it became absolutely clear that this was not performed of the now deceased's will. It was _murder._ A certain detective stood, waiting for a certain "_specialist"_ to arrive, shuddering at both the cruel air an by the sight of the body bag on the ground.

Detective Bailey didn't like having to call "him", but what choice did he have? The nature of this crime, was simply too much for him. He had seen his fair share of gruesome crimes scenes, but _this... _The person who had committed such an act of cruelty was obviously too freakish for even the detective to handle. He reached into his pocket before pulling out a cigarette, and lit it, scowling at how his supposed "specialist" was prone to taking his sweet time.

"Sir, what are we waiting for?" asked a voice behind him. He turned around to see a female coworker of his, and fellow detective,_ Detective Smith_, looking at him confusedly. The woman was intelligent, but inexperienced, and was a ranked below the senior detective. "We can't just leave this body out here in the open like this! Can't we just meet this _'Phantomhive' _guy at the station?"

"I'm afraid not." Bailey said, taking his cigarette out of his mouth to speak. "It's best to let him see the evidence first-hand. He might find something that we missed, like he _always_ does." The Senior Detective perked up when he heard the sound of a car pulling up. The roar of the engine was unmistakable to the man's ears. "Well, _speak of the devil..."_

Smith looked past her superior, watching as a tall man clad in black stepped out of the car, and walked to open the door for his master. At first, she thought it was the butler who was the "specialist" that Bailey had spoke of until he did this. Se expected to see a serious-looking man about the age as Bailey, but was instead presented by someone completely different. While the male who stepped out of the backseat had the "serious" sort of look, he looked very young, far too young to be doing this job. He was but a mere child.

Ciel stepped out of the black Rolls Royce wearing a suit of a similar shade in everything but it's blue tie. Even the coat he wore to protect himself from the chilly wind was black. The boy who exited after him was dressed similarly, save for a violet-coloured tie. The second boy was blonde, and had a lighter, less businesslike air about him. The appearance of these two surprised the junior detective.

"What are these _children_ doing at the crime scene, sir?" she whispered to Bailey, earning an odd look from him.

_ "Show some respect_." the man said, putting out his cigarette. "That's_ Ciel Phantomhive _and _Alois Trancy_. They're higher up than any of us will _ever_ be."

"_Bailey."_ the bluenette lad said, giving a slight nod as greeting as the blonde next to him smiled and waved.

"_Phantomhive." _the man said back. "This is Junior Detective _Karen Smith_; Smith, this is _Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy." _He gestured to each lad as he said their names.

"_H-hello..." _greeted the woman.

_ "Pleased to meet you_." said Ciel. "I trust that this is a matter of great urgency for me to be asked to come out here."

"_It is_. This way." said Bailey as he gestured for the others to follow him. They walked over to the body bag that was carefully set out on the ground out of the immediate view of the public gaze. He didn't even have to say anything before the bluenette had already crouched down next to it and unzipped it, wrinkling his nose at the smell of decay before setting eyes on the body itself.

The bluenette lad looked back to the detective, as if confused by what he was looking at. When he heard that a body was found in the river, he suspected a drowning victim, or anything but _this_, really. This person had died from _decapitation, _of all things. That was unusual, to say the very least. Ciel gestured to his butler for a moment, holding out his hand.

"Gloves." he said simply, and in response, the man pulled a pair of rubber gloves out of his coat, and handed them to the boy. Alois simply stood behind the man, making disgusted faces as the bluenette poked the corpse.

From inspecting the body closer, he could see that around the stump of a neck from which the head had separated, were areas that had appeared to be _burnt, _of all things in a most peculiar way. It was burnt and it was _mangled;_ not cut cleanly at all. Next, Ciel began digging around in the pockets of the body, in search of anything else. Identification, or anything that could lead to an explanation as to were this person was heading, like movie tickets or something. He found a wallet with the person's I.D., strangely full of things like money and credit cards as well as their cell phone.

"I'm not sure what to make of this." said the bluenette finally, as he pressed the "power" button on the device, knowing that it probably wouldn't activate due to the nautical abuse it had received prior. "Do you know where the _head _is?"

"It's probably at the bottom of the Thames, by now." said Bailey.

"That's a shame..." said the bluenette, trailing off. He dug around in the inner pocket of the corpse's coat, finding something that was a bit out of the ordinary. A _walkie-talkie._ Ciel fiddled with the device as he thought about all of the possible reason's that this person had it on them. He flipped the switch that supposedly activated it, and nothing happened. All that he heard was static. He slipped it into his pocket anyway, thinking that it might come in handy before standing up.

"Is there anything else?" the boy asked without looking at the detective, and instead at the surrounding area. The blonde lad walked over to him and followed his eye, apparently understanding what the bluenette was doing.

"No. This is all we've found, so far." said Detective Bailey. "I just thought it would be the sort of thing that might _interest_ you."

"Where there others like this one?" asked Ciel, finally looking at the man. He knew that the man wouldn't call him if this was the only one.

"Yeah. They had walkie-talkies on them as well, with the head gone. So what now, 'Guard-dog'?"

"Now, I_ ignore you _and investigate." said the boy with an arrogant smirk. "Tell me, do you ever solve any cases on your own?"

"Not as often as I'd like." the man said back. "Go do your thing. Just make sure I don't _catch_ you."

"Will do. _Sebastian, Alois, let's go_."

With that, the demons walked away from the scene, climbing back into the vehicle before disappearing from the officer's view. They didn't even say goodbye. Detective Smith watched as the black car got smaller and smaller as it got further away.

"That's _it?" _she said finally. "That's_ all _he needed to see?"

_ "He never does stick around for long." _replied Bailey, lighting another cigarette.

"What good could a_ child _do with that information? Is it even right to let a child see _that?"_ Smith asked, folding her arms. She couldn't believe that her superior let children onto a crime scene and allow them to play with the body. Bailey paused before answering.

"He ain't a _child."_ he said at last. "That boy_... He's the devil himself_."

"What is _that _supposed to mean?"

"When I retire and you take my position, _you'll find out." _With that, the man decided it was time to wrap things up. Knowing full-well that the demonic duo was already finding answers to this bizarre case; almost as bizarre as the boys themselves.

* * *

**A/N: Oh...  
**

**Get those duckies a murder. DUCKIES LOVE MURDERS.**

**Totally.**

**I had the idea, and then it started to turn into something sort of SHERLOCK-esque.**

**SHERLOOOOOOOOOCK! *shakes fist in the air* **

**My nemesis...**

**I'll be fixing that as it goes on, don't you worry. Things are going to escalate quite quickly...**

**Maybe I should do a "Character bio" for Detective Bailey at some point... I completely forgot about him when I was writing them...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question for Ciel:** "How on earth is his toy company still working after all this years?"** By Jenyla_

_Answer by Ciel:__ "Easy. I actually maintain it. There was a point were I almost had to completely start over. _  
_Fortunately, I came across a generous sum of money left behind by a certain recently deceased Earl at the time to rebuild it. **He doesn't mind**. It's sort of a pain though. Whenever I'm at meetings, I have to change my appearance, and after awhile, I have to fire people who have been there for too long so they don't question why I don't age..."  
_

_Question for Kristopherson: **"Do you ever plan on letting your hair go natural? As in no blond?"** by SisterOfScarletDevil  
_

_Answer by Kristopherson: "Yeah, I actually plan on it. I'm not going be getting my hair bleached for a while. It's not like there's a special reason, or anything, though! I just wanted to see how it looks, is all... __The only problem is that I kind of think I look too **ordinary** when it's 'natural'_. "  



	160. Evidence At Hungerford Bridge

"Where to, my lord?" asked the man in the driver's as the demons drove away from the crime scene. Ciel paused before answering to lean over and look out the windshield.

_ "There."_ he said, pointing at a bridge that crossed the Thames River. "The water runs _East to West, _so that's _probably where the body was dropped_. Head that way."

"_Yes, my lord." _said Sebastian as he turned onto the appropriate path. The bluenette sat back down in his seat, and folded his arms, thinking about the case.

"So what do you think?" asked the blonde seated next to him. "_Headhunters?"_

"I highly _doubt_ that." replied the eye-patched gentleman. "While it's_ possible _that the perpetrator may be _keeping trophies_, I sincerely doubt it."

"Why's that?" asked Alois.

_ "It's only a hunch."_ replied Ciel. He looked out the window as they pulled onto the bridge.

"Would you like me to pull over anywhere in particular?" asked Sebastian.

"_In a few feet." _said the Phantomhive lad. He had been looking at the river in order to deceiver the best location for the body to drop in order for it to reach the location where it was found. The railing on the bridge got closer as the car began to slow down. Ciel didn't wait for Sebastian to open the door for him, and did it himself, immediately turning his attention to the sidewalk that was between the railing and the road. He turned to his two underlings and gave them their instructions. "Search this area for any signs of a body being_ dragged_, or in the less likely scenario, a struggle."

"Yes, my lord." said Sebastian.

"Yes, my master." said Alois.

Thus, they split up along the highway, looking for anything of any interest at all. The lads shivered at the touch of the cool breeze, while the oldest of the demons paid it no mind. It was fortunate that they didn't have to search for long. It was Sebastian who found what they were looking for-well, not exactly, but it was _close_. The butler called over the demonic duo in order to get their take on such an odd discovery.

The concrete was stained with splatters of a sort of reddish brown colour, immediately recognized as dried blood. It covered the sidewalk, making it absolutely baffling how in wasn't noticed. The conspicuousness of the marks wasn't the only odd thing about it, but the _patterns. _The stains fanned outwards from one spot, or where the victims was standing at the time, but the odd part was that they didn't appear to struggle in the slightest, seeing as though there was one obvious, designational point. Moreover, it appeared as though they were alone when it happened. Moreover, judging by the quantity of the substance, and the fact that it could only be found in this one, single, solitary point, the killer, if there was one, was not here.

Had the victim simply decapitated themselves? No. That was an impossibility. A human being simply couldn't chop their own head of with out assistance, and since there was no sort of mechanism nearby, they couldn't have done this themselves. That is when the bluenette recalled the burnt and mangled appearance of the neck on the body. What could possibly have done that?

"Sebastian, take a note." said the bluenette, pausing for the man to pull out a small notepad and pen. "We must tell the inspector to have the neck examined for any kind of explosive substance." The butler smiled as the boy said this, the method that the boy was thinking about clicking in his mind.

"So, you think that an _explosive_ caused their heads to come off?" asked the blonde menace, placing a hand on his hip. "Kind of like those collars in _Battle Royale?"_

"_It's looking possible." _Ciel replied with a slight smile, remembering when he made the other boy watch the film of that very name. Oh, how the Trancy lad squeaked, and coward at the violence. "What I want to know, though, is what the _walkie-talkies _are for."

"Perhaps to give them _instructions_." said Alois. "Maybe they needed to complete a task or so in order to get it removed. Like in _Saw_."

"Now _that_ was a fun movie to watch with you." Alois frowned as the bluenette's smile widened at the memory.

_"I will never forgive you for making me watch that_."

"Don't be such a baby. It was _just_ a movie."

"Well, judging by the evidence, it very well may _not _be simply _'just a movie'."_ The blonde paused, and looked over the bridge on which they were standing, looking out at the city. He looked out and saw the massive Ferris-wheel that the boys had rode on together a while back. That was a far more pleasant memory he shared with the bluenette than watching movies with the boy.

Suddenly, however, the blonde stopped to think. He furrowed his brow in concentration as he gazed upon The London Eye, and after a while longer, he moved from his location to the very center of the messy reddish brown patterns. He looked straight ahead at the scenery from this new location and pointed something out.

"They weren't moving. They were standing still." he said finally, looking at Ciel to gauge the other boy's reaction.

"You're right." said the bluenette, not knowing why he didn't think of that. "From the patterns on the ground, they were standing still, and from where they ended up, we know that they were looking out from that point, but the question is: _why?"_ Now it was his turn to furrow his brow and think. "_Why_ would they stand _here_, given the supposed scenario?"

"Maybe it's like in _Sherlock." _said Alois. "Maybe they were solving a _riddle."_

"But why _the Eye of London?_ What is _there _of importance?" asked Ciel.

"Who knows? Maybe they were told to ride it?"

"That's ridiculous, and it was a_ rhetorical _question."

"'Bout as ridiculous as the whole _'exploding-collar'_ theory." said the blonde with a grin.

"_You're _the one who_ brought it up_." said the bluenette.

"_You're_ the one who _made me watch the movie in the first place_."

It was right then and there that the lads' playful bickering was interrupted by the vibration of the Phantomhive lad's cell phone. Ciel always had it on vibrate so it wouldn't disturb anyone near him. The sound of a cellphone going off simply annoyed him. He swiftly reached into his pocket and pulled out the device before placing it next to his ear.

_ "Hello?" _he answered, pausing while the person on the other end spoke. "I'm at _Hungerford Bridge_, why?" He paused again. Alois looked at Sebastian questioningly, and in turn, the man simply shrugged, unable to hear the information that was being dispensed over the phone. Soon, the bluenette spoke again, saying: "_I'm on my way_." in a grave tone before ending the call and turning to his associates.

"We have to get to the _London Bridge Hospital_, right _now."_ he said, motioning for the others to follow him to the car.

"What ever for, my lord?" asked the butler as he and the blonde followed the Phantomhive boy, both equally confused about the situation. The bluenette didn't slow his pace for a single moment, putting his hand on the handle to open the car door.

_"It's Preston. They got Preston_."

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, DUUUUUUUNNNN!  
**

**Well, that was a bit unexpected..._ Explanation in the next chapter!_**

**I'd like to point out that both Hungerford Bridge and the London Bridge Hospital are both actual places. Look at it on Google-maps.**

**There was a question in the reviews that I couldn't figure out how a character could answer, so I'm just gonna answer it, that's okay with ya'll.**

**The question is: "Why whenever Amelie speaks french there isn't a translation? I doubt most of us speak french! Also Why DOE S she speak french so often?"**

**Because she's French. That's why she speaks it. She's French because a lot of the best werewolf stories come from France. Charlotte has said that "she speaks perfect English", and Amelie has demonstrated that she can in chapter 143, so I think she does it just to mess with people. **

**There isn't a translation because none of the other characters understand her, except Ciel, who will usually paraphrase what she just said in order for the others, and the audience, to understand. Realistically, it would be weird for cahracters who don't speak french to understand it. Sometimes what she's saying can be understood with context clues, or what she just said wasn't entirely relevant. It all depends, really. I don't like stopping to translate, because it interrupts the flow, y'know?  
**

**Also, France has the sixth most viewers of this fic out of thirty-nine countries._ (Bonjour._) So there's quite a few readers who most likely speak french.**

**First most readers is 'Murica, follwed by the United Kingdom, then Canada, the Philippines, Mexico, and then France, as well as a bunch of others that I don't feel like listing at the moment.**

***Insert Hetalia Theme*  
**

**DLTD is international, ya'll! I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS ALL OF THEM MAKE ME SUPER-WHELMED.  
**

**Laters, Duckies!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Sebastian, Y U NO APPEAR MORE?!"** by MidnightWhispersInTheDark_

_Answer by Sebastian:__ "I do not wish to be a hindrance to my master, therefore I only appear as necessary. What? You didn't think I was simply slacking off, did you? No, I perform my other duties while mister Trancy keeps the young master entertained."  
_

_Question for Kristopherson: **"Y U LIKE PINK SO MUCH?!"** by wooimmafox1305_

_Answer by Kristopherson:__"Because I... like it? Why does anyone like their favourite colour? Why do you like ANIME so much?!"  
_


	161. Hearing Voices

It was surprising that the demons didn't get a speeding ticket on their mad-dash to the hospital. They went up to the front desk, from which they were led down the long hallway of the building to the room where their friend was held. Upon entering the room, they were relieved to see that their friend was still _alive,_ but with further inspection, they discovered that he wasn't quite _unharmed._

Preston looked at them, allowing him to get a better look at his face, revealing that he had various cuts and scrapes, especially on his forehead, where it looked like he had been hit pretty hard. The boy had a black eye, and his lower lip was cut, but the most unsettling aspect on his face was his expression. He had an odd mix of worry, confusion, and terror on it, heightened by the fact that he looked rather ill. His skin had lost some of it's usual colour, as blood moved to other areas of the body that focused on fight or flight. What had the boy so frightened, wasn't the fact that he had taken an obvious beating-, no, _it was the device around his neck._

While the demonic duo had only been _joking_ about explosive collars, they found out that there in fact, was such a thing, as one of these devices was now attached to poor Preston. By some cruel twist fate, the boy was apprehended on his way from his violin lessons, only to become a random victim in this madman's game. The device was black, with bits of metal attached to it, along with plastic boxes that supposedly contained either the mechanism or the explosives themselves, along with a timer. When the demons walked in, it approximately read _eighty-one hours, forty minutes, and fifty-three seconds_, and the number was steadily counting down. Judging by the lad's expression, he has been informed of his predicament.

Also in the room with him was Senior Detective Constable _Bailey_, and Junior Detective Constable _Smith_, both wearing grim faces. Bailey leaned against the wall while Smith sat in a nearby chair, both of them appeared to be waiting for the duo. The male detective grabbed a walkie-talkie off of a table, before putting it up against his ear and pressing the button.

"Alright. Phantomhive is here." said Bailey, obviously trying his best to remain calm. "Now tell us the _conditions_ you were talking about!" There was a pause before a the device made a sort of crackling noise, and emitted a voice.

_ "Simon says give the walkie-talkie to Phantomhive."_ it said. With great reluctance, the man obeyed, passing the device over to the bluenette, who hesitantly put it up to his ear and pressed the button.

_ "This is Phantomhive." _Ciel said, not allowing his voice to waver in the slightest. "What are these _'conditions'_ Bailey mentioned?"

_ "Simon says that in order for the boy to live, you must solve puzzles_." said the voice on the other end. "These puzzles need to be completed within the time limit, or the collar will explode. Don't fret, however, for with every riddle or puzzle solved,_ Simon _will add _another hour_ to the time by remote."

"_Are there any other rules?" _asked the bluenette, glancing over to the boy in the hospital bed.

_ "Yes."_ said the voice. It was muffled due to the crackling the the device itself, providing white-noise whenever there was a pause. "Simon says that the only ones allowed to play are the boys. _No one else can help_. Not the police, or the butler. Only the three boys in this room. Next, Simon says that no one _but the people who already know _are allowed to know about the game." Ciel looked to the others in the room, who nodded in response.

"Is that all?" he asked.

_"Yes. Would you like your first challenge?"_ the voice asked. The bluenette let go of the button for a moment to look at Preston.

"_Are you ready?"_ he asked. His voice was softer than usual at the question, as he knew the boy was already on edge as it is.

"I don't have a _choice,_ do I?" replied the Indian boy, his voice shaking slightly. It was obvious that he was trying not to break down at this point. It was surprising that he hadn't already. With his response, Ciel pushed the "talk" button again to speak to the voice on over the walkie-talkie.

"We're ready." he said firmly. There was a pause before there was an answer.

"_Good."_ said the voice. _"Simon says that for your first task, you must find the tallest person in London, and from his face, find the city's cyclops. Good luck. I will be watching."_ With that, silence. There was nothing more until a certain blonde lad spoke up.

"Well this is just great! How the bloody hell are we to find that shit?!" he demanded, flailing his arms about in an overly exaggerated manner. "The _'tallest person in London'?!_ The _'city's cyclops'?! _ What rubbish!"

"Now's not the time for _complaining, _Alois." said the Phantomhive boy, scratching his chin and furrowing his brow. What could the voice be talking about? Surely he didn't mean an _actual _person, but using some sort of personification of something. He looked to Preston, who simply sat there, looking down at his hands that were folded in his lap, without saying a word. He looked as though he was in utter despair at this point.

"Hey, cheer up, Preston." said Alois, walking over to the boy. "We're not gonna let anything else happen to you, 'kay?" He smiled.

"How can you be _sure?" _asked the human boy. His voice cracked as his throat forced back a sob. He was doing his absolute best to put on a tough face, but now, he was starting to reach his limit. When he was first told that Ciel Phantomhive was going to be helping him, he couldn't believe it. There was no way that they would let a kid handle this. The Phantomhive boy was intelligent, but he wasn't_ Sherlock Holmes _by any means, so what use could he possibly be? Preston was still sort of hoping that this was all some sort of elaborate, cruel joke.

"Pardon my ghetto, but _bitch, please..."_ said the Trancy boy in an attempt to bring humour into the conversation. "We're _Phantomhive and Trancy_. We're not as incompetent as one would ordinarily think children to be." He smiled. "We've solved murders before, so what's the big deal? All we gotta do is _pick up the pace, _is all."

"I just can't believe any of this..." said Preston, rubbing his forehead. The blonde was now losing his patience.

"Shut up and get out of bed. Get dressed, and let's go!" Alois turned to the bluenette. "Let's get to it! If the _'tallest person'_ isn't really a _'person', _then what is it?"

"It _could _be a _building_..." replied Ciel, still deep in thought. His eye widened when he reached a hypothesis. "Wait... could it be... _Big Ben?"_

"Yeah! And his _'face'_ is the_ clock!"_ said the blonde, immediately allowing the bluenette's statement to click in his head. "_Which direction does it face, though?"_

"Like I know off the top of my head." said Ciel. He was about to ask Sebastian or the adults in the room, but remembered that it was against "the rules". With a sigh, he turned his attention back to the blonde. "Do you think it's against the rules for Sebastian to drive us?" he asked.

"Dunno. If it does, does calling a _taxi_ count as _'help'?" _asked Alois. He furrowed his brow and glared at the Indian boy for a moment, unable to understand why he was still in bed. "Preston, get ready! _We gotta go!"_ Preston simply stared at them for a moment longer before Alois lost patience all together and decided to drag him along.

Perhaps saving Preston was possible, after all.

* * *

**A/N: God Save The Preston... (Satan Save The Preston?)  
**

**I'm using google maps a lot for this one. I regret to inform you, however, that in reality, Preston may actually not be admitted to the London Bridge hospital, as it is almost strictly for research-only. Oops... My bad...**

**Meh, it's a fanfiction. I'M ALLOWED TO BE WRONG.**

**Exploding collars... How silly is that? I can't believe I put something like that in here, but once I started thinking about it, I just couldn't stop thinking about it, so I'm sorry if it's dumb.**

**It's a fanfiction. I'M ALLOWED TO ACT DUMB.**

**I love your reviews, guys. I like it went you tell me both your ideas, and things that don't even have to do with DLTD at all. (jellyfish'confetti, DEM PANDA-COOKIES.) I love your questions, I love reading what you have to say. It lights a fire in my creativity.**

**THIS. GIRL. IS ON FIIIIIIIIIIIIIREEEE!**

**Yes, that was the entire point of saying that.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

_**MORE CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Question to little pirate (arrg!) Ciel (my own little cute wittle little goochy goochy goo shota! XD): ...So what is yo' opinion to...*wait for it*...BOOBIES!"** by jellyfish'confetti_

_Answer by Ciel:__"Well, they're... there... and appear to be quite squishy? Do I **really** have to answer this? What is with you people and asking **me** all of the awkward questions? **Fine.** Breasts are nice, I guess... Wait, what in blazes is a... 'goochy goochy goo shota'? Ugh, I feel disgusted with myself for even reading that out loud... (I **really** hope Alois didn't hear that...) More importantly, though,** I AM NOT 'LITTLE'!"**  
_

_Answer by Alois (**Because He** **Insisted**):__"Ciel is simply too embarrassed to admit how much he truly appreciates such** soft, heavenly chest-pillows**... (Insert joke about Ciel's height here) Or that he's a major-homo and has zero interest in titties. I dunno. I'm not sure if he's bi, or just homosexual. It's hard to tell with him. I, for one, am fascinated by breasts. Chests in general, really. Sometimes, I like to sneak up behind Ciel and grope his chesticles. Yes, **'chesticles',** or the 'breasts' of a man who doesn't have enough body fat to have 'man-boobs'. **Chesticles.** He gets all embarrassed and stuff when I touch him like that. All the more encouragement for me~!"  
_


	162. Cyclops Found, And Simon's Initials

The Taxi ride to the massive clock-tower was mostly silent, save for the sound of the vehicle itself. Preston simply kept his head down, staring at his hands nearly the entire ride over there, acting as though the demonic duo wasn't even there. He had already been through so much over the past few hours. His body still ached from the beating he had received, and his mind still trembled at the fact that he could very well be dying over the next few days. That was a heavy thought for any fifteen-year-old to bear, but Preston was doing exceptionally well. He hadn't broken down yet or emitted even the smallest whimper to convey his inner-torment. The demons simply left him to his own devices, as that's what they would have proffered if they where in his shoes. They were familiar with the sense of fear, anxiety, and anticipation that came with almost certain death, as they have been in worse situations. Preston was lucky, though. He had help, and even if they failed, his death was sure to be quick-, or that's the opinion of the demon-boys with their somewhat estranged and morbid thoughts on the matter. Neither Ciel or Alois were afraid to allow their minds to wander to the absolute worst-case scenario, as they often dwelled in the darkest recesses of the mind.

Preston finally opened his mouth to speak, but hesitantly closed it again. There was more than one thought on his mind, really, and that pertained to the duo themselves. At last, he worked up the courage to ask:

"So... _How long have you been working for the police?"_ Alois raised an eyebrow at the question before he answered.

"_A long damn time_." he said, folding his arms.

"We don't work _for_ the police." Ciel corrected from his own seat. "We work _with_ the police."

"Doing what?" asked Preston. "Solving murders?"

"Yes, among other things. We also work privately on other investigations for the government." replied the bluennette. "We're quite versatile."

"Why would the government call in you? Don't they have their own investigators?"

"They do, but their investigators aren't allowed to operate_ outside the law _like we are." said the blonde menace with a grin. This statement seemed to worry the Indian boy a bit, as make evident by the slight change in his expression. "Hey! Don't worry! We're not_ bad _people!"

"We're not _'good',_ either though." said Ciel. "We're just... '_nice'_. We do what we must to please our superiors."

_ "'Nice'? You?"_ asked Alois. "_Really?"_

"You have _no right _to say _anything, Alois." _Said the Phantomhive lad as the car started to slow down. They had reached their destination. The three exited the vehicle, and Ciel told the driver to stay for a moment, as they'll probably need him again within a few minutes. Reluctantly, the taxi-driver complied, but kept the meter running.

The blonde pointed his finger upwards at the clock's face, before turning around while keeping his finger on that point before pointing in the opposite direction with his free hand. "It's that way." he said. "Which way is that? _West?"_

"It's _North,_ Alois." said the bluenette, following the blonde's finger.

"I found it! _The city's cyclops!" _the blonde shouted, causing Ciel to turn around and look at the boy, who had moved his finger to be pointing at the bluenette.

"You're a real _comedian..." _said Warwick's own "Blue Cyclops" while rolling his visible eye. His thought was interrupted by Preston.

"Is that it?" he said, pointing. "_The London Eye_. Is that what _'Simon' _meant about a _'cyclops'?"_ The demonic duo stopped their picking at each other in order to allow that to sink in, and click with them. That was _so obvious_.

"Oh come on! _We just passed the bloody thing!" _Alois complained as the three piled back into the Taxi. "Coming here was a_ waste of time!"_

"Maybe that's Simon's game..." spoke Ciel, crossing his arms. "Think about it: Simon only said to _'find'_ the locations, he didn't say _'go to them'. _Maybe Simon knew we'd assume he meant_ 'go to those places', _so we'd_ waste more time_." The bluenette reached into his pocket, and pulled out the walkie-talkie before pushing the button. _"Did you mean Big Ben and The London Eye?"_ he asked, hoping to get some clarification from the voice. For a moment, there was nothing before the crackling sound of the device. Then the voice was heard.

"Very good." it said. "You were quick. I'm impressed, and as promised, you will be given an _extra hour_." The demonic duo looked at the timer on Preston's collar and watched the number go up from eighty-one to eighty-two, much to their relief.

"That was simply _warm-up_." the voice continued. "Are you ready for your _next _test?"

"Of course." replied the bluenette, gaining confidence with every passing moment.

"Good." said Simon. "Simon Says that you must _go to the British museum _and find _his initials. _There, you _will be given your next location_. When you find it, Simon Says_ you must go_, and from there, find '_the tubes'_. Good luck." That confidence the bluenette had suddenly vanished. He looked to the others, as though they knew the answer.

_ "What the actual fuck?!" _demanded the blonde. "That's going to take us forever to figure out! Like we know his bloody _initials!"_ They all paused to think while Ciel told the driver to head to _The British Museum_ on _Great Russell Street._

"Well, we know his first initial must be _'S'_ for _'Simon',_ but what about the _second?" _asked Preston, thinking aloud.

"Another _'S' _for _'Says'?" _joked the blonde, trying to ease the tension in the atmosphere. _"'Simon Says'! _Get it?"

Suddenly, the bluenette's eye widened. Something in the blonde's silly joke must have clicked with him. "You're right!" he declared. "His _initials _have to be _'S.S.'! _Do you know what else _'S.S.'_ stands for?"

"Something to do with boats, right?" asked the blonde.

"No-, well, _yes. _But I mean _something else_. Think about_ history class_."

"The Nazis?" asked Preston. Ciel smiled.

_ "Exactly. 'S.S.', _or _'Schutzstaffel'._ There's a section on _World War Two _at the museum. That could very well_ narrow down _our search."

"We don't have time to go to_ Germany!" _argued Alois.

"We won't _have _to." said Preston. "Remember _the Blitz?_ We just have to find the _locations in London _that are mentioned."

"Still, we don't have time to search _every single one!" _said Alois.

"Then we'll narrow it down _even further _when we get there." said Ciel flatly. "We can do this. It shouldn't be _hard."_

_ "That's what she said!"_ giggled Alois, poking fun at the bluenette's choice of words.

_ "_Who is _'she', _you _blatant homosexual?"_ the other boy retorted. And thus, the ride to The British Museum was full of back and forth arguing between the demonic duo. Preston didn't mind, however. After all, it helped him take his thoughts off the bomb strapped around his neck...

* * *

**A/N: THE NAZIS. That was just my immediate thought when I thought of the SS thing... **

**I have no idea if they even have a section on that at The British Museum. I didn't feel like doing adequate research on the matter.**

**Ah, something happened the other day that I wanted to put in here because it was funny, but I can't remember what it was, now...**

**Well, whatevs...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET.  
**_

_Question: **"QUICK KRIS ! There's a zombie outbreak what fo you save all your things that is pink or your bleach hair dye?"** by Wooimmafox1305_

_Answer by Kristopherson: "Ditch the hair dye. Take the pink. I some some useful stuff in pink, you know, that could be vital for survival. I'm planning on letting it go 'natural' anyway..."  
_

_Question:** "I actually have some question fur Sebastian: so...um...you know how you like cats? How would you react if you met a FEMALE cat DEMON?"** by Jellyfish'confetti_

_Answer by Sebastian:_**_"...No comment.."_**

_Answer to Sebastian's Answer by Alois: "I find his lack of comment somewhat **disturbing**."_

_Answer to Alois' Answer to Sebastian's Answer by Ciel: **"I agree..."**_


	163. The Stakes Have Risen

It only too about seven minutes to get all the way from Big Ben to the British Museum. That was still seven minutes too long, as the clock was ticking downward towards zero with every passing second. Ciel payed the driver and got everyone inside which took a few minutes longer, and then they had to find the right section of the massive museum which took even longer than that. Alois, as curious as he is, was constantly stopping to look at exhibits when they were supposed to be searching, making him somewhat useless.

"Hey, Ciel! Ciel!" he called for the bluenette's attention. "Check it out!" he pointed to his face. "_Blonde hair and blue eyes_. I'm totally _Aryan!"_

_ "_Or a _super-sayain."_ added Preston, jokingly. The Phantomhive boy himself, however, was somewhat less than amused. While he was glad that Alois was helping calm Preston's nerves, they still had a job to do-, a job with a _deadline._

"Stop fooling around and keep looking!" he said, looking around the various exhibits, specifically at the ones that were_ pictures of locations_, searching for ones that fit the critieria that the lads had discussed on the ride over there.

"Oh, _untwist your panties_, and let me have some fun!" Alois received a look from the bluenette that told him to never suggest he wore women's underwear ever again. The blonde simply smiled and resumed looking. "How do you tell which ones are in London?" he asked, staring at a picture.

"There's _descriptions underneath the picture frame_." said Preston, inspecting yet another image.

"Well, _this one _says 'London', but it looks nothing like it!" the blonde pointed out, staring at the image in front of him as he tried to figure out where in the city that was.

"Where? Let me see." said the bluenette walking over to the boy. He read the plate, and sure enough, Alois was right. It was a _rather famous image of St. Paul's Cathedral_, a building that was still standing today. After seeing it, he was fairly convinced that this was the location that _Simon _had been referring to.

He tried his best to build up an image of it in his memory. He imagined the building itself, and the Queen Anne statue pout front of it. He imagined the street it overlooked, recalling how it seemed to spit the building's apart like it was Moses, and how the statue seemed to permanently stare down it. Yet he could recall nothing about these so-called "tubes" that the voice over the radio had mentioned. He looked over at Preston who seemed to be punching something into his phone.

"What are you doing?" asked the bluenette. "We aren't supposed to have help, remember?" The Indian boy simply looked back at him.

"I'm not getting help, I'm pulling up Google-maps." he said. "I'm looking for _metro stations _near Saint Paul's Cathedral."

"_Metro Stations...?"_ Ciel slapped his own forehead when it finally occurred to him. Another term for underground Metro Stations is "tubes", so it made sense. Of course it wasn't literal. Alois seemed to notice the bluenette internally kicking himself, and put his hand on the slightly shorter boy's shoulder.

"There, there..." the blonde said with a grin. "We all have our _silly moments..."_

"_Some,_ _more than others_." retorted the bluenette. "Have you found anything, Preston?"

"Yeah, _St. Paul's Metro Station." _The boy replied, slapping his own forehead at how obvious that was. "Simon said that we need to go to the location that his initials pointed to, so we probably need to go to the cathedral _before _we answer."

"How would he know the difference? Why can't we just answer now?" asked Alois, folding his arms.

"Because _Simon said._" answered the Phantomhive boy. "With these types, it's best to play their game. Breaking the rules, even if they aren't _obvious,_ could end badly. Besides, he said that _'he'll be watching'."_

"So does that mean that he's got somebody following us around?" asked the blonde.

"It's possible. Let's get a move on, though. Even though we have lots of time now, who knows_ how many _of these riddles he'll make us solve." said the bluenette, pulling out his cell phone before calling a cab.

They rode to the Cathedral. It took only seven minutes to get there. They stood near the statue out front, taking out their walkie-talkie. They answered the question, doing exactly as Simon said.

"The initials are _'S.S.'_ and _'the tubes' _are_ Saint Paul's Metro Station_." said the bluenette into the device, earning a chuckle on the other end, much to his annoyance.

"Very good!" the voice over the walkie-talkie said. "You're doing wonderfully! You've been doing exactly as Simon has said! Let's _raise the stakes_, shall we?"

"_What do you mean?"_ asked Ciel. He hated having to play this game. He hated being treated like a game-piece; that was his job to do to other people! He wanted to be the game-master, not a pawn. It infuriated him, and now this crazed individual was wanting to _add more rules?_

"I mean," the voice began to explain. " that in addition to the current rules, you will now have the ability to_ have time taken away _for _not doing as Simon Said._ For each failure, _two hours _will be _taken away, _and the interval for _succeeding_ will _remain the same_, so your friend there will only gain _one_." There was a pause. "So, _are you up for the challenge?"_

"It isn't as though I have a choice, do I?" replied the bluenette with some hostility. He knew he had to be sensitive, just in case Simon decided to push the detonator early, but his anger just kept rising.

"Well_, no_." said Simon. "You don't. Shall I take that as a _'yes', _then, Mister Phantomhive?"

"_What's the next task?" _the boy asked through clenched teeth.

"Simon says that next, that _somewhere along the Thames that is famous for meat-eaters_, _a little girl is trapped._ If you fail to find her in precisely _ten minutes after this message ends_, _the collar around her neck will explode_. Simon says not to worry, though. Unlike your friend's collar, her's is equipped with a _release button that is located across from her in the room she is held in_." Ciel's eye widened at the task. This wasn't like the last two. Now there was another life at stake. The bluenette clenched his fist, his black nails leaving crescent-shaped marks in his skin.

"_You bastard..."_ he hissed before being interrupted again.

"Oh, and there is a catch." said the voice. "Simon says that _you aren't allowed to go there by vehicle. _You will have to go_ on foot_. Good luck, _'Guard-dog'. _Your time starts _now."_ With that, the message ended, leaving the lads to their task.

* * *

**A/N: Shorter than usual, but I felt like that was a good cut-off point. You'll see what happens next by the end of the day, I promise. **

**Simon, you're such a_ bag of dicks..._**

**I thought that it was getting a little boring and repetitive, so I decided to make shit happen. (KILL ALL OF THE CHILDREN!) I also feel like I gave them way too much time than necessary. It's about... hmmm... Let's say about three days until Preston goes explode. (or not) I should be able to think of a few tasks that could take longer. This one, however, is just to demonstrate how bad these tasks are going to get.  
**

**There is so much use of Google maps for this arc, that it's not even funny. I've never been to London in my life~! (Let alone out of the country...)**

**Whoop!**

**Laters, duckies.**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET.  
**_

_Question: **"Hey Bassy! have you ever raped a cat?"** by White Bloody Queen.  
_

_Answer By Sebastian: "No, I can't say that I have... Demons seldom have sexual desires in the first place. The young master and Alois are just a... 'special case', being very human-like in nature..." _

_Question: **"I have a question for the 'seven sins'. If you were gay or bisexual (like me!) Who would you date and why? They HAVE to be apart of the seven!"** by Cheshire Lucky_

_Alois' Answer:__"BWAHA-HAHA-HA! Oh man! This is gonna be **bloody brilliant**, seeing the others answer this! Ha... Well, I'm dating Ciel, so I'm well covered!"  
_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Alois, of course. Haven't you been paying attention?"  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Well, I AM gay, and I don't really find any of them attractive in that way. I guess they're all kind of cute, in their own way. Maybe if Alois weren't a demon... or with Ciel..."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:__"Uh... I dunno? **I don't like men,** so I **wouldn't** know what to look for in guys... Well, Kristopherson is pretty girly, and Preston has awesome taste in movies, but other than that, I have no idea."  
_

_Daniel's__ Answer:__ "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Why would you do this to me?! I LIKE BOOBIES TOO MUCH TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION! Ugh! **FINE.** Alois and Kristopherson are pretty girly, so I guess if I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO PICK, it'd be one of those two. Let it be on record, however, that I AM NOT interested in other guy's junk! OR ASSES! Now LADY-ass, maybe (yes), but DEFINITELY **NOT** BLOKE-BUSINESS! Wait a minute, DID ALOIS PUT YOU UP TO THIS?!"_

_Preston's Answer: "Huh?! You're seriously asking this, huh? I dunno about physical attraction, but I guess Audrey is pretty cool. (He's the only one who gets my geeky jokes...) I also hang out with Travis a lot. He's pretty easy to talk to. (He'll even talk back, sometimes!)"_

_Travis' Answer: "...Why? Well, Preston's pretty nice, I guess, and so is Audrey, but I still prefer girls..."_


	164. When Demonic Power Gets You Nowhere

"Since it's_ 'famous for meat-eaters', _I assume he's referring to _'beefeaters'_. It's obviously _the Tower of London_." said the bluenette.

"That's pretty far! It takes_ six minutes _to get from here to there_ by car,_ so how are we supposed to make it there _and_ find the girl in time!?" demanded Preston, talking ridiculously quickly. His nerves were obviously starting to get to him. His face was contorted in a way that can only be made by extreme fear and worry. He has done good so far in keeping his axeity under control, but now he was starting to unravel. He furrowed his brow when he noticed the demonic duo ignoring him in order to whisper amongst themselves. "Are you even _listening?!"_

"Preston, I'm going to have to ask you to kindly _calm down_..." began the bluenette, walking toward the Indian boy.

"How can I calm down?! We can't make i- wait, _**what are you doing?!"**_ he demanded as Ciel put both hands on the sides of Preston's head. The bluenette forced the boy to look at him directly in the eye, which oddly began to glow a strange _crimson colour_. Preston eyes widened, and he couldn't look away. The boy couldn't even_ blink. _He didn't feel fear, but he didn't feel _anything else_, either, as he stared at it. It was as though he was_ bewitched _by the crimson orb.

_ "Everything is completely fine."_ said the bluenette in a soft voice.

_ "Everything... is completely... fine..."_ repeated Preston, weakly.

_ "There is nothing to worry about. Everything is fine."_ insisted the demon as he continued to entrance the other boy with his hypnotic gaze.

_ "Everything... is fine..."_ echoed the Indian boy, now seeming to fully believe the demon. He was completely under the bluenette's spell. Demon's have their ways of bending humans to their will. It's a natural talent of theirs. Some can even do it without eye-contact at all, like a certain butler that we may know.

"_Now go to sleep."_ With that utterance, Preston nearly collapsed onto the pavement had the bluenette not caught him.

"What did you do _that _for?!" demanded Alois, snapping from his own daze. "Now we have to _carry_ him!"

"Do you have any_ better _ideas?" retorted the Phantomhive boy. "We can't just randomly go running at _'demon-speed' _while he's able to _see_. That would be yet another awkward moment of explaining everything."

"_Fine."_ said the blonde, crossing his arms across his chest. "What the _hell _was that, anyway? Some kind of _love-beam magic _or some shit?"

"Don't be _stupid_. Love has_ nothing to do with it_." Ciel said while dragging Preston's unconscious body into an alley, motioning for the blonde to follow him with a nod of his head.

"A _**sex **__beam?!"_

_** "It is not!"**_ shouted the eye-patch-wearing gentleman as he swung the human boy over his shoulder. "Now _shut up!_ We have to get going! By the way, _how high can you jump?"_

"How can I answer that if I'm supposed to _'shut up'?"_

_ "Just answer the damn question!" _The blonde smiled at the bluenette's barking of orders without even thinking about them.

"Are you _kidding?_ I can jump _higher than Spring-heeled Jack!"_ Now it was the bluenette's turn to smirk. The blonde's smile faded a bit at the other demon's actions.

"Well then, you should have no trouble_ keeping up!" _Ciel said, turning and running away, with the blonde in pursuit after.

It was difficult moving around with Preston on his shoulder, but Ciel was still able to keep his lead against the Trancy boy. He ran across rooftops as to not be as easily seen by the many Londonites below, leaping across alleyways, across streets, and avoiding the occasional bird groups of birds who were simply sitting on top of the building, peacefully minding their own business. The bluenette was greatly amused by the fact that the blonde was having some difficulty keeping up-, or rather, Alois figured out that even if he did pass the other boy,_ he didn't know the way to get to their desired location_. Thus, he stayed behind by several metres.

The slight clicking of their shoes could be heard with every step they took, running high above the ground like some sort of assassin at dusk. The sun peeked over the horizon as it said "_good evening_" to the city, painting it a picture of various yellows, oranges, and reds all bended together as a parting gift. When they had began around noon, the collar had read "_eighty-one hours_", but now it was reading "_seventy-five hours_" and it still was ticking down towards zero. It would be a pain when Preston got tired and actually did require sleep. They would simply have to leave him and continue on their own, they assumed.

But first things first. _They had to save the girl._

They arrived on the lawn of the tower, making their way inside, once there, Ciel sat the Indian boy down on a bench before making an attempt to wake him. He knew that Alois would be able to think of a lie, or some kind of excuse as to how they got there so quickly. The Phantomhive boy raised his hand before using it to strike Preston's face; not hard enough to actually _hurt _him, but enough to startle him awake. The blonde menace snorted while _trying to contain a laugh _at the action, as the Omid boy jumped awake.

"Huh? Wha-? _Where am I?!"_ demanded the boy, waking up in a somewhat unfamiliar environment.

_ "What? _You seriously _don't remember?"_ Alois asked with faux-sincereity. "We're here to save the girl, _remember? _You totally_ fell asleep!"_ The Trancy boy was as smooth of a liar as ever, able to convince the boy with ease. It sounded to Ciel as though even he believed it himself, but the bluenette had another task to focus on, so he didn't linger on the thought for long.

"We have to hurry. Time's running out." said the Phantomhive boy. "It's a pretty big area, so we should probably split up to cover more ground. We all have each other's mobile numbers in case they run into trouble, right?"

"Yup! Got you on _speed-dial." _said Alois, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, I think so..." said Preston, rubbing his eyes. He couldn't quite figure out why, but they hurt for whatever reason.

"First one to find her wins!" shouted the blonde, before running off in some random direction. The remaining two followed suit and parted ways as well.

Now Ciel, being a demon who knows of his own abilities, knows how to detect _despair, doubt,_ _fear,_ and a plethora of other negative emotions in humans, even if they're far away. It's a natural ability used when finding _prey_, but in this case, he was going to use this ability to find a_ terrified little girl_. His instincts where telling him to go upward, into the tower itself.

He climbed the staircase, going ever upward to find this girl, before finally coming to a door that blocked his path. The scent of fear seemed to be coming from the other side, so he quickly reached for the handle and gave it a quick yank, only to discover that the door was locked. Without another moment's hesitation, he gave the door a hard kick, resulting in the heavy iron door to fly off of it's hinges. He heard a whimper at the sudden, loud sound, and quickly scanned the room to see there, tied in a chair with a collar around her neck, similar to the one on his friend, a young girl, who looked at least eight years old.

The girl was silent, for the most part, emitting only a few whimpers at the situation she was it. Her face was red, and the area underneath her eyes were puffy, as though she had been crying. The bluenette tore his eyes away from the girl to look across from her at a small table, and on it, an even smaller remote with a red button on it.

Quickly, he made his way over to it, and picked it up. Surely, this is the device that Simon had spoke of; the one that would disarm the explosives around the girl's neck, allowing him to remove it. Then again, the man who had put all of this together was obviously insane, and could very well have given him a _detonator_ instead. At this point, what choice did he have? The girl would die either way, _worst-case scenario_. The only difference was that _he would be the one to press the button,_ and he did _not_ need the guilt.

Ciel pulled out his phone and checked the time, in order to see how much was remaining until the collar exploded, decapitating the girl. It had been _nine minutes._ He had less than _one_ in order to make his decision. He looked to the girl again, at her hopeful eyes, overjoyed that she has a potential rescuer, and then he looked at the button in his hand once more. He braced himself, and he_ pressed the button._

_Nothing happened. _No explosion, _nothing. _There was not a single sound to be heard in that room at that very moment. The bluenette looked to the girl again, who simply looked at him confusedly, now. The lights on the collar had stopped blinking, and were no longer lit. Now he needed to check and see that those weren't the _only _things that were deactivated.

He turned to walk towards the girl, before crouching down in front of her. Slowly, he unfastened the device, and removed it, allowing a sigh of relief to escape his lips. He then untied the girl.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice uncharacteristically kind. The girl simply nodded in response. He then took out his phone, and contacted the others, sending both of them a text in order to tell them to meet him by the entrance. "Follow me. I'll lead you somewhere safe." he said, convincing the girl to go with him.

Down the stairs they went, the demon stopping every once and a while in order to wait for the young girl to catch up, and toward the entrance of the popular tourist attraction, now empty due to the time of day. The girl hid behind the bluenette when she saw the other two boys, only to back away from him when she looked at his face, which wore his usual disinterested expression. Alois crouched down to her level for a moment.

"Hi there!" he said in a friendly manner. "I'm Alois, this is Preston, and the _pirate is Ciel_. What's _your_ name?"

"_K-Katie..." _she said hesitantly, fidgeting with the edge of her shirt.

"Well, Katie, you're safe now!" Alois smiled. "We're gonna go find the bad guys who did this and_ beat the crap out of them!"_ His random spouting of rude words made the girl giggle, and more willing to follow them out into the courtyard, where they met a semi-familiar face.

Junior Detective Constable Smith was standing there next to her car, in her odd, suit-dress and high heels, the sun being visible in some places through her long, curly hair. She looked as though she had been waiting on the boys. As soon as she saw them, she quickly rushed over to them.

"Oh, good heavens, you're all still alright!" she said. "I was afraid something terrible happened when none of you checked in."

"_Everything is fine." _said Ciel, quickly glancing at Preston who rubbed his head at the familiar utterance of the phrase. "We've just had our hands full with running back and forth around the city. So, _what exactly are __**you **__here for, Detective?"_ Smith seemed to look a bit uncomfortable at the question.

"I'm investigating a _missing child_ report." she said. "Her name is _Katie Grey. _Someone said that they saw her near here." The boys all looked at the small girl that they had just rescued.

"That sound like you?" asked the blonde. "Is your last name _'Grey'?"_ The girl nodded.

_ "I_ _want to go home..." _she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"If you go with this police lady, she'll help you find your parents so you can, okay?" said Preston, offering the girl a smile.

"Of course I will." said Smith with a smile of her own. "Don't you worry about a thing. We'll have you back home in no time, alright?" The girl still looked unsure if it's alright to really leave the safety of her saviors. Next, it was Ciel who crouched down and spoke to her.

"You need to find your parents and go home." he said. "That's_ your mission _right now. We have _a mission of our own_, at the moment." He smiled. "You're a strong girl. I know you can do it."

"Okay..." replied the little girl, looking down at her feet for a moment before looking the boy in the eye again, this time her face was determined. "You do what you gotta do, _mister pirate!"_

Alois had to cover his mouth from laughing at the child's words, much to Ciel's annoyance. The bluenette stood up and shot his companion a glare that recommended that he not cross the Phantomhive boy as Katie got into Detective Smith's car. The boys were silent until they drove off, at which point the blonde could no longer contain himself.

_ "Bwaha-haha! 'Mister pirate'!_ She called you..._ 'mister pirate'! _Oh, that's _awesome!" _he said between fits of giggles and laughter. He clutched his sides in a vain attempt to quell it before getting punched in the shoulder by the bluenette.

_ "Shut up." _said Ciel, pulling out the walkie-talkie. He pressed the button in order to contact Simon for their next task. "The girl is safe, Simon. _We didn't fail."_

"Oh, but you _did._" said the voice over the radio. "As penalty, there will be a _two-hour reduction_."

* * *

**A/N: Wat.  
**

**Once again, I had stuff to say here, and once again, I forgot what it was...**

**Well, whatever... I'm tired and I have a bunch of Chemistry homework to do before Monday...**

**I might not update more than once tomorrow. Just a heads up. **

**I actually typed the answers to a few other of your questions, but they made this WAY too long. **

**I'll put them in in the next chapter! Promise!**

**Until then, mah duckehs.**

* * *

_CHARACTER SHET._

_Question: **"I have an amazing question that all the members of the Seven Sins must give SPECIFIC answers to! Bahaha.**  
** Go read a rated M fanfiction between two homosexual teenage boys from one of your favourite movies/books/animes/anything - what are your reactions?"** by Canadian Hero  
_

_Alois' Reaction: "That's pretty **hot**, actually... Now this, I can** read!** Thank you for providing me with yet another reason for me to remember to clear my internet history... Johnlock, **oh yes**..."-_

_Ciel's Reaction: "... I really have nothing to say here... That's just... wow... uhm... What? No, it does not **'give me ideas'!** Whatever gave you **that** implication?! I'm not a **pervert** like **Alois!** *dodgy eyes*"_

_Kristopherson's Reaction: "Oh my... Could-, could I be **excused** for a moment? **I need to use the restroom**..."_

_Audrey's Reaction: "Well, that's sure... **different**. It's pretty embarrassing to read, I'll give you that, but other than that, I'm pretty indifferent. **To each their own."**_

_Daniel's Reaction: "W-wh-what?! '**It' goes WHERE?!** That's how they-?! No... No... NO! I can't! **I CAN'T WATCH TV** **EVER AGAIN!"**_

_Preston's Reaction:__"I will never be able to watch STAR TREK** ever again!** I won't be able to look Ciel, Alois, or Kristopherson in the eye again, either..."**  
_

_Travis' Reaction: "...That's not right..."_

_**Footnote: ALL of them had a hard time looking at those three after answering this question, except for said three._


	165. To The Max

_ "What?!" _demanded the bluenette_. "How did we fail?!" _He looked over at Preston's collar, to see that the timer had gone from seventy-five hours to seventy-three. In that instant, all of the blood from the Indian boy's face vanished.

"_You broke the rules_." said Simon. "I said that you _aren't allowed to have help, _yet _you let the detective take the girl off your hands_. Therefore, you_ failed_."

"What were we _supposed to _do with her, then? Leave her?" Ciel asked, gritting his teeth.

"_Beats me. _You could've _figured it out." _said the voice over the handheld radio. "No one likes a _sore loser, _mister Phantomhive."

"A sore _what?! You're _the only one who is going to _lose _in the end, Simon." threatened the boy.

"Oh, I'm positively _shaking_." mocked the voice over the phone. Ciel could hear the smile in the man's voice. "Simon says that for your next task, _you must solve a puzzle_ of mine. In six hours, a bomb will go off in the city, killing hundreds. Simon says that your task is to _find it_, and put a _stop this from happening_. I'll give you a hint: It is in a place that is_ constantly moving_, only to _stop_ every once in a while. _It isn't in plain sight_, yet_ hundreds see it every day_. Good luck, mister Phantomhive. Have a_ good night's rest_." With that, it finally registered to him what time of day it was.

The sun was barely visible over the horizon now as the day began to come to a close. When did that happen? He looked to the human boy, who by this time looked utterly exhasted, gaining no actual rest from his forced sleep from before. The bluenette decided that it was time for him to call it a day.

"Let's go home." he said to the others, finally. "Preston, you rest while Alois and I solve this puzzle."

"Huh? But _don't you need sleep too?" _asked the drowsy human boy.

"We're used to _staying up and solving puzzles_. This is _nothing_." said Alois, putting his hands in his pockets as he fabricated a lie. His ability to pull lies out of nowhere and say them as though he, himself believes them was a useful skill, indeed.

"If _Daniel_ were here, he would've turned that into something _dirty_." said the Indian boy, yawning.

"Well, there's plenty of _that _too_."_ replied the blonde, earning a glare from the bluenette. Alois simply shrugged it off as he always did, finding the boy's glares nonthreatening as of late.

Ciel pulled out his mobile and called for a Taxi to take them to his estate, while Preston informed his now _practically hysteric_ parents where he was going to be for the evening, them being informed of his situation by the police, since he's a minor. Preston didn't like hearing his mother cry, but there was really nothing he could do about it. The boy stayed on the phone, not stopping even when the taxi arrived and they climbed in, as he tried to get the woman to calm down, insisting that he was going to be perfectly alright. He wasn't entirely sure if he believed it himself, but what was important to him at the moment was that his parents weren't worried. The demonic duo sat in silence the entire time, feeling a little guilty for eavesdropping on the conversation, and feeling a bit of jealousy for the human's relationship with his parents.

They stared out the window on their side of the car; Ciel in the window seat and Alois in the middle while Preston was on the blonde's other side. While they didn't like lingering on the past, they simply couldn't help it, on occasion. Eventually, their hands somewhat found themselves with their fingers intertwined with those of their companion's in some odd, unconscious attempt to ease both their minds. As of late, they have found thoughts like these coming to the forefront of their minds, as their hearts were no longer completely numb to their pasts. It was quite unsettling to them. It was as though they were both just now beginning to mourn the deaths of their loved ones over a hundred years late. Finally, Preston managed to get off the phone with his mother, just as they were pulling up to the front of the manor. He felt even more tired than he did before, now. Fortunately for him, he would get to sleep soon.

They paid the driver and went inside, doing their best to ignore the wolf-girl's nosing around at the smell of explosives, informing her not to worry. While Preston found this odd, he wasn't entirely in the mindset to worry about it at the moment, as he was lead to a guest bedroom, where he immediately collapsed on the bed and drifting off to sleep. Ciel was sure to give the servants specific instructions to ignore the boy in hopes that they wouldn't accidentally break the "no outside help" rule that Simon had so annoyingly set in place.

Meanwhile, the demonic duo retreated to the bluenette's office, where they made an attempt to unlock the meaning of the radio-man's words. Alois was seated on the massively uncomfortable couch in the lad's office, borrowing the boy's laptop while he worked on this, playing around on the fascinating "Google-maps" thing that Preston had used at various points throughout the day, zooming in and zooming out of the satellite photo of their residence, and tracing the route they took to school every day and the like. Ciel, however, sat behind his desk on his office computer, working on his own.

Something was bothering Ciel. Something that didn't sit right with him. Instead of focusing on the puzzle Simon had given them, he found himself digging around in the police databases in an attempt to set his mind at ease. The question that ate at him so, was: "_Was Detective Smith telling the truth at the tower? Was she really there investigating a case?"_ It all seemed a tad bit _too coincidental_ to him.

He dug around and discovered that she, in fact, had been working on a "_missing-child investigation"_ like she had claimed, right down to the name of the small girl who was missing. The odd thing was, however, her claim that there was a witness who had seen the young girl near the Tower of London simply didn't add up. _There were no accounts of any sort of witnesses at all._ How did she know that the girl was going to be there?

He was broken from his trance by the blonde setting the laptop down in front of him. Alois pointed to a spot on the screen, where he had Google-maps pulled up. Ciel expected him to be pointing out some sort of nonsense, but to his surprise, when he saw the blonde's face, it was completely serious.

"Hey Ciel," said the Trancy boy, "I was playing around on this thing, and_ I think I have an idea for what the answer might be."_

"Alright, let's hear it." said the bluenette, folding his hands on the desk in front of him as he stared at the blonde with piqued interest.

"Well, Simon said that it _'wasn't in plain sight, yet hundreds of people see it every day'..." _Alois began, quoting the madman. "...And I was tracing the route we took today, and wondered: _could he mean a metro station?"_ Ciel raised his eyebrows in surprise. Alois Trancy really was worthy of being "The Queen's Spider" after all, it would seem.

"Yes..." said Ciel, standing up. "...That would also explain why he said it _'constantly moving, but stops every once and a while.' _The trains_ have to stop in order to pick up and drop off passengers!"_

_"_Yeah, but there's just _one problem..."_ Alois said. "..._Which train is it? _He didn't give us any other hints..."

"Well, we know that all of the places so far have been_ around one general area_, so it could be assumed that the trains will pass underneath there, so that should narrow it down." Ciel said. Then, he smiled. "As for finding the _right one_..." he said, his eye glowing crimson. "...I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be too difficult for_ two demons to pull off in the dead of night_."

"You're not trying to use your _freaky 'sex beam'_ on me, are you?" the blonde joked at his companion's gesture.

"No, now is not the time for that. _We can experiment with that later_." Ciel retorted, walking around the desk. He smiled at the blush on the blonde's face. "I'm only_ joking_." he said with a chuckle.

"How do_ I _know that? You're a_ massive pervert _underneath that cool, indifferent exterior, you know."

"I blame you. Let's get going. We can probably really let loose on this one."

"Ooh~! _Demon-power to the max_, huh? Sounds _fun!"_ the blonde menace said, following the bluenette to the door. They left the manor and disappeared into the night. They had a train to catch.

* * *

**A/N: I love the word "Metro" for some reason, and I don't really know why... I also like referring to one's cellphone as a "mobile", just because it sounds odd. Dem words, yo. **

**There's a question for me? Why, you shouldn't have! (But please do~!)**

**Question: "How long does it ussually take for you to write your chapters?" by Wooimmafow1305**

**Answer:****It all really depends on how good I'm feeling about writing that day. It could take me anywhere from_ less than half an hour_, to_ all afternoon._ Usually it takes around two, to three hours, I think, and that's with (an ass-ton of) distractions.**

**THIS. GIRL. IS ON FIIIIIIIIIIRE~!**

**Okay, sorry... I had to do it...**

**Oh! I had a question for _you_ guys! **

**Which of the seven do you ship together the strongest? (aside from Ciel and Alois, of course)**

**I think I've asked this before, but I don't remember what the responses were. My memory is just AWESOME~!**

**Also, two of the users who asked questions this round have the word "Jellyfish" in there usernames. DEM JELLIES. Is it coincidence, or is it FATE?**

**Has anyone seen Princess Jellyfish, by the way? That show is da bomb.**

**Until the next chapter, my precious little duckies~!**

* * *

**_CHARACTER SHET_  
**

_Question: **"Ciel, aren't you getting hungry? You haven't made a contract ever since you resurrected Alois, or does Sebastian find souls for you?"** by bluejellyfishOuO_

Answer by Ciel: "Not really. Demons can go up to about a hundred years without eating, and the last time I ate a soul was right before summoning Alois. It's only been a year and a half, so It'll be a while since I really start to feel hunger pains."

Question: **"Two questions, bother for Alois: First off, WHERE THE HELL IS STEVE, DAMNIT? He just freaking poofed away! Did you EAT him or sumptin?! Second off, Alois have you ever /dressed/ up for Ciel *wink wink* (if yah know what I mean ;)"** by jellyfish'confetti

Answer by Alois: "His name is 'STEVEN', knaive! He's still around. He's just in my room. At work and at school is no place to be toting around a stuffed platypus, you know? I still sleep with him when I'm not in Ciel's bed. (Whoa, that sounded suggestive...) And as for your second question: I do sometimes wear a skirt just to mess with Ciel, sometimes. Though he does have a **'favourite'** pair of short-shorts that I wear. They're a little shorter than usual, and much easier to take off. (If you know what I mean~)"

=

Question: **"I have a question for Audrey! Where'd you get your clothes? You got a killer style!"** by SisterOfScarletDevil

Answer by Audrey: "I by a lot of stuff online. You can find some pretty cool stuff if you look hard enough. There's also a bunch of quirky weird stores around town I go to sometimes, but it's mostly the intergoogles."

=

_Question: **"Audrey are you bi?!"** by Cheshire Lucky_

_Answer by Audrey:__"Nope."_


	166. Ninjas Of The Metro

London, England; Now, the city that the lads had scurried all over in an attempt to solve Simon's riddles and complete his tasks was no longer the same beautiful spectrum of reds and yellows that it was before. The city now is veiled in a coat of blueish black, with not a single star in the sky to be visible from the brightly-lit ground, but it isn't the sky, nor is it the ground that we are concerned about on this particular evening. No, it is beneath the ground in the many subway tunnels beneath the streets that we focus on, as danger lurks on one of those many, many, trains.

Shadows lurked within the darkness, shifting, and crawling, and running while remaining invisible under the cover of night and within the darkness of the tunnels. Every once and a while, however, a faint red glow could be visible, and sometimes a purple one as well. The red and purple spots were _eyes_ and they continuously got closer and closer to the rear of the subway train that was coursing through this particular tunnel. Black claws attached to a pale hand reached out and latched onto the train, as the demon's companion did the same with his own. They climbed up and crouched down on the roof of the train, making sure they didn't sit up too straight in order to avoid the rapidly moving ceiling that could most likely scalp them should either one accidentally touch it.

Alois had his eyes clenched shut, as cool wind hit his face, that in his current form, would cause him to _freeze to death_ had he not been a demon. He wasn't used to the speed at which they were traveling, and the whole experience was both exciting and terrifying. Finally, he forced himself to speak.

_ "You're going to have to show me how to do this, real quick!"_ he shouted over the noise in the tunnel in hopes that the bluenette demon could hear him. He still wasn't entirely sure how to do all of the things that Ciel could, and wasn't sure how helpful he would be in this situation. He needed the other boy to give him some instruction in order for this to work.

"Alright, pay attention!" Ciel shouted back. "_Watch carefully! I'm going to put a small amount of energy into this cable, which will temporarily cause the lights to go out! When that happens, I'm going to sneak on, and search the train before the lights come back on! Got it?"_

"Yeah, I got_ that _bit!" replied the blonde demon. _"But how exactly do you search the train so quickly?"_

_ "You use your sixth sense."_ said the bluenette. "Demons have a very strong sixth _sense_, and if used correctly, _it can act as sort of a radar for misfortune_."

"So you _use your gut? That doesn't sound very reliable!"_

"It _is. _You just clear your mind of everything, and let your senses guide you in that direction." Ciel wrapped his fingers around the cable that he was talking about. "_Let me show you."_ He clenched his fist, forced his own demonic force into the cable. While it was hard to _see,_ the other demon could_ sense _it._ Perhaps this is what the bluenette was talking about_.

Suddenly, the lights went out, causing the passengers on the train to cry out in alarm. The screeching of the brakes assaulted the boys' eardrums, echoing throughout the tunnel as the cars tried to slow down, out of safety protocol. Everything was dark.

Alois blinked, closing his eyes for only a moment before opening them again to see that his companion had vanished. He wasn't entirely afraid, due to the fact that demons can still see in the dark, yet found being alone in the darkness slightly unsettling. He didn't question at all as to where the bluenette had gone. The blonde could _sense_ him running about in the car below him. In his dazed state, he had unintentionally used his _sixth sense_.

The Trancy lad snapped back to reality when Ciel reappeared, and the lights came back on, causing the train to move again. The bluenette looked disappointed, yet held a gun in his hand. He sighed.

"There was nothing on there but a _concealed weapon_." he said, as the train began to pick up speed. "_Do you think you can handle that?"_

"Let me try on the_ next _one." said Alois. The fair-haired lad wasn't entirely confident his abilities. Should something go wrong for him, he would definitely need Ciel's help. "_If I think I got it_, we can split up _then_, alright?"

"Sounds good to me. We still have _over four hours left_. If each train only takes a few minutes like this one, we should be done_ with time to spare_."

"_A'ight!_ Let's do it!"

With that, they made a daring leap off of the fast-moving train, disappearing into darkness again. The sounds of their feet hitting the below ground echoed, and they quickly made their way to their next stop. Ciel had printed a map of the tunnels, as well as a schedule, so they would know exactly where the train they were looking for was heading. Each of them had one of these on them for when they separated. They went left, then they went right, and before long, the bluenette slowed down his pace to look more carefully at his map.

"I don't understand..." he said. "_It should be coming this way any minute!"_

"Uhm, Ciel?" spoke the blonde, nervously, putting his hand on the other lad's shoulder for his attention. "Is it just me, or did it just get a whole lot _brighter?"_ Ciel turned to see that Alois had found their train, or rather, _the train _had found _them._

With cat-like reflexes, they leaped just in time, placing themselves horizontal to the ground in between the train and the ceiling, avoiding the train while boarding it, and nearly giving the driver a heart-attack all at the same time. Obviously, sixth sense_ didn't work _when you were deep in thought, or the bluenette was simply too focused on the task at hand. They located the wire that Ciel had used to shut off the lights on the previous train, and Alois placed his hand over it, mimicking the steps that Ciel had taken before.

He gave it a jolt of energy, causing the lights to go out. The familiar sound of passengers screaming and brakes screeching gave the blonde a sense of deja-vu. With his first step taken, he had to move onto the next, and make his way inside the train. He had an incredibly uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, but shoved it to the back of his mind, before wiping it clean of any thought whatsoever.

Suddenly, he felt his nerves go haywire for a moment, causing him to automatically dodge the attack of a frightened passenger. He could see the passenger, but the passenger couldn't see him, save for his glowing, red eyes. He quickly fled and made his way to another part of the train, finding nothing that really sparked his senses again. The lights flickered, giving him the indication that he should leave. Alois fled the scene, returning to the bluenette's side, on the roof.

"I couldn't find anything." he said, feeling defeated. "You might wanna do a quick run-through to see if I missed it. Just in case."

"It should be fine._ I'm _not sensing anything from this train." the bluenette said with a smirk. "That was just a _test."_

"You're such an _ass,_ you know that?"

"Quit complaining. We've still got a few more stops..." the bluenette trailed off as the train started to slow down as it approached the next station. "Get down!" he said, shoving the back of the blonde's head so that he would duck before doing the same himself. Neither of them wanted to be seen by the late-night travelers. He stared down at them from their hiding spot, anxious to see whether or not they'll be seen.

_"Ciel_..." the blonde said in a whisper, causing the bluenette to look in his direction. "Do you feel _that?"_

The bluenette looked confused as to what the blonde was talking about before seeing the expression on Alois' face. His eye were wide and he had the apparent look of concern and worry. Ciel took a moment to clear his thoughts in order to sense what the blonde was talking about. It was obvious that it had to do with this new group of passengers.

Then, he felt it; _The danger._ He quickly scanned around the crowd of faces that were waiting for the train to be inspected for a reason for it's sudden power-outage in order to find the source of this new feeling. With all of the people there, it was like finding a needle in a haystack, but he had ability on his side, narrowing down the results. The bluenette zeroed in on one woman in particular, with a suit-dress and a briefcase, long, curly auburn hair, and a solemn expression. He was even more disturbed to see who it was.

It was _Junior Detective Constable, Karen Smith._

At last, the passengers were let on the train, and everyone simply filed in, Smith among them, and soon afterward, the train took off again. After going a bit of distance, the bluenette grabbed hold of the wire that Alois had used before, sparking confusion in the blonde.

"What are you doing?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "I thought you said this train was fine?"

"I did, but that was until the last batch of passengers got on." the bluenette replied. "Change of plans: this time, when the lights go out, and we board, we will _change back into 'humans' _and talk to Detective Smith."

"Why? Do you still think she's _involved?"_

_ "Naturally." _And with the utterance of that word, the lights went out again. The usual sounds of this occurrence echoed throughout the tunnel, and this time, both boys boarded the train, becoming "humans" again under the shroud of complete darkness. When the lights came back on, no one was any the wiser to the two extra passengers on board the train. Ciel saw the detective and made his way towards her with the blonde following behind him.

"Good evening, Detective." he said to the woman, causing her to jump in surprise.

_ "Phantomhive?" _she said, looking at the lad in confusion. "What are _you _doing here?" She seemed nervous, her eyes darting around the general vicinity of the boy, but never quite focusing on his face.

"Working on that case, of course, and _you?"_ asked the eye-patch-wearing demon with an unusually friendly smile.

"Oh, I was just... _on my way home_." she said, speaking as though she almost didn't know herself.

"Instead of beating around the bush, how about I simply_ ask you directly?"_

"I-I don't know what you mean..."

"The _briefcase_._ You didn't have it with you whenever we saw you today_. Where did you_ get _it? Or rather..." the bluenette paused, gauging the woman's response. _"...What's in it?"_ Smith hesitated before answering. Shakily, she whispered shakily:

"I_... I don't know... _honestly, I _don't_..."

"What do you mean, _'you don't know'?" _asked the boy.

"I _can't_ tell you... If I _could, _I would, but..."

Then it dawned on Ciel. _That's_ how Simon knew where they were, and what they were doing. _That's_ why Preston was found with a collar on the _same day _that the body was found. The answer was obvious. It had been staring him in the face the entire time.

"_Give me the briefcase_, Detective." he said firmly, holding out his hand.

"I can't! I-if I do... I'll..." the woman's voice cracked, and tears began to build up in her eyes.

"_I know._ But if you don't, _everyone on this train will die_, Karen." the boy argued. Motioning to the oblivious bystanders around them. Suddenly, the blonde boy snatched the case from her hands, and opened it.

_Explosives. _The container was filled to the brim with _explosives_. He shut it back quickly before anyone else saw. The detective simply stood there, shocked and speechless on what she was about to do. She was not the only one in danger. She had put _the lives of others _in danger as well. The three of them stood in silence as the train began to slow down again. Passengers began to get off at the next stop, snapping them back to their senses.

"Uh... Guys? I don't think suitcases are supposed to _beep..."_ commented the blonde on the "_beeping_" sound that the container now made.

"It's a _countdown_..." said the bluenette. "It's in _response to being opened!"_

_ "Oops..."_ the blonde said before having his arm yanked by the bluenette. He dragged him off the train and out of the station, pausing for a moment before thinking about where to dispose of the briefcase. He furrowed his brow as he thought, when suddenly, Alois shouted.

"_The river_!" he said, pointing at the Thames. "_Throw it in the river!"_

_ "Let's go!"_ Ciel nearly barked back, before tugging on the other boy's arm again.

They ran as fast as they could, evading people on the sidewalk and cars alike as they ran out into speeding traffic in order to make their beeline to the river. As the water got closer, and closer, the beeping got faster and faster, but no matter how fast they ran, it didn't seem like they were ever going to make it in time before the blonde had his arm blown off from being the one holding onto the device. Finally, he stopped, digging his feet into the dirt while getting a good, strong stance. He cocked back his arm, and _threw the briefcase as hard as he could in the general direction of the large body of water._

It landed with a splash, and then, all was quiet but for the sound of waves. A light could be seen in the spot that the case landed, and the waves shifted ever so slightly. A muted _boom _was heard by only the demonic duo, they being the one's closest to it. With a sigh of relief, the lad's sat down and caught their breath, laughing a bit at the silliness of their disposal methods.

They hesitated before contacting Simon. Did they break the "no help rule?" Did they not "dispose of" the explosives in the way he wanted? Maybe Preston was already dead as they sat there, executed by the madman because they had tried to get information out of the detective. These thoughts weighed _heavily_ on their minds.

Just as they were about to push the button to call, a Taxi pulled up onto the side of the road before driving away, dropping off a passenger. The boy's looked up to see Detective Smith looking down at them over the railing. She immediately began to run around it and climb down the steep hill at which the lads sat at the bottom of, and they simply waited for her to do so, standing up as she got closer.

"Hey!" she called after them. "Did you get rid of the bomb?"

"Yeah! It's in the river!" Alois shouted back. "It went _'boom'!"_

"I'm pretty sure throwing bombs into rivers is _illegal, _so I'll just _pretend I didn't hear that_, mister Trancy." the woman replied. The blonde menace stuck his tongue out in response.

"_Bringing explosives onto trains is illegal as well, _detective." Ciel said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I assume that you had_ no knowledge _of the contents of the briefcase, correct?"

"_Right..." _Smith said, looking down at the grass. She didn't want to make eye contact with the boy, and without anything else to say, she simply remained silent.

"You _know _him, don't you?" asked the bluenette. "You look like you're _hiding _something." The woman looked up, eyes wide at what the boy had just said.

"_I can't tell you_..." she replied weakly. "I just _can't..."_

_"I understand." _said the Phantomhive boy. "If you say anything, you'll only end up _dead."_

"It's not _just _that, you know." Smith muttered. "I _care_ about him, you know? I don't want to see him get in trouble. After all, _we are family_..."

A long _beep_ sounded off, and the eyes of all three detectives widened as they knew what it meant. The collar that had been around the detective's neck went off, separating her head from her body. The woman's head and neck became burnt and mangled where they had connected, and bits of tissue and blood went flying, painting a similar pattern to the one found on the bridge onto the grass. Ciel wrapped his arms around Alois, shielding him from the blast with his back, only to end up staining his coat with rogue droplets of the crimson substance. They couldn't bear to look at the body, the blonde hiding his eyes in the bluenette's neck so that he wouldn't see.

"You didn't need to shield me, you know..." Alois said into the boy. _"I _was going to shield _you_, actually."

"My _reaction time _is better than yours." the bluenette said back. While he was trying to joke, he didn't smile. He didn't even smirk. He just stood there, holding the blonde for a moment longer before letting go in order to pull out his phone.

"Who're you texting?" the fair-haired teen asked his eye-patched companion.

_ "Detective Bailey. I'm informing him about Smith's death." _replied the bluenette, knowing that the blonde was watching him type. The blonde smiled a bit at the message, understanding immediately what the other boy was _actually _doing. When he was done, Ciel put his phone away and replaced it in his hand with the walkie-talkie. He pressed the button.

"We've disposed of your bomb, for you." he said flatly. "_What is your next task?"_

"You're not even going to _mourn the death _of your _coworker? _That's _cold." _said the voice over the radio. Ciel would have remarked about how killing your family members is  
"cold" as well, had Preston not still been in danger. "Very well, then. Simon says that now, you must find the _giant, ornamental egg_. Good luck!"

Oh, when would this ever end?

* * *

**A/N: Oh shi-...  
**

**This was a long one, huh? Over 3,000 words! I'm surprised I did that so quickly. It has to be a new record, since I messed around watching _Code Geass_ before sitting down to type.**

**Oh hey, did you know? The "bootyshorts" that Alois is famous for, were only worn in only one or two episodes that he appeared in. The rest of the time, he wears pants. (or a skirt) Weird, huh? Just thought I'd throw that out there.**

**Now watch as someone proves me wrong~! "You forgot about the episode when..." Yeah... Yeah, I know...**

**To answer _Canadian Hero's_ question on "What does Kristohperson look like", you can find pictures of the seven on my deviantart page. Type "wimpyninja" and then a "dot" before the address, and it'll take you straight there. Promise!**

**OR I could just describe him.**

** Kristopherson stands at 5'6'', with a somewhat slender, girly build, brown eyes, and eyebrows (since he doesn't bleach those). His hair is blonde, with the brown roots showing, and is parted straight down the middle. His bangs being the longest part of his hair, which is somewhat short in the back. He can often be wearing pink, in boy's or girl's clothing,_ if he's at home_. His jaw is also slightly more angular than the faces of the demonic duo, who's faces are more rounded. He's also a tsundere, so expect tsundere-ish expressions on his face.  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET.  
**_

_Question: **"Does Ciel let Sebastian make a contract with a human, or does Ciel make a contract and lets Sebastian have the soul sometimes?"** by bluejellyfishOuO_

_Answer __by__ Sebast__ian: __"Demons can hold more than one contract at a time, so the young master allows me to be 'borrowed' on occasion, only able to make weaker contracts with prey. Humans these days just aren't as vengeful as they were, either. It's somewhat disappointing..."_

_Question: **"If Audry isn't bi... Is he gay?"** by FreezeinWinter_

_Answer by Audrey:__"Nope... I like girls..."  
_

_Question: **"Also a question for the sins what is your favourite book, food, and drink?"** by Cheshire Lucky*  
_

_Ciel's Answer: _

_Book: "The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle _

_Food: Cake_

_Drink: Earl Grey_

_Alois' Answer:_

_Book: "Fifty Shades Of Grey" by E.L. James... Haha! Just kidding! I **hate** reading...  
_

_Food: Fish n' Chips_

_Drink: SODA. Any kind, really. Except root beer. 'Just don't like the way it tastes..._

_*Continued in the next chapter. So sorry! THEY ALL RAN AWAY AFTER THE LAST QUESTION THEY WERE ASKED.  
_


	167. Ciel Says

More time had passed than what Simon felt the demonic duo needed. He started to become worried, since he now no longer had his eyes, Detective Smith, to report what they were doing. The man sat by his computer, clicking around on this and that, while waiting to be answered. He contemplated simply setting the bomb off, but what if he did that, and his worries were simply nothing? Then he wouldn't have his favourite playmate to send running around the city. He sat there, in his boxers and a beat-up T-shirt, waiting around one in the morning for the bluenette to radio in. He waited, he waited, and he waited. Minutes seemed like hours; hours seemed like years, but at long last he heard the crackling sound of the walkie-talkie. He rushed over, picking it up and placing the object to his ear with a big, wicked, smile.

"Is it _City Hall?" _asked the bluenette.

"Correct." Simon said, unaware that it was actually the Trancy boy who found the answer.

They were scrolling through pictures of famous buildings in London on Google, and the blonde stopped and pointed his finger at it. The building hardly looked like an "ornamental egg" to the bluenette. Perhaps it was just too abstract for the boy to see. The man smiled wider, happy that his playmate hadn't lost interest.

"Are you ready for the next question?" he asked, eagerly waiting for the boy to say "_yes_". This reply, however, never came. Ciel smirked himself a bit at what he was about to do.

"May I ask _you_ a question first, Simon?" he asked politely, making sure his tone sounded indifferent. "Never-mind,_ Ciel says _that you _must_." Simon furrowed his brow and waited. He wasn't going to press the detonator yet. No, he didn't want to accidentally ruin his own fun.

"Tell me, _who lives in apartment 42C on the second floor of the Brompton apartment complex on King's Road?"_ asked the bluenette, unable to conceal the smirk in his voice at this point. Simon's eye went wide, and he began to sweat. He stumbled his way into the living room and stared at the door."I found something _very interesting _there. Would you like to know what it is?"

The man jumped when he heard a soft knock at his door. It didn't sound incredibly dutiful, or even sure if it were the right address, so there was no way it could be the police. He knew that the proud boy wouldn't knock in such a fashion. He took a moment to compose himself, before unlocking it, telling himself that it's only someone looking for a different apartment, or a package, or something as he slowly turned the handle. He let out a shout in surprise as he saw two boys dressed in dark suits standing there, one blonde, and the other with hair of a peculiar shade of blueish black, who had a walkie-talkie pressed up against his ear. Both lad's smirked at the man.

"_That's correct,_ Simon. I found _you_." said the bluenette. Ciel simply let himself in, his blonde companion in tow, as Simon scrambled to his feet and ran back to his desk, picking up a small remote.

"So, you found me?! Big deal! I've still got an_ ace _up my sleeve!" declared the man, holding the device out in the boys' view. "_Simon says forget everything! _As soon as you _squeal to the cops, _your friend goes_ 'bye-bye'!"_ He smiled, glaring straight into the bluenette's eye in order to stare him down, but he immediately lost all confidence in his ability to do so when the boy's sapphire eye began to glow crimson. When he saw that, he simply couldn't look away, or even think of anything else. It was as though he was bewitched by that eye.

"_Wrong."_ corrected the demon. He spoke with dignified authority when giving his orders. "_Ciel says _that you will _disarm the bomb_."

As soon as that was said, Simon dropped the remote before getting on his computer, dazed in the way that he moved. His eyes were open, reflecting the light from the computer monitor in the dark room, yet it didn't appear that he was really seeing anything. Alois watched him closely as the man absent-mindedly clicked around on the program that he had designed to set the bombs off, as well as arm and disarm them remotely. Simon mover the mouses' cursor over the Indian boy's signal, and clicked "disarm" before snapping out of his trance. When he did, he shouted in alarm and jumped up, knocking his chair over backwards.

"Wh-wh-wh-what did you _do _to me?!" he asked, in a panicked sort of manner.

"That's classified." said the bluenette. "You, _Simon Smith, brother _of Junior Detective Constable _Karen Smith_, _now deceased_, are _under arrest_." Ciel motioned for the blonde to move in, and tackle the man to the ground. Alois turned the man face-down and forced his arms behind his back, twisting them when Simon made a move to resist. The full-grown man in his mid-thirties was strangely helpless against a boy who looked no older than _fifteen_.

"Would you like to hear what all charges you're being booked for?" Ciel asked with a smile, enjoying every moment of this. He pulled a piece of paper out of his suit's breast pocket and began reading it aloud. "_Kidnapping, assault, assault on a minor, assault on a police officer, murder in the first degree, murder of a police officer, terroristic threatening, terrorism, disturbing the peace,_ and the list goes on. You will be tried for every single one of your victims, only Simon, and with_ the evidence we have here_, you'll probably be sentenced for _life_."

"That's_ too good _for him." Alois said, keeping the criminal pinned down. "Why not the _capital punishment?"_

_ "_The capital punishment was abolished in the twentieth-century. I still think even that's too good for him." said the bluenette boy, placing the scrap of paper back in his pocket. "In all honesty, I think it would be fitting for him to be _forced to go through the same fear and despair that his victims did._ That's just not _'justice' _these days, unfortunately_."_

"Wait a minute! _Just who are you kids!?_ You're not _cops!"_ demanded the man on the floor. He propped his face up on his chin in order to look up at the bluenette. "_What are you?!"_

"_Demons." _the bluenette said finally. "Demons from _Britain's underworld_, here to deliver you to your life in purgatory." He pulled up a chair and sat down, as though he were bored. "We're sure that Scotland Yard is just dying to meet you. Once the police arrive, you won't be our problem anymore."

_ "You told the police where I live?!" _demanded the man. "You broke the rules! _Simon said 'no help'!"_

"_Of course we did._ Did you honestly think that we wouldn't _take advantage _of you loosing your _'eyes'?_"

"How _childish_." the blonde mused. "In every game, once the_ rule-maker's _back is turned, _anyone _would be willing to _cheat!_ That's just how life works."

"How did you do it?" asked Simon. "How did you find out where I live? I was so careful!"

_ "Wrong. _You _weren't."_ Ciel said, folding his arms and looking down at the man. "Your 'eyes' were your biggest weakness. The very fact that you used _your own sister _as a tool proved to be your Achilles' heel. She said that the bomber was _'family'_ before you killed her. After she was gone, and no one was there to watch us, I sent a text to_ my butler_, telling him to look into her family and present anything of interest_ under the guise _of messaging Detective Bailey about his coworker's demise. The fact that you used _'Simon says' _as your _calling card _made it obviously you. You just _happen_ to have the_ same name? _It wasn't that difficult at all. You really aren't as_ intelligent _as you _thought _you were."

Simon gritted his teeth and furrowed his brow, internally kicking himself for miscalculating. He simply wanted to show his sister that he wasn't a "_deadbeat" _like she often accused him of being. That was the only reason why he even involved her. She was _always _the better one; better at everything they did. She had better looks, better grades, better athletic abilities, and just once, Simon wanted to prove that he was every bit as _brilliant _as she was. Ciel was right. Perhaps he really wasn't as smart as he thought he was. Suddenly, he tried to force all of his strength into his limbs, and free himself, only to wince at the feeling of being slammed back down to the floor by the blonde demon boy.

"Careful! You might make me accidentally break your arm!" Alois said with mock-concern. "You also don't want to add _'resisting arrest' _to your list of charges, do you?"

Eventually, the police arrived, allowing the blonde to release Simon, only for the man to be handcuffed and stuffed into a police car. They confiscated the man's computer, and various other pieces of incriminating evidence. Ciel was busily sending a text to Sebastian, telling him that it was safe to forcibly remove Preston's collar without fear of causing it to detonate, as Detective Bailey walked up to him, smoking a cigarette. The boy sent his message before placing the object in his pocket, turning his attention to Bailey.

"Good evening." Ciel greeted the tired-looking man. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your sleep, detective, but I wanted to get this wrapped up as soon as possible."

"Honestly, I don't know how you do it, Phantomhive." the detective replied with a yawn. "You caught the guy we've been chasing for weeks in_ one day_."

"Well, _my kind _are a bit _different_ than the officers that you have on staff." said the Phantomhive boy. "I'm a bit _disappointed_, though. I thought he would have been more of a _challenge."_

"You must get really bored, _kiddo_." said the man with a chuckle. He always found it funny how that would never fail to bother the Guard-dog

"I told you to stop calling me that _years ago_, Bailey._ I'm not a child_, and you_ know _that." corrected the demon.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. How long has it been since I've known you? About _twenty years_, maybe?"

"And you _still _call me a_ 'kid'_..."

"I can't help it. I look at you, and it makes me feel _old_." said Detective Bailey. "I'm here, getting wrinkles and grey hair, while you haven't aged a single day..."

"You still _seem the same _to me." said the bluenette with a shrug. "You're just a little _wiser and less of an irritant _than you were before."

"Thanks, that really _warms my heart_." replied Bailey. "Is the _blondie one of you,_ too?" he asked, pointing at Alois, who was currently pestering a bunch of officers about showing him how to make the blue police car lights flash.

"Yeah. He's an old _rival _of mine." the bluenette answered, using the term "rival" instead of "nemesis" in order to avoid giving a long-winded explanation.

"Seems a little _goofy_ to be _your _rival. Are you sure he isn't just comedy relief?"

_ "Positive." _said Ciel. "Now, was there_ something else on your mind_, or did you just come over here to _bother me?"_

"Well, we're pretty sure Smith-, I mean, _Simon_ Smith, didn't come across all of those _explosives_ on _accident_." answered Bailey, putting out his cigarette. "We might need to call you back in to further investigate the matter."

_ "Sounds fun."_ replied the Phantomhive boy with a smug smile. "I'll be _looking forward _to it."

"Hey, Ciel~!" called Alois, as he assaulted the bbluenette with a hug, nearly knocking the other boy over. "Whatcha doin'?"

"I was just talking to Detective Bailey." Ciel replied, blushing slightly at the sudden contact in front of the detective, who simply looked at them, surprised that the Phantomhive boy would allow someone to even set their hands on him. "Did you get to _make the lights flash?"_

_ "No,_ the officers said that they _couldn't let a kid play with their equipment_." Alois said with a pout.

"I can see that. You'd probably find a way to_ break _it." Ciel said with a slight smile.

"I would _not!"_

"Need I remind you that you ruined both a _perfectly good toaster_, as well as a semi-new _counterspace_ by placing a_ lizard _of all things inside of it?"

"That was _one _time!"

"You... put a lizard... in a... toaster?" asked the now even more-so confused detective, arching an eyebrow.

"I wanted to know if it _could only toast bread."_ replied the blonde lad nonchalantly.

"But a _lizard?"_

"What can I say?_ I have a natural curiosity_."

"You have a natural _idiocy." _said the bluenette.

_ "I love you too, darling."_

"Oh, so you really do _like boys, _huh, Kiddo?" asked the detective, teasingly.

"How did you know that?!" demanded the bluenette.

"I'm a _detective_. It's what I _do_." replied the man. "_That,_ and Blondie has been _hanging on you the entire time_, and you haven't tried to push him away even_ once_." Ciel blushed.

"Yeah, and he even has his _arms around my waist!_" added the blonde with a smirk.

"Can you not go through _one day _without embarrassing me in public?" Ciel asked with an exasperated sigh.

"No. You're just too _cute _when you're embarrassed!" Alois said, causing the detective to laugh.

"_Stop laughing!__** I will end all of you!"**_

"But you didn't say _'Ciel says'."_

_ "Shut up!"_

* * *

**A/N Hullo~!  
**

**Whoo! I hope that wasn't confusing, or anything. Shit just happened, and paved the way for even more shit to happen. **

**Next time will be Preston being collarless and unexploded! Whee!**

**Mm? Question for moi? Whatevs... It's not like I can think of anything else to type here at the moment...**

**"Who...is your favorite character that you created?" by jellyfish'confetti**

**Probably... Either Kristopherson or Audrey. I draw Audrey all the time in class, but I really, really like Kristopherson's character. (I would actually draw him more, but I just can't think of fabulous outfits for him all the time...) I wanna say Kristopherson. He's just so tsundere... Also, while he wasn't the first OC introduced, he's the first one I came up with.  
**

**So desu!**

**Anyways, I'll catch you all in the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET**_

_Question: **"And last but not least a question for my cute wittle Ciel *pinches his cheek*: How you ever suffer from...*intake large breath here*...AUTO-CORRECT FAIL?!"** also by jellyfish'confetti_

_Answer by Ciel: __"One: Do NOT touch my face! Two: I don't want to talk about it..."  
_

_Answer by Alois: "Hell yeah, he does! I once got a text from him, talking about how I failed a geography test because I couldn't name the countries on the map, saying **'I'm constantly disappointed in your lack of quality education',** only instead of **'education',** it corrected to '**ejaculation'.** I laughed so hard..."  
_

_Question: **"To Kristopherson: Do you like Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing on Rainbows? (They're pink, after all...)"** by IggyLikesToExplode_

_Answer by Kristopherson:__"No. I don't like horses. I was chased by a pony when I was little, and have hated them ever since. **I was nearly stepped on!"**  
_

_Question:**"Seven sins you must watch ciel dance like a stripper to lollipop luxery by jefree star what are your reactions? (Include ciel on the experience ;D )"** by WooImmaFox1305_

_Answer by Ciel:_**_"NO. THAT WILL NOT BE HAPPENING. EVER."  
_**

___Question: _**____****"Also a question for the sins what is your favourite book, food, and drink?"** ___by Cheshire Lucky_**___ CONTINUED (and will be again next chapter)  
_**

___Kristopherson's Answer:  
_

___Book: I read magazines more than books, but when I do, they're still mostly clothes related. I forget the title of the one I use the most. (It's buried on my desk somewhere...)_

___Food: I'm quite the fan of pasta._

___Drink: Nothing interesting. Just iced tea... _

___Audrey's Answer:____Book: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I like the first book the most.  
_

___Food: Pizza with ham and pineapples_

___Drink: Mountain Dew_


	168. That Manor, Odd

Crimson. That crimson eye. The memory of it confounded Preston. The whole thing seemed so surreal. Surely he didn't see what he thought he did. Perhaps he was just so exhausted from the day's events that his own eyes were playing tricks on him. That was feasible. The only problem was that he saw it. He knows he did. It was too vivid to not be. He knew the bluenette was talking to him at the time, but Preston couldn't recall what Ciel had said. He had only registered the boy's hypnotic, crimson eye that seemed to see right through him.

With a shout in surprise, Preston shot right up out of bed, waking up from his nightmares. Was it a dream? The Indian boy brushed his fingers against his neck, feeling for any signs of the collar. He sighed with relief when the only thing there was his own skin. It was a dream, after all.

But he was mistaken; made apparent when the lad looked around the room, discovering that it wasn't his own bedroom at home. No, Preston was in one of the guest rooms of Phantomhive Manor, which was exactly where he recalled falling asleep that night. He wasn't dreaming. All of it was real. The bomb, the danger, the tests, his mother's tears, and his father's attempts to quell them behind a mask that hid his own, and most of all, _that hypnotic, glowing, crimson eye._

He didn't get to dwell on this for long, however, since he discovered that he _wasn't alone_. Preston nearly jumped out of his skin when he noticed the odd, petite girl with long, silver hair dressed in her "borrowed" maid uniform. Her expression looked bored, even when she spoke.

_ "Bonjour; _Good morning; _Wake the hell up." _the maid said to the boy, not caring at all how rude the last greeting was. "Breakfast is downstairs. You can borrow those clothes over there." She pointed to some of the clothes of the Trancy boy, generously providing _pants _instead of the blonde's infamous _short-shorts_.

_ "Uh... O-okay?" _asked the startled and confused Preston. It took him a moment to realize that he had been wearing the same clothes for quite some time now, from his capture to that moment, which was about two days. He wrinkled his nose at how grimy he felt. "Do you think it would be okay if I used the shower?" he asked. The girl only nodded in response before turning to leave.

"Wait, one more question!" he said, causing Amelie to stop and look at him. "What... _What happened to the collar around my neck?"_

"_Taken care of." _was all she said, leaving, and closing the door behind her. That didn't answer his question at all. The boy wondered why the Phantomhive boy would hire such a person to work in his household, but then again, the bluenette _did _put up with _Alois._

After Preston finished scrubbing himself, he donned the clothes that were offered to him, which simply consisted of a purple T-shirt and a pair of jeans, before heading downstairs to greet the others and thank them for their assistance. Hopefully, he would get some answers about what happened before he fell asleep as well. At this point, the lad ran into yet another problem: he didn't know how to navigate his way around this foreign household. He made several turns, only to end up in another hallway that seemed to only lead into many more hallways. How hard was it to find stairs? The boy wandered aimlessly before seeing a single, solitary sign of life in the thus far disturbingly empty house.

It was a young man-, or so he thought. Upon venturing closer, he discovered that it was in fact, a woman, who looked to be about nineteen or so. She had really pale skin, with freckles on her cheeks, and her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. The reason that Preston thought she was a man at first was because she was wearing a _butler's _uniform.

"Excuse me," he said, walking up to the girl. "but I was hoping you could tell me where the dining room is. _I'm lost..."_ he admitted.

"Of course!" the girl said cheerfully, regardless to the fact that she seemed somewhat lethargic. "I'm heading that way myself, so just follow me." The servant's quarter's were near the kitchen and dining area, so Charlotte was actually heading just a little ways past the boy's destination. _She had been awake for a bit too long for her liking._

The guest walked along beside the nocturnal, cross-dressing maid, as they rounded a few more corners before actually reaching the stairs that Preston had been so desperately trying to find. They both walked in awkward silence, neither party being able to think of anything to say-, well, Preston had a few questions to ask, but didn't quite have the courage to speak up. Downward, they descended, and Charlotte led the boy to a large door. She opened it, allowing Preston access to the room. She waved him a quick farewell before closing it again and heading off to sleep for the day, leaving the boy in the dining room.

Preston turned to see that the others were here as well, Ciel at the head of the table, and Alois directly to his right, absent-mindedly eating as he waited for the bluenette to get off the phone. Ciel often took calls during breakfast, as "impolite" as that may be. If no one around him really minded, and the information being discussed wasn't entirely a "secret", then he didn't see the harm in it at all. Perhaps this was a rude trait that he developed after hanging around Alois for far too long, it couldn't be certain. One thing that was, however, was that whoever the bluenette was talking to seemed to make him quite _annoyed._

Then, Alois noticed Preston and waved at him to come over and sit with them with a smile, probably glad that he had someone to talk to while his companion was busy. The Indian boy obliged, walking over to them and taking a seat next to the blonde. Sebastian appeared as if rehearsed and set food in front of the guest, which the boy happily accepted.

"Did you sleep well?" asked the man with a smile.

"Not really. I kept having nightmares." replied Preston, refusing to give any details. "Do you know what happened to the collar?" he asked, hoping that the butler would know.

"I removed it after the young master and Alois forced the perpetrator to disarm it." answered Sebastian. "I'm surprised you didn't wake up in the process."

"I am too." said the boy, turning his attention to Alois. "So how did you do it? How did you find Simon?"

"Well, that was mostly _Sebastian_. He's the one who did the looking into Detective Smith's family-, oh yeah, you don't know about that..." the blonde began, pausing to think about how to abridge the story. "Well, anyway, we found out that he was related to Smith, and then Sebastian found out where he lived from there. _We basically just showed up and arrested him."_ Alois explained, hitting most of the important bits. "It only _appeared_ to be more difficult than it really was."

It was at this point that the others began to register what the bluenette was talking about on the phone, as he began yelling at the person on the other end. Whoever it was seemed to have a talent of getting under the boy's skin that was even greater than Alois'. Ciel furrowed his brow and shouted:

"What do you _mean_ you _'won't take them?!'_ A deal's a deal!" There was almost a childlike quality to the lad's voice that seldom went heard by others. It was almost a whine, as though hie target had cheated in a playground game. "_'Basic training'?!_ You said nothing about that! How am I supposed to know these conditions if you don't tell me about them?!"

"Let me guess..." said the blonde to the butler with a grin, obviously amused by the boy's outbursts. "...is he talking to _Sir Hellsing?"_

"Yes, and by the looks of it, she no longer wishes to take _those two_ off of our hands." replied Sebastian, referring to Charlotte and Amelie, of course. It was now the beginning of December, signifying that the pair had been working in the Phantomhive household for a full month. Sir Hellsing had agreed to take care of Charlotte and Amelie if they proved that they could work under the lad's comand for one full month; A deal that she now appears to be breaking.

"I am _not _acting like a _child!"_ the bluenette argued against the unseen enemy. "I know it's un reasonable but-" Ciel stopped shouting for a moment, as he was obviously interrupted by Sir Hellsing, who, judging by the look on the lad's face, appeared to be making a sound argument. The demon took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking again.

"Alright, when is it?" he asked, pausing to hear the reply. "This _summer?! _It's in the middle of bloody_ winter! _You expect me to put up with this for _that _long?! Don't you hang up on _me,_ Hellsing! Hellsing! _Integra-!"_ Then, all he heard was a dial tone. It seemed to mock him, only aggravating him more. "She hung up on me..." he muttered. "That no good, stubborn, _cigar-chewing-!"_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down!" said Alois, preventing the boy from finishing his sentence. "Don't blow a gasket in the dining room. It's_ poor manners_." Alois smirked at the glare that the Phantomhive boy gave him. "So what's this about _'basic training' _and _'summer'?"_ he asked, taking a sip of tea and watching his companion compose himself again. Ciel sighed and slouched in his seat a bit.

"She won't hire Charlotte or Amelie until they complete basic training up to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. standards." he said, resting his chin in his palm. "It starts in the summer, so we have to put up with them for a little longer."

"Amelie walked into the bathroom while you were in the shower _one too many times, _eh?" the blonde teased.

"_Shut up."_ Ciel ordered. "That girl lacks any sense of common decency!_"_

"I know, right? It's almost like she's_ an animal_, or something!" The look the bluenette shot at the blonde made Alois almost choke as he attempted to keep himself from bursting out into a fit of giggles.

"What's wrong with keeping them around?" asked Preston. "I know they're a bit... _strange,_ but you guys seem to be very _short-staffed _around here." He was of course basing this off of his own observations of the house, which seemed almost deserted. The only servants he knew that they had were Sebastian and those two girls, who somehow managed to miraculously keep the mansion working like clockwork all on their own. The demons simply stared at the lad for a moment before saying anything.

"As you can guess from the events of yesterday, this house holds many _secrets, _one of which being my duty as _The Queen's Guard-dog."_ Ciel began, folding his hands on the table. "This house is intentionally short-staffed. Allowing just anyone inside could be a threat to those secrets. However, that is not the case with that pair. Sir Hellsing is simply better apt to looking after them with their _'medical needs'."_

_ "'Medical needs'?"_ echoed the human boy.

"Yeah, those '_needs_' being one of those_ 'secrets'_." Alois clarified, swinging his legs back and forth playfully underneath the table. "It's _classified information_."

"I see..." said Preston, not quite understanding. He couldn't help but think back to the crimson eye that he saw the day before, and wonder about it. Could that be a "Phantomhive Secret" as well? He didn't know, but with every second he spent in that house, he became more suspicious of the demonic duo. He wasn't entirely sure about trusting them anymore with all of these "secrets", but then again, they _had _saved his life. Perhaps he was willing to put up with this for a little longer.

"Have you called your parents yet, Preston?" asked the bluenette, bringing the Indian boy's thoughts to an abrupt, screeching halt. He had completely forgotten. Quickly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, asking to be excused so he could inform his mother and father that he was alright. He left the room, dialing the phone as he walked. As soon as he was out of sight, Alois turned to Ciel.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked, resting his chin in his palm.

"Plan? _What plan?"_ asked the bluenette, taking a sip of tea.

"Oh, come on, he's obviously suspicious." replied the blonde. "You think he remembers you using your _'sex beam' _on him?"

"First of all, it is _**not **_a _'sex beam',_ you_ perverse little weirdo.._."

"But I'm _**your **__perverse little weirdo!"_

_ "Well, that's true, at least_..." said the bluenette with a slight blush. "Secondly, it is entirely possible that he remembers, if not _entirely likely_ that he does. I wouldn't worry, though. Most humans get over it and believe that they _couldn't have possibly seen what they thought they did_."

"Because we _'don't exist'?"_

_ "Precisely_. It is impossible to see what you don't already believe in."

"But what if he begins to believe? Then they'll be yet another one_ in on our little secret."_

"It could go either way. Either we remain friends, and gain an important ally, or he becomes a _potential threat_."

* * *

**A/N: Oh hay~!  
**

**I actually have two ideas that can stem from this; one being the "Hellsing bootcamp" idea, and something else, the latter of which more likely to appear before the other. It's actually a little serious, yet, I'm sure I can manage to put some funny in it. In fact, I KNOW I can, because of the set-up. Alois be doing a lot of Alois-ing. He'll be on Super-Alois mode... Good luck with that, Ciel...**

**I think I should do a light-hearted arc or filler or something before that, but I just got nothin'. You post ideas, and I feel bad for not using them, but my mind is set on that particular idea, and doesn't want to change gears. It's weird like that, but I roll with it. I feel bad about not using your suggestions, though!  
**

**I keep getting questions too? I guess I'll roll with that, too...**

**DO A BARREL ROLL! PRESS "A" TO SHOOT!**

**"Has any of Your OC characters appeared in your dreams? Kristopherson has appeared in mine before 0.o don't ask. Also, has anyone ever come up to you in school and started talking to you about this fic?" by Emeraldpaw**

**Nope, not yet, but they appear in my _daydreams_ all the time. Does that count? I WISH the seven would show up in my dreams!  
**

**Mostly just my friends at school will talk to me about it. I haven't had anybody I don't already know come up to me and start to chat about it or anything. My true identity remains a mystery to nearly all of you duckies, so it's not like I can be spotted in a crowd. (I don't have a sign taped to my back that says "I am HateWeasel") It would be cool though. I found out recently that several readers live reasonably close, too. It's super-weird, yo. MAYBE I'VE ALREADY MET YOU, AND WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW?! That's freaky...**

**Until the next chapter, my dear sweet little duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"To Alois: Ciel says you must let him pitch for the rest of eternity. Your reaction?"** by SailorVegeta13 _

_Answer by Alois: "Touche', Phantomhive. Touche'... I don't especially mind being the catcher, or anything. It's just that I don't like being called a 'girl'! It totally bruises my ego..."  
_

_Question: **"I have a question for Audrey...Will you please marry me?"** by ThrillSnake8_

_Answer by Audrey: "That's a pretty big step. I'd like to get to know you better before making a decision, if that's alright with you..."_

_Question: **"For Ciel! *snuggles* wouldn't you being a demon remove you of cat allergies? So you can have Sebby get a cat! It should be his birthday present!"** by Emeraldpaw_

_Answer by Ciel:__"What is with everyone with touching me? And yes, I'm no longer allergic to cats, but, now I have said this once, and I will say it again: my allergy was, and always will be irrelevant. I will not allow a cat in this house** specifically** because Sebastian likes them. There's really nothing more to it."  
_

_Question: **"I'm back with another question my Ciel-y-kins *starts running hands through Ciel's hair cause he doesn't like me to touch his...FACE!* What is the MOST embarrassing thing you have commanded Sebastian to do? (Embarrassing for 'Bassy not you Ciel)"** by jellyfish'confetti_

_Answer by Ciel:  "People. Please. Personal space: **I require it.** I honestly can't remember. **I lost track."**  
_

_Threat by Alois: "Stop touching my Ciel! ONLY I CAN TOUCH CIEL AND MAKE HIM FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE!"_

_Question:****____**"Also a question for the sins what is your favourite book, food, and drink?"** ____by Cheshire Lucky_**___ CONTINUED (and will be again next chapter)_**

_Daniel's Answer:_

_Book: Like... I BOOK, book? One I didn't read for a class? I don't have one of those. Reading is for geeks.  
_

_Food: Steak_

_Drink: Coke (The COLA kind.)_

_Preston's Answer:_

_Book: "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card  
_

_Food: Macaroni and cheese_

_Drink: I'm pretty fond of Pepsi_


	169. Games

Warwick Academy; born anew from the ashes of it's rumours and poor reputation set by previous accidents, like _a phoenix _at dawn. Yes, Warwick is once again, the creme de la creme of academic excellence, made obvious due to the fact that students have returned from hiding out in fear of injury or death in the hallways of this grand establishment. No, Warwick is now safe for all to learn and enjoy their time with friends to the fullest, with the academy's updated security system, and with the installation of a new part-time hall monitor, a petite girl with long, silver hair who goes by the name "_Amelie Garou"_ (which is an _alias_, of course). With these changes, and with the positive new image granted by a young, aspiring fashion designer and his friends, Warwick is certainly on the right path for a bright future.

"What!? That was _you _on the news, Preston?!" asked a certain brunette lad by the name of Daniel Westley, who was currently harassing the Indian boy while standing next to his desk. The boy of the hour, of course was less than thrilled about all of this attention he was getting from being a part of the terrifying wild-goose chase.

All he wanted was for things to get back to normal, but alas, it was not meant to be. He was still a little beaten up from the experience, making people ask him about his injuries. He was able to hide most of them underneath his uniform, but couldn't do so with the band-aids covering the cuts on his face. Preston gave an exasperated sigh, as he said for what appeared to be the millionth time that day:

_ "Yes, that was me."_ he crossed his arms. "I really don't feel like recapping the entire story _again_, if you don't mind, Daniel. I'm tired."

"No problem." the other boy said, being oddly reasonable. "It must've been _exciting_, though. It's like that one episode of _Sherlock, _isn't it?"

"Probably, except _real_, and way more _terrifying_." said Audrey from his own desk, which was next to Preston's. The boy was playing his_ Nintendo 3DS _in class yet again. The Baines lad had the device taken away from him a whopping _one-hundred and twelve _times. Rumour has it that he even has spares. Audrey didn't even look up to talk to the son of a politician. "Give it a rest, Dan. He's had enough attention."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, I get it." replied Daniel, now turning his attention to Audrey. "What are you playing, anyway?"

"_Castlevania: Lords of Shadow-Mirror of Fate."_ answered the boy in the skull beanie.

"What's with the super-long name?"

"I dunno._ I didn't make it_."

"Hey, _Ciel!" _Daniel called to the Phantomhive boy, who lazily turned his head to pay him at least mild attention. "Has _Funtom _ever thought about going into the video-game business?"

"Yes, actually. It's proven difficult to assemble a team in order to do so, however." replied the eye-patched gentleman. "If I'm going to waste time and money on such a project, I want to see _quality results."_

_ "Bargain-bin games _aren't good enough for you, huh, Phantomhive? _I know that feel_." Bones spoke with a slight laugh, while the bluenette arched an eyebrow at the odd choice of words. Perhaps it was slang, or something. Ciel had difficulty keeping up with this sort of thing sometimes. Suddenly, the music coming from the small, handheld device changed, and the boys stopped talking for a moment to watch the cut-scene.

"Whoa! Is that the boss?!" shouted the brown-haired boy out of nowhere, startling Audrey and making him jump. "He's ugly! Kill it! _Kill it with fire!"_

"Stop talking. _I need to focus_." Bones said rather seriously. The bluenette listening in on their conversation simply rolled his visible eye. The others could be so _odd_ at times, and this was coming from a _supernatural apparition of darkness._

Ciel was starting to get used to having friends; something that he has in the past, avoided so he didn't have to cut ties with them or risk exposing his secret. The group who knew thus far, aside from Preston, who was only suspicious, and Travis, who's full knowledge was unknown, seemed to be quite accepting of the fact, and acted as though it weren't any matter of great importance, or a Daniel would jokingly put it: the lad's "_weren't racist_". Still, the fact remained that they would grow old, and eventually die, a fact that saddened the bluenette a tad, just as it did with Alois.

"That's so cool!" declared the blonde, moving from his own seat in front of the Phantomhive boy in order to view the mysterious device that Audrey possessed. "You can take the games _with you _too?!"

He froze when it occurred to him that Preston was there as well as Travis, who knew nothing of the lad's "_time-skip syndrome_". He simply got excited about new gadgets and the like that he forgot. The four boys that were "in the know" stared at him, as they all scrambled for an explanation for the blonde's choice of words. Preston arched an eyebrow in confusion, as Travis said nothing. Suddenly, Daniel started talking.

"Yeah,_ technology has sure come a long way_, huh?" he asked, semi-convincingly in an attempt to cover for the boy. The others simply nodded in agreement.

"Does anyone remember what games _used to be like? _They were all blocky and stuff, but now they've started to look very realistic." said Audrey in an attempt to keep the conversation flowing smoothly.

"Yeah, oh hey, _guess what?" _ asked Kristopherson, who had been oddly quiet due to his lack of knowledge in the area.

"What?" asked Daniel.

_** "The Game!"**_said the boy in the pink tie, earning a playful punch to the shoulder by Daniel and a series of "boos" from the others as well. Alois simply played along and pretended to understand what that was.

Yes, it was just another ordinary day at Warwick...

* * *

**A/N: Have some filler!  
**

**Goddamn filler!**

**I wanna write more plot-like stuff, but I'm not ready for it!**

**BLEGH! I feel like it's_ too soon_ to jump from here to there at the moment, even though the next arc is relevant to previous ones.**

**Ah, it's _December_ in the DLTD world, right? That means I need to think of something to do for a "Ciel's Birthday" chapter.**

**SHIT.**

**I got nuthin'...**

**Oh, I forgot to tell you duckies! Yesterday, my friends and I somehow came to the conclusion that Alois' real father is Zangief from the _Street Fighter _series... There's an explanation, I promise~! I posted on our Anime club's website, some fanart from Black Butler, and in this particular image, Alois was using a flip piledriver on Claude, (because that's _hilarious_) which reminded everybody of Zangief. While absurdly ridiculous and impossible the idea is, the joke has stuck that Zangief is Alois' real father, which begs the question: WHO THE FUCK IS HIS MOTHER?! Obviously, Alois didn't get Zangief's, ahem,_ "manly looks_".**

_**Ciel, I wish you good luck...**_

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"I have a question for Ciel. I promise I won't molest you, okay? Aha, anyways how long did it take for you to get use to using an eyepatch? I can imagine your sight wasn't exactly too well for a while..."** by SisterofScarletDevil  
_

_Answer by Ciel: "It took about a week or so. I can't tell you how many times I nearly ran into things due to the changed depth perception in that time. It was rather embarrassing. Now I'm so used to wearing it, that I don't feel right without it. "  
_

_Question: "To ciel and alois: on a scale from 1 to 10, how sexy would you rate each other?" by I'mUnjinxable_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Why are questions like this so popular? Let me think for a moment... How attractive do I find Alois..." ***blushes* **"...Forget about it. I don't want to answer."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"Only one to ten? In that case, I'd rate him on **'I'd totally tap that'.**"  
_

_Question: **"Alright then, Audrey, will you go out with me first?"** by ThrillSnake8 (in response to Audrey's answer from last chapter)_

_Answer by Audrey:__"Of course."_

_Objection by Daniel: "OBJECTION! That kid is a** total player,** I tell you! A PLAYER! (Why can't **I** get a date? *forever alone*)"_

_Question: **"To Ciel: Alois says he's leaving if you don't let him pitch. Your reaction?"** by SailorVegeta13_

_Answer by Ciel: __"Like he would really leave... I said I would consider it, didn't I? I just... don't feel... **ready** for that, yet..." _

_Creeping by Alois:__ "Aaaaw~! C'mere, Ciel. LE__MME LOVE YOU."_

_Response to Creeping by Ciel: "No, YOU."_

___Question:****____**"Also a question for the sins what is your favourite book, food, and drink?"** ____by Cheshire Lucky_**___ CONTINUED_**

_______Travis' Answer:Book: "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald  
_

_______Food: Sushi_

_______Drink: Darjeeling Tea _

_______Lawrence's Answer (Because he's kind of an ass who snuck in here and refuses to leave):  
_

_______Book: The one that remind's me of you~ _

_______Food: Anything prepared by you~_

_______Interruption by Daniel: "GET OUT!"_

_______Dejection by Lawrence: "D':"_


	170. Only If You Look At It That Way

"Hey, Phantomhive, can I ask you a question?" asked Daniel, with a serious face, resting his palms on the bluenette's desk.

"I assume you mean after _that question_, of course?" replied Ciel, eye straying from the worksheet in front of him for a brief moment. "What is it?" The Westley boy paused before he responded.

"How come I haven't gotten to go on any _supernatural adventures_ with you guys yet?" he inquired, gaining a questioning look from the bluenette.

"Are you _serious?"_ Ciel couldn't help but ask him that. "You act like we _plan_ that sort of thing."

"So does that mean you don't know?"

"I _mean_ you're an_ idiot."_

In a huff, Daniel sat in the chair that was next to the bluenette, it wasn't his own, but he didn't care at the moment. "That's not nice. I just want something interesting to happen. I'm bored."

"Daniel, you claim that you're going to change the world, right?" asked the bluenette, putting down his pencil for the moment. "If you even want a chance of doing that, you're going to have to stop _waiting_ for something to happen, and simply _make_ something happen." Ciel picked up his writing utensil again and filled in an answer while the brown-haired boy gawked at him.

"Then what should I do? I know I said that, but how am I going to accomplish it?"

"_Figure it out_. You're a politician's son, right? You should know by now that this gives you quite a few options in attaining that goal."

"Are you saying I should become a politician? Seriously,_ I don't understand you at all..."_

"I know, _but I really don't feel like justifying myself to you._" said Ciel, glancing over at the other boy for a moment. Daniel furrowed his brow and pouted. He leaned back in the chair that he "liberated" and sighed.

"You're _weird_." he said simply before getting playfully bopped on the head by a certain blonde boy.

"Seat. Out. Now! You're contaminating my seat with your_ ass-cooties!"_ declared Alois in objection to Daniel's commandeering of his seat.

"What? Maybe I just felt like sitting by Phantomhive today! We don't have assigned seats, so what's the big deal?" replied the Westley lad teasingly before getting bopped again. Alois playfully hit him over the head and on his shoulders until Daniel finally decided to move.

"Okay, okay! I'll let you _sit by your man!_" the brown-haired boy said, getting up. He turned to the Phantomhive boy once again before returning to his own seat. "Help me come up with a plan, sometime. I'm no good at stuff like that. It always blows up in my face, as memory serves."

"Maybe someday." Ciel said back before Daniel sat down again.

"What's all of this about _'plans'_ and stuff?" asked the blonde boy. Alois had been elsewhere in the room while taunting Kristopherson, so he had missed the majority of the conversation.

"Remember what Daniel said about _'making the country safe for humans and supernatural _beings' when he first found out about our secret?" asked the bluenette.

"Don't tell me he's _serious..." _Alois said with a skeptical look. The claim was utterly ridiculous, even for the Westley boy, and seemed nothing but entirely impossible. The Phantomhive boy chuckled at the blonde's response.

"It would _seem _that way." he said, looking at the blonde demon. "It will be interesting to watch him _try, _at least. I think we've made friends with quite the_ interesting _bunch." Ciel extended his index finger, pointing out each boy in the room as he called them. "Daniel wants to unite both the human and supernatural worlds, while Kristopherson simply wants to make people happy with clothes. Travis wants to make jewelry, and Preston wants to take over his family's technological business and move it into the future, both seemingly for profit. Then there's Audrey, who wants to protect the human world from the very supernatural world that Daniel wants to be _friends _with. It's quite _abnormal, _don't you think? Most children at Warwick have nothing else in mind but to carry on their parent's legacy."

Alois listened intently to the bluenette's words, taking them in, and seeing what he is describing. He was right. Most children at this school want nothing more than to carry on the legacy of another person, while these lads seem to be wanting to shape their own paths for themselves, each for their own reasons. The more Alois thought about it, the more a certain question came to mind.

"What about _you?" _he asked finally. Ciel simply looked at him with a confused expression across his face. "What do _you _want to accomplish?" The bluenette leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest as he thought about it.

"I don't really know yet." he said after a rather long pause. "I've never really thought about it. Well, I've got eternity to figure it out though, don't I? What about_ you?"_ He looked at the blonde boy as though he didn't expect him to actually know. Demons seldom think about the "future". They only think about the "now". They focus on simply _living_, rather than what they are _living for_.

"I'm not sure either." the blonde said, just as Ciel expected. What the bluenette didn't expect, however, was what Alois said next.

_"I just know I wanna stay by you_." he said with a smile. "So I guess I'll just follow along with whatever _you_ do."

"Really? What if I become some _'overlord of darkness'? _Would you stay with me then?" asked Ciel.

"Of course I would." replied Alois. "First of all: One does not simply _dump Satan._ Secondly, that doesn't matter to me. Even if you do, I'll still love you." Ciel felt his cheeks heat up at the "L-word". He rested his chin in his palm and looked away, focusing his attention instead on the scenery outside the window.

"_Whatever." _he said, still feeling the blonde staring at him. Soon, he felt the boy put his arms around his neck.

"Aw, you're so _cute _when you're embarrassed!" the other boy said, resting his chin on the top of the bluenette's head. "Hey, Ciel..."

"_What?"_ Ciel asked, his tone annoyed at the smile in the other boy's voice.

_ "Can I rape you?"_ the Trancy boy asked, feeling the other boy grab at his arms.

"What?! _No!" _the bluenette insisted, his face getting redder. "Are you an _idiot?!"_

"Oh yeah, you like being the _dominant _one, don't you?" asked the other boy, his smile never wavering.

_ "Shut up!_ And by the way, if you _ask_ someone, then it can't be classified as 'rape', you moron..."

"So I _can_ then?"

"_No!_ There's _no way _I'm getting on_ bottom!"_

_ "Red Card!" _shouted Kristopherson, interrupting the demonic duo's shenanigans. He folded his arms as he invaded the conversation. "Last time I checked, that isn't an _appropriate _subject to be talking about in class."

"You're no _fun..." _said Alois, still not releasing the bluenette.

_ "No,_ I just have a sense of _common_ _decency." _the boy in the pink tie replied, his cheeks a little red.

"Whoa! Wait, why're you _blushing, _Kris?" asked the blonde menace. "Don't tell me! Did that Tamworth guy finally _top you?!"_ he teased in mock-surprise. Kristopherson's face immediately darkened in it's shade of red.

_ "He did __**not!"**_he protested. "Stop making shit up, Trancy! Cameron and I aren't like that!"

"Ah, sorry, mate. I didn't mean to bring up your little '_frustrations'_."

_ "TRANCY-!"_

"Alois, stop being an ass." said Ciel, finally. He didn't want the two blondes to start yelling about the vulgar subject matter and alert the attention of a teacher. He turned to face the blonde, forcing the other boy to loosen his grip around his neck. "I know you can't help it, but can you at least _try _to tone it down while we're at school?"

"_Yes, my master." _the blonde replied with a small bow, pecking Ciel on the forehead as he leaned forward. Kristopherson simply stared at them.

"That is _so wrong_." he said finally, commenting on the menace's reply.

_ "It only is if you look at it that way, Kris."_

* * *

**A/N: Alois... Why?  
**

**I don't know... I'm just stalling~! I actually wanted to put some Audrey in this chapter, but I couldn't think of anything...**

**Then, everything changed when the Kristopherson-nation attacked...**

**For some reason, I keep imagining Todd Haberkorn as the voice of Kristopherson. I don't really know why... Though, I suppose that isn't as weird as Monica Rial as the voice of Audrey...**

**Anyway, I dunno how I can keep stalling. I wanted to create some distance between the "Simon Says" arc, and the next one, just because everyone missed the rest of the seven. I missed them too... The next arc won't be featuring any of them, though; just Ciel, Alois, a little bit of Sebastian, and some baddies. It might be a long one, too...**

** I'm trying to give you more of the seven, but I'm having a hard time coming up with funny bits. The idea has come up that I should either do a chapter where the demonic duo goes on a date, and gets stalked by the rest of the seven (which sounds fucking hilarious), but I'm having a hard time making that go somewhere. Agh! I don't know what to dooooooooo! I also need to do a "Ciel's Birthday" bit... **

**FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKK KKK**

**Laters, duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Alois, what do you think about the song Gay Bar by electric six? Have you ever thought about singing it to Ciel?"** by RainbowStar000  
_

_Answer by Alois: "I think it's **bloody amazing!** I have that song on repeat sometimes. I **have** sung it to Ciel before and on multiple occasions. He usually brushes it off and calls me an idiot for it now, except for when I do it in public. **Then,** he gets mad."  
_

_Question: **"Legit question for Ciel: can you see out of your contract eye? I've always wondered that."** by . .ciel_

_Answer by Ciel:__"I can see a little bit, but not very well at all. (and what I can see is all purple) I'm mostly blind in my right eye because of the contract. That's just what happens when you have symbols engraved into your cornea, I suppose."  
_

_Question: **"H****ow many times has Ciel, Alois, and Sebastian lost The Game?"** by IggyLikesToExplode_

_Ciel's Answer: "Far too many times for my liking..."_

_Alois' Answer: "What's 'the game'? How do you play?"_

_Sebastian's Answer: "Almost every time I see the Westley boy. I haven't kept record of precisely how many times, but I would estimate it's in the hundreds, at the least."_

_Question: **"A**** questio****n for the sins: this might be a stupid one what do you think about the name Phoebe? Be honest."** by psajo  
_

_Ciel's Answer:__"It's alright. It certainly isn't a horrible name, unlike that of a certain cartoon character that Alois drew and used to replace the background on my computer..." _

_Alois' Answer:__ "Hey! 'Dick Dickerson' is an **awesome** name, Ciel! As for Phoebe, it somehow reminds me of super-nice librarian-chicks you see on TV. I always like those characters, though."__  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"I think it's cute, and original. It certainly isn't your average run-of-the-mill name, that's for sure."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:__"I have to agree with Kris. (And Alois, oddly.) It is pretty cute."  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"See?! I TOLD you Audrey was a player! But 'nooooo'! NOBODY LISTENS TO ME!"  
_

_Preston's__ Ans__wer:__"What does that have to do with the question, Daniel? Anyway, I like it. The name 'Phoebe', I mean."  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"It's pretty."_


	171. Knights Of The Round Table

_The Convention of Twelve, _also known as the "Round Table Conference", is a society comprised of individuals of political and economic importance, often nobles and military leaders, all of which are loyal to the English crown. At heart, this group runs the British Empire from behind the scene for her majesty. It is the Convention of Twelve and all related parties who are the holders of Britain's deepest, darkest secrets. One of which, being the house of Phantomhive.

Today, they meet in their usual, top-secret location. All twelve members have assembled around their oval table with one agenda in mind. A certain boy has been summoned to speak with them today after receiving a telephone call from Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, one of the top members of the council. His subordinates were asked to wait outside as they conversed, yet the lad wasn't afraid in the slightest.

He showed not even the slightest hint of fear or intimidation when the door opened, and he walked inside in his black suit, one that he only wore for important meetings. The boy wore an eye-patch, covering his "evil eye"; the other one being of a deep sapphire, reflecting only his determination. His hair was of an awkward shade of blueish black, and his ears were pierced, but other than that, the boy seemed perfectly normal, aside from his otherworldly presence. He looked far younger than the others in the room, but there was one thing that truly set him apart from them, and that was the fact that the boy was not _human_.

"_Ciel Phantomhive." _said one of the men at the table. "So glad that you could join us."

"It's good to see you all again, _Sir Islands."_ the bluenette greeted, a tad more politely than usual. While he didn't show it, he was slightly worried. "To what do I owe the honour of receiving an invitation from the round table?"

The man who had greeted the boy first, _Sir Hugh Islands,_ was the Council President and a serious man who was even more strict than Sir Hellsing. He clicked his tongue in disapproval of the boy's demeanor. Whle he appreciated the lad getting straight to the point, he felt that his tone sounded somewhat sarcastic and disrespectful; a preconceived notion that was simply his own imagination.

_ "Sir Penwood,_ would you like to fill in Mister Phantomhive in on his task?" Islands asked another council member, _Sir Penwood. _Ciel arched an eyebrow when he heard the word "task". It was extremely rare for him to receive a mission from the council.

Penwood was less threatening than Islands. He had a somewhat nervous demeanor about him that was odd for a Vice-Admiral of the armed forces. This man stood up, his mustache twitching a bit from his own nerves. Being around the demon boy made him somewhat frightened, for understandable reasons. Ciel never held it against him, but wished that the man would act like a man instead of a frightened child every time he saw him.

"_Ahem, yes, well..." _Penwood began, struggling to find his words at the start. The Phantomhive boy waited patiently for the details of his assignment. "A-about your recent encounter with the serial bomber, _Simon Smith;_ Well, obviously, no civilian should have gotten access to that many explosives, and that kind of technology, so he had to get it from _somewhere..."_

"Oh, for crying out loud, Penwood! _Spit it out, man!"_ shouted another member of the conference, who received a mean look from Islands. Sir Penwood faltered and glanced over a few sheets of paper in front of him.

"O-oh, yes_... right_..." he said, finding his words again. "Well... After interrogating Smith, and doing much research and investigating, we believe we have found the source..."

"_An illegal smuggling ring." _interrupted Sir Hellsing, lighting a cigar. "According to this new Intel, there has been a string of smuggling of weapons and explosives, as well as many other dangerous materials into the country by a particular source."

"Britain will not stand for this! We have done our best to keep distribution of firearms under control, and this new group threatens our peace!" said Islands.

"So what you mean to say is that you want me to_ eliminate _this source?" Ciel asked at last, tired of this sill game of beating around the bush that the Round Table so enjoyed to play. Sir Islands leaned back in his chair and folded his hands on the table in front of him.

"Yes." he said, his tone grave. "His name is _Victor Beatie;_ a weapons dealer. I'm aware that you've met his son, _Jonathan_."

_Jonathan Beatie._ The name was still somewhat fresh in the bluenette's mind. Jonathan was the boy who had threatened the lives of the students of Warwick by smuggling his own arsenal onto the campus. He shot Amelie, and injured Daniel. Jonathan lost his own life by accidentally falling on his own knife while attempting to attack the Phantomhive boy. _Jonathan Beatie: _the boy who Ciel allowed to wallow in agony in a pool of his own blood. The boy who made the bluenette feel guilt; guilt from stabbing his former nemesis, Alois Trancy, and sending him further to his own demise; guilt from beginning to care about the human condition. The walls of ice around the bluenette's heart were starting to melt to the extent that he felt pity for almost complete strangers.

"_We've met." _replied the boy, refusing to acknowledge the fact any longer. "Is there any Intel on Beatie's approximate location?"

"The last anyone heard, he was heading to _New York City,_ in America." said Sir Hellsing. "The details are all right here." the woman said, holding up a folder, and passing it to the Phantomhive boy.

"As you can imagine, it is of utmost importance that word doesn't get out about this operation." said Sir Islands. "Should you fail, there would be a scandal of international proportions. Either simply arrest Beatie, or exterminate him on international waters, where the blame cannot be placed on Britain."

"I am aware. I will not fail." said the demon, looking over the files.

"Perhaps one day, you too could even retrieve the Phantomhive's position on the council, _Ciel." _teased the Hellsing woman, much to the lad's annoyance. She mocked the Phantomhive household's loss of credibility from his disappearance a hundred years ago. Why, both the Phantomhive house, and the Trancy house were on the council at some point in history, yet that changed with the demonic duo's supposed "deaths". Not only had Hellsing pointed this out, she had addressed him with such informality that could only be taken as disrespectful of a person of his social standing. The bluenette hated it most of all, because she was treating him like a _child_.

_ "No, thank you."_ Ciel said with a smirk. "I have my _own _group of _friends._ Is there anything else that I need to know about this mission?"

"Yes." said the Hellsing woman. "Your... familiar, _Jim Macken_, will be needing a passport... I assume you have already forged all of the appropriate documents in order to get him one?"

"Yes, but they are in the name _'Alois Trancy', _not _'Jim Macken'_." replied the boy without thinking.

"_Unacceptable." _interrupted Sir Islands. "He must have his _true name _on all of his passports, badges, licensees and the like from now on."

"He _prefers_ to be called _'Alois'. _What is the harm in leaving it as is?" the demon asked, causing Sir Islands and the others to look at him in surprise. It was uncommon for the boy to ask such a _childlike_ question. Sir Hellsing even paused to let that sink in, but in the end, she smiled.

_ "What?" _asked Sir Islands. "He must have his true name documented _somewhere_, Mister Phantomhive, you_ know _that..."

"It would appear that Mister Phantomhive is becoming more and more_ human _every day." interrupted Sir Hellsing. "In all of our recent interactions, he seems to have gotten _softer,_ somehow."

"_'Softer'?"_ asked Islands. "How so?"

"He seems to be somewhat more... childlike, even to the extent where he has seemed to make friends with other children at school, and aid them with various extra-curricular activities."

"Is this true?"

"Yes, I saw him participating in his school's Halloween festival as an actor in the haunted house." the Convention was silent as they tried to imagine that. They got close, but were completely unable to place the boy in that sort of setting. Ciel, however, was trying his absolute best not to blush or argue with the woman. The last thing he wanted to do was prove her right. Still, she continued. "He seems rather _protective _of _Jim Macken_, in particular."

_"Well, if that is all of the information, I'll be getting to work on this assignment immediately." _Ciel said abruptly, turning to walk about the door. "Gentlemen, Sir Hellsing, I bid you _farewell_." He walked quickly in order to escape the room, but it was too late.

"And just where do you think _you're_ going, Phantomhive? _We aren't done here_." the Hellsing woman said, stopping the boy dead in his tracks. "There is still the matter of your and your associates demonity to discuss. Any and all new developments must be brought to light in front of the council."

_ "Shit."_ the boy thought. He felt his face get hotter as he thought about his and Alois' relationship._ How on earth was he going to explain that to the council? _They would_ never _let him live that down, and that isn't if they _weren't _completely disgusted. Slowly, he turned to the others at attention.

"Yes?" he asked, doing his best to maintain a visage of indifference as he usually did. This was only put-off by the flush of his cheeks and his previous attempt of escape. This of course, didn't get past Sir Hellsing.

"Is there something you're trying to _hide,_ Phantomhive?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"_Not at all." _he lied_. "What is it that you wish to discuss, precisely?"_

"Your protectiveness over Mister Macken, is there any_ special reason _for it?" asked the woman, asking all of the questions that he_ didn't _want her to.

"W-well, I..." replied Ciel, struggling to find his words. He looked away from the group, paying more attention to the floor, rather than their stares. His face was red, and all of that uneasiness that he was able to hide so flawlessly before was surfacing. The members of the Round Table leaned forward in their seats as they anxiously awaited the lad's answer.

"I... Uh..." Ciel hated this. He hated being put on the spot and made a fool of in front of these people. Thus, summoning what was left of his pride and confidence, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Finally, he looked at them with the same determination he had when he first walked in_. "I love him."_ he said.

Silence hung in the air as the members of the Round Table Conference let that thought sink it. Ciel Phantomhive, a proud, strong, cold, demon was admitting to having feelings of a romantic nature for another boy, one that was formerly his nemesis. Now that was quite shocking to them. Even Sir Hellsing herself, didn't see that coming.

"So... your status report is... that you're a... _homosexual?" _asked Sir Islands, recovering from his disbelief. "Demons... "

"That isn't what I find _odd_." said Hellsing, putting out her cigar in the ashtray on the table in front of her. "What I find odd is that he has... feelings of that nature for anyone at all. Demons don't love. They don't have sexual preferences. They hardly have any preferences at all! What I find _odd _is that Mister Phantomhive, a boy who has never felt any sort of special attraction to anyone, and_ a demon_, a creature that feels neither love or lust, would suddenly find himself attracted to someone, especially a _former foe_."

"Does it have to do with the fact that he was human?" asked Sir Penwood.

"Who knows? This has never happened before, that I know of." replied the woman. "Mister Phantomhive, I trust that you will continue to prove your loyalty to the crown, correct? Whatever human emotions you feel, this is the one that you must honour above all else. Am I understood?"

"Y-yes, Sir Hellsing." answered the bluenette. Ciel was unbelievably embarrassed. He regretting saying anything at all.

"I believe that is all, for now, Mister Phantomhive." said Sir Islands. "You are dismissed to work on your assignment."

"_Thank you for your time." _the bluenette replied. With that, Ciel quickly turned to leave. He didn't wish to make any greater of a fool of himself than he already has.

"Good luck with your blonde friend of yours, as well, _'Romeo'."_ Sir Hellsing teased the lad in an uncommon joke, calling after the boy as he left. The others at the table with her began to laugh as the demon slammed the door. All except Sir Islands, who simply folded his arms in disappointment.

"Honestly, I can't see how you all can be so_ calm _about this." he said. Islands was known for being sort of a "grumpy old man", at times, so it wasn't unusual for him to be disapproving. He wasn't entirely fond of the bluenette to begin with.

"If you are referring to Phantomhive's preferences, there isn't a problem at all." said Sir Hellsing. "I'm more concerned about his _mission_."

"He is defying the sanctity of courtship! That demon, he-!"

"My apologies, Sir Islands, for interrupting, but I believe he has _already _defied the sanctity of most natural and moral laws." spoke Sir Hellsing, lighting another cigar, and pausing to puff on it for a moment. "I highly doubt that this new _'defiance' _is harmful. If anything, it's making him _more human. _We should be _happy _about that, wouldn't you agree?"

Islands ceased his bickering for a moment to pause and think about that. "You seem awfully friendly towards that boy, for someone who's job it is to exterminate his kind."

"Perhaps Sir Integra's _maternal instincts _are taking effect." joked Sir Penwood. Hellsing's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, and with her good eye, she stared daggers at Penwood, causing him to sink down in his chair.

Elsewhere in the same building, a certain blonde was standing against the wall in the lobby, bored out of his mind. He perked up every time he saw someone walking down the hallway towards them, only to become disappointed when it wasn't the Phantomhive lad. He was a bit worried about him, since the lad was asked to go in alone to meet with the Round Table. He was terrified that the other boy was in some sort of trouble with them. The man standing next to him noticed all of this, and chuckled.

"I'm sure he's _fine_." said Sebastian in an attempt to stop the blonde's constant fidgeting. "The young master is perfectly capable of handling this sort of situation."

"What if he isn't?" asked Alois. "What if Hellsing flips out on him?!"

"Sir Hellsing is also of a 'cool-under-fire' nature, like the young master. I'm sure she wouldn't resort to violence. She would only do so if the young master launched an attack first." replied the butler in black.

"What if Ciel throws a fit, though?"

"I highly doubt the plausibility of that."

_"It could happen_."

Suddenly, the blonde heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and looked over to see the Phantomhive boy at last. With a big smile, he pranced over to the boy, walking alongside him. He noticed immediately the scowl on the boy's face was more prominent than ever.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We got a mission. _A big one_." said Ciel, continuing to keep his pace as he walked towards the butler. Sebastian followed the bluenette as well, as they begun to exit the building and walk toward the parking lot.

"What else?" asked the blonde, knowing full-well that receiving a mission wasn't what had put the bluenette in such a foul mood.

"_Nothing else_." insisted the bluenette, recalling the humiliation he endured during his meeting.

"That's a lie..." said Alois. "Was it Hellsing? Did she call you _'short'_ again?"

_ "No."_ said Ciel as he climbed into the backseat of the Phantomhive house's black Rolls Royce, followed by the other demon-boy and then the butler, who sat in the front seat and waited for the boys to buckle their seat-belts. "Nothing happened."

"Ciel~! Tell me~!" whined the blonde, leaning on Ciel's shoulder. The engine began to roar and they took off toward the estate.

"Alois, stop bugging me about it."

"But if I don't bug you, I'll never know."

"There's nothing to report. Just being in the same room with Sir Integra annoys me."

_"'Sir Integra'?"_

"Sir _Hellsing, _I mean..." Ciel corrected. The blonde menace paused to think for a moment before continuing the conversation, looking out the window for a moment.

"You know, if you weren't so stubborn, I bet you and Hellsing could get along pretty well." he said finally, smiling as he looked at the expression on his companion's face.

"Don't you dare even _suggest _such a thing." said the Phantomhive boy, crossing his arms. Alois simply hugged the boy's side.

"_Or what?" _he asked with a smirk. "Are you going to_ 'punish' _me?"

_ "Shut up..."_

"_I'll be looking forward to it then~!"_

_ "ALOIS!"_

* * *

**A/N: Dammit, Alois... He always has to end the chapter with a dirty joke...  
**

**This chapter turned out to be longer than I expected... I started on it last night, but I had just finished a chapter right after taking the AP Literacy Composition exam, and my brian just didn't want to write anymore. **

**I ran out of ideas for filler, so I just decided to jump right into a new arc. It should be funny. ALOIS IN NEW YORK. Just imagine that for a moment... Tourist Alois...**

**Yeah, good luck with that, Ciel...**

**Ah, the sins might not show up for a while. I must cut to them every now and then, anyway, _just because._ See what they're doing while shit is happening...**

**I think the term "Sins" has stuck somehow. I even end up using it! I haven't even put it in here yet, because not all of the Seven know yet! **

**Oh, you duckies~!**

**Ah, I keep getting asked to do a "Hangover"-based arc, but honestly, I never planned on it. I haven't seen the movie, so I don't even know what that's supposed to mean!**

**DON'T JUDGE ME.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Question for Ciel: What would you do if you were but tied in cheesecake? (I have no idea why) And, what would you do if Alois wanted a cat?"** by The Red King  
_

_Answer by Ciel: "Like... Buried it it? I don't know. How the hell could someone accomplish that in the first place? Maybe, I don't know, try to dig myself out? Also, if Alois wanted I cat, I would probably say 'no'. Just because. I'm don't really care for cats, and I don't want Sebastian to drop everything to pet it whenever it walks by him."  
_

_Question: **"Now alois have you ever beaten ciel in a battle of knowledge ? Also author how you feelin ? Just wanna know."** by WooImmaFox1305_

_Answer by Alois:__ "Yes, yes I have! I occasionally beat him at chess, and I'm better at 'abstract thinking' than he is. Even Ciel has his moments of idiocy. It's funny when he does. _

_'Hey, Alois, can you pass me the... uh... the...'_

_'The... stapler?'_

_'Yeah... That... Stop laughing! I just couldn't think of the word!'_

_I'm pretty sure everybody has moments like that sometimes, though."_

_Answer by HateWeasel:__"I'm super-duper! Not too sure though about how this arc is gonna turn out, like **always**."  
_

_Question: **"**_**Ciel and Sebastian, what do you think of the show here comes honey boo boo?"** by RainbowStar000

_Answer by Ciel: __"No. Just...** No..."**_

_Answer by Sebastian: "I don't understand what's wrong with humans, sometimes..."_


	172. Come Fly With Me

Somewhere deep within the bowels of the London International Airport, our lads are in the middle of embarking on their grand expedition to the United States of America. New York City, New York, to be precise. This was easier said than done, as the blonde menace was especially excitable on this day. He was smiling so much that his cheeks hurt, and was bouncing around like a buffoon as they went through the process of getting him a passport, and buying their tickets.

Alois had never been out of the country before. As a matter of fact, he had_ hardly _been out of _London_ before, aside from a random village or two. He had never flown before either, and was exited to finally see one of these so-called "aeroplanes" up close. He saw a big window that look out at the runway at all of the planes, pressing his hands and forehead up against the glass.

"_Whoa! It's so huge!"_ he said, comparing the size of the vehicle to the size of the cars and the people that were in the middle of loading luggage onto it. He wondered how a craft of that size was to ever make it off of the ground.

"Come on, Alois! We need to get through the security checkpoint!" shouted a familiar bluenette boy.

"Okay!" the blonde shouted back, forcing himself to look away from the wonderful machines to follow both The Phantomhive boy and the boy's butler.

This, of course, was the part of the trip that Ciel always dreaded. Getting past security. While most people dread this, at least most people don't actually have things to _hide._ The lad needed to get his_ Zamiel _anit-freak pistol past security, as well as Sebastian's knives. It was never a pleasant experience, but, they had a small trick up their sleeves to handle this situation.

They walked up to the metal detector, set their belongings on the conveyor-belt that led to the x-ray machine that would be searching for weaponry, and removed all (and by "all" I mean "most") metal items from their persons. Ciel even removed his _earrings_, of all things, an act that provoked mockery from the blonde menace. Sebastian stepped forward to go first, knives still in his coat, to walk through the metal detector.

_ "Excuse me..." _he said, gaining the attention of the guard working the detector. While he was talking to him, Ciel got the attention on the one working the x-ray machine, both demons being sure to get eye-contact with the humans as they did. Ciel and Sebastian's eyes began to glow crimson, bewitching the both guards at the same time. Sebastian walked through the detector, causing it to go off, but never breaking eye-contact with the guard working it.

"_Everything is fine."_ Sebastian said. "_We aren't a threat to you are anyone."_

"_Everything... is fine..."_ echoed the guard. "_Please... go on ahead..."_

"Why, _thank you_." Sebastian replied, walking through the machine. The alarm had stopped sounding a long time ago, but it appeared that no one paid any notice to it. Alois went through the machine next, while Ciel maintained the other guard's attention so the luggage would get through security unnoticed. Then, the bluenette followed suit. They had gotten through security with no problems at all. The guards resumed their duties as if nothing had happened.

"That _sex beam_ of yours sure is scary..." Alois commented as the group made their way to the gates to board their plane.

"How many times do I have to tell you?_ It isn't a __**sex beam!" **_corrected the bluenette for what felt like the thousandth time as he put his piercings back in. The butler simply chuckled at the boys silly argument.

"It _is _a form of seduction, as it leads humans astray." said the man, providing a definition for the word so the blonde would have a harder time tying it to something dirty. "It has nothing to do with intercourse, however."

"So what do _you_ call it, then?" asked the blonde, not willing to let go of one of his favourite jokes just yet.

"There isn't a specified term for it, but most humans would call it the '_demon's whisper'_, even though there isn't always speech involved, like you've witnessed."

"Sebastian has done it using just his _voice _before." said the bluenette lad. "That's a higher-level technique, that takes some skill to master."

"Have _you?" _ asked the blonde.

"The young master _hasn't been practicing." _said Sebastian, causing the bluenette to stare daggers at him. Alois giggled at the gesture.

Then, he simply stopped dead in his tracks when they got to the gate that lead to the plane. He walked over to the long window in the large hallway to look at the plane that they were be riding in-, well, the part of it that he could see at the weird angle they were at. It was even bigger than he thought. It was just like one of those crafts that somehow flew around in the sky on television in all of those "futuristic" settings. They were so big, yet by some miricle, they flew; some soaring, some simply floating. The twenty-first century never ceased to amaze him.

"What are you doing? Let's go, Alois!" called the Phantomhive boy, who was already more than halfway down the hallway, snapping the blonde from his trance. "Hurry up before I decide to leave you!"

"_You wouldn't dare!"_ Alois shouted back before running to catch up with the other boy. They traveled down the tunnel, it getting narrower and narrower until it finally led to the door of the plane. Ciel had to grab the other boy's hand and drag him along to their seats so he wouldn't stop in the middle of the path in order to attempt to take everything in again.

Alois insisted that he have the window-seat so he could watch as the plane took off. He was nearly jumping up and down in his seat, with the bluenette seated next to him, attempting to get the blonde to sit still long enough so he could help the boy put on his seat-belt. Sebastian sat next to his master with an amused look on his face at the bluenette's frustration.

This was the second part of the trip that Ciel was dreading. Having to put up with the boy in an enclosed space for about eight hours. Fortunately, they were in first class, so they could watch movies and such, in order to keep the boy entertained. It was only a few hours after that got boring to both of them, though. Ciel began reading, and Alois began staring into space, looking around at the insides of the odd vehicle.

They weren't packed in as tightly as in the other classes, and it was much nicer-looking. It reminded Alois of almost every science-fiction movie he's ever seen. Everything was crisp, clean, and white, with various shades of reds in various places, just to give the room accents. There were other people there, all businessmen and women in suits and such. They were all wondering why these two children were in first class, and Alois knew it, because he would catch them staring at them. It was either because they looked so young, or because of the blonde's shirt, which said "_Slutty Badass_" across the front. Perhaps it was both.

"Hey, Ciel." he said suddenly, tired of the silence of the room. "You've ridden on a plane before, haven't you?"

"Yeah, why?" asked the bluenette, looking away from his book to give the blonde his attention.

"Where all did you go?" Ciel paused, and thought for a moment. He tried to think of all of the places he's been.

"Well, I've been to _New York_, and other cities in America. I've been to Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Paris, France; and Berlin, Germany. I've been to Tokyo, Japan as well. _All for business reasons, of course."_ Alois was nearly glowing with excitement, becoming even more so with every place the boy listed. He listened intently with a smile across his face.

"Surely you stopped to sight-see, though, right?" he asked. "That would be such a waste if you didn't!"

"I stopped if something was on the way." Ciel replied. "I was usually either on a mission, or on a business trip at the time, so I didn't feel like I should be wasting time."

_ "Ugh! _How can you _not_ stop and enjoy yourself?!" asked the blonde. "Leave it to you to make an adventure _not fun..."_

"It was _business,_ it's not _supposed_ to be _fun!"_ said the bluenette. "Besides, the missions themselves were _enough_ excitement."

"What are you, _James Bond?"_ Alois asked.

"Only _sometimes."_ answered the Phantomhive boy.

"_Lucky~!"_ the blonde whined. "I _wish_ I was there!'

"Why? The meetings I go to are boring, and the missions are usually incredibly quick."

"At least you got to_ go somewhere_."

"You're_ going somewhere right now_, aren't you?" asked Ciel. "Behave, and you might get to continue going places."

"Fine~!" the other boy whined. He went back to looking around, and Ciel went back to reading, paying no mind when he felt the blonde rest his head on his shoulder. He didn't even notice that he was being stared at. Alois watched the boy's face for quite awhile before he could no longer contain this powerful urge of his that continuously began to grow with every passing second.

"_Boop_." was the noise he made as he poked the bluenette's nose.

"That's not _'behaving', _Alois..." the bluenette said, never allowing his eye to stray from the text in front of him.

"Behaving is _boring_." replied the Trancy lad.

_ "I'm so sorry about that."_ the other boy said sarcastically. Then, silence hung over the two for the longest time. Ciel was glad that the other boy was finally quiet, but his shoulder was starting to fall asleep.

"Hey, Alois..." he called, turning to the boy to ask him to kindly move. Only, he discovered the reason for the blonde's silence being that he was asleep. Perhaps he simply gave up on pestering the bluenette, and with nothing else to do, decided to take a nap to kill time. Either way, when Ciel saw the blonde's sleeping face, he couldn't make him move.

"...Never-mind." the bluenette said quietly.

Thus, the flight went on without incident...

* * *

**A/N: O haaaaaay~!  
**

**Another reference to a British TV show in the title for no reason at all...**

**Dem British comedies...**

**I have only ridden on a airplane ONCE in my life, and that was years and years and years ago. I based this both off of my most prominent memories of the experience, and also... _Come Fly With Me.._. It's a sad thing when your only reference is a comedy show...**

**At least it was a clever one.**

**That's one thing that the British beat us at really badly. TELEVISION. Sometimes, we like to take a British show, and then fuck it up and say that it's ours. (Ex: _Skins, Being Human, Top Gear..._)**

** An "All-new, original series", my ass...**

**AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!**

**I meant to work on MIAAU this weekend, too... I started on the next chapter quite some time ago and completely hit a wall... I know what I WANT to happen, I'm just not sure on how to get there...**

**Ah, This fic has changed so much... I'm not sure if it's getting better, or the opposite...**

**172 chapters, damn...**

**So, dear readers, _I_ have a question for _you._ **

**Do you like how this is turning out? What are some things you'd like added or changed? **

**Until the next chapter, my duckies...**

* * *

_**MOAR CHARACTER SHET**_

_Question: **"Question for the Demonic Duo: I'm doing a rp and Alois just asked Ciel to dress up in lingerie with a collar that says "Alois' Bitch". Would you ever do it, Ciel? What would be your reaction, Alois?"** by . .ciel _

_Ciel's Answer: **"NO.** There is no way in** hell** that I would** ever** do something so **degrading.**"  
_

_Alois' Answer: "My immediate reaction would be to** attack him,** of course."  
_

_oooooooOOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"For alois: I know this sounds weird but... Is it possible for you to have a baby? Like you and Ciel are both demons now so... And for Ciel? WOULD you get Alois pregnant?"** by Guest (who I really, really want to credit for this hilarious question)_

_Alois' Answer: "I guess... it could be **possible**... I would have to change my shape into that of a **female**, though..."  
_

_Ciel's Answer: "**...**"_

_ooooooOOOOOooooo_

_Question: **"To ciel and TRAVIS(!): if I say "69" how would you react?"** by I'mUnjinxable_

_Ciel's Answer: __*Facepalm*_

_Travis' Answer:__"Why_?"

_oooooOOOOOooooo_

_Question:** "for the sins. what do you think is better: a cowboy, a ninja, or a pirate?" **by White Bloody Queen_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I imagine the ninja, since they're quick, and stealthy."  
_

_Alois' Answer: __"A Ninja! They'd be able to swoop in and shit and kill the crap outta the others!"  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Pirates have cannons. Stealth means nothing if you're hit by a bloody cannon!"_

_Audrey's Answer:__"None of them. The true answer is obviously** robots**."_

_Daniel's Answer:__"Cowboys! John Wayne always wins in the end!"  
_

_Preston's Answer:__**"ALIENS."**  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"Ninjas."_


	173. Idiots Abroad

New York City, New York: a city that is known to some as "the cultural capital of the world". It's famous for being the setting of many films, books, and television series, with a bustling entertainment industry and scene for the performing arts. Indeed, it could very well be the American equivalent to London in the United Kingdom in culture and business-, unless, of course, you ask a certain bluenette boy.

New York was busy. Too busy for the tastes of the Phantomhive boy. He didn't entirely care for people, and the city was absolutely crawling with them. Ciel felt as though he couldn't walk down the street without starting to feel claustrophobic. The air of the city even_ smelled funny, _in his opinion.

Yet his blonde compatriot was just as bubbly and excitable as ever, staring out the window of the taxi gazing up at the lights just as he did when he saw modern London for the first time. Somehow, New York seemed more lively than London, with busier streets and more lights than should ever be fit in one place. Alois pointed out animated billboards and was amazed at how they seemed to be stacked on top of each other in some places.

Even with all of it's lights, the city seemed darker than their own; edgier. There were far more greys and blacks that painted the blockier architecture than in London. It was so similar, yet so different, that it seemed as though the boy's had simply walked into an alternate dimension.

After checking in to their hotel, the blonde kept imitating the local accent to the best of his ability as they made their way to their room. He continuously repeated the little blurbs that struck him as especially funny for no reason other than the fact that it just tickled him to do so. He kept urging the others to do it as well, succeeding in making the butler speak in a New York accent, but failing miserably in his many attempts to get the bluenette to do so.

They parted ways with Sebastian, who's room was across from theirs in the hallway, and unlocked the door to their own two-bed room. Ciel, of course immediately kicked off his shoes and began turning the room into an office of sorts, taking out the files he had been given and his laptop. He hadn't even taken the time to get settled in before getting to work, much to the blonde's amusement. Alois wasn't even entirely sure why he thought it was funny, either. It was just so "Ciel", that he couldn't help but giggle at the bluenette's actions.

"All work and no play make Jack a dull boy, Ciel." said the blonde teasingly, taking off his own shoes and setting his bag down before taking a seat next to the other boy, sitting with his legs in a "Cris-cross" position on the bed with the portible computer sitting in his lap.

"How very unfortunate for _Jack." _replied the bluenette, completely deflecting the blonde's statement. "We need to get started on this as soon as possible. Beatie will be arriving in a few days, and we need to find out where he is going to be so we can take him down."

"Aw~!" Alois whined. "We came all this way, and we're not going to bother looking around?"

"No, I was also going to check up on things at _Funtom's_ American branch as well while we were here." The bluenette glanced over at Alois when he said this, noticing that the other boy's face had suddenly lit up.

"No, it isn't a playground." he said, shooting down the blonde's hopes. "It's an _office-building."_

"How the _hell _does that work?" Alois asked. "It's a _toy_ company!"

"Headquarters generally deals with the business side of the company." explained the Phantomhive boy. "The most _'fun' _thing that goes on in the building is the designing of products and pitching ideas. In other words, the design departments and the marketing departments."

"Yet there aren't any _actual_ toys there?"

"Only if you go to the _testing room_. That's where they give prototypes to test groups to see how well children will like a product."

"That takes some major skill to make toys _not fun..."_ Alois commented, resting his head on the bluenette's shoulder again.

_ "I'm just that good."_ Ciel resumed playing around on his laptop, trying to find the most likely spot that Beatie would appear. He assumed that the man wasn't going to go through the hassle of transporting his goods by air, so he would probable appear somewhere along the Hudson river at one of the many docks in order to do so by sea.

"We should stake out these locations, here." the boy said, pointing out several locations on the map as he listed them off. "Pier fifty-seven, Pier fifty-four, and Pier one-hundred and one. We'll get started on inspecting them tomorrow."

"Why those three?" asked the blonde.

"Those aren't owned by private companies." the bluenette explained. "They would want to avoid any and all illegal activity, and parking their boat on private property would get them in trouble."

"I see..." the blonde said, absent-mindedly. "Hey, is that the island where the statue of liberty is located?" He pointed to a spot on the bluenette's screen.

"Yes, it's called 'Liberty Island'. You can take a boat to get there and back. _They're probably going to steer clear of that place too."_

"Why is it _green?_ Wasn't it _copper?"_

"It's called _'oxidation'_, Alois. You would know this if you _paid attention in class."_ Ciel replied, pointing out the fact that the blonde seldom pays his teachers any mind, only to come to the bluenette for help when he doesn't understand the material discussed.

"What can I say? _Pestering you _is just more _fun_." the blonde said, kissing the other boy on the cheek. "So why did you get a room with _two_ beds, hm?" he asked, smiling at the blush that formed on his compatriot's face.

"So I could _work_." Ciel replied, doing his best to ignore the blonde's implications and advances. "Obviously, however, you're going to do everything in your power to prevent me from doing so, aren't you?"

_ "Naturally."_

"If you let me work, we can go see the_ Statue of Liberty _while we search tomorrow..." said the bluenette, watching the wave of thought crash over the blonde's face as he contemplated his next decision.

"Fine~." Alois whined, getting up and moving to the other bed in the room. "You're so _awful!"_

"For wanting to complete the very mission we were sent here for in the first place?" asked Ciel. "My apologies for prioritizing _national security _over _the contents of your pants_."

"Who said anything about my _goods?" _asked the blonde, a smirk appearing over his face. "I could have been talking about simply _cuddling_, you pervert."

"You and I both know that the likelihood of that is incredibly slim."

"How do _you_ know?"

"Because I know _you_."

"I guess you're right..." the blonde said, leaning backwards until he plopped down on his own bed. He stared up at the ceiling for a while, before his eyes began to wander around the room, and he listened to the sound of the bluenette hitting keys, and clicking around on his laptop's tract-pad. Alois giggled when a thought occurred to him.

"It's probably for the best. Sebastian is _just _across the hall, and that would be_ super-awkward_. That knowledge alone is kind of a turn-off." he said, tracing the patterns on the ceiling with his finger.

"It _is,_ isn't it?" Ciel replied, much to the blonde's surprise. "You're so _loud_, the _entire floor _would know."

"I am_ not!" _Alois protested, sitting up.

"_Obviously, you can't hear yourself_."the bluenette said back, never looking away from the screen in front of him.

"You're just making shit up!"

_ "It's true."_

_"You're a terrible person!"_

_ "I love you too, darling."_

"_FUCK YOU!"_

* * *

**A/N: I had a hard time with this chapter for whatever reason. It finally occurred to me how little I actually know about New York... I had both Wikipedia and Google-maps pulled up for this one...**

**The bit about Alois making fun of the New York accent actually comes from my friends and I quoting this particular line from Billy Elliot, because we just love the way the guy says it in that amazing Northern-British accent that I adore so much. I wanted to make that bit much longer, actually.**

**"A lad? Doin' the ballet?" We always mess it up, though, listing off the rest of the line in a different order every time. We only do it because it is so much fun to do accents.**

**There was actually a long rant in here that I actually rewrote several times about how self-conscious I am about my own accent, but I deleted it to take questions. **

**BECAUSE I CARE.**

**Q: "Have you ever written a chapter (or arc), but it didn't come out the way you wanted?" by bluejellyfishOuO**

**A: That's basically ALL of them. They never turn out like I originally intend them to, but, I'm still pretty happy with most of them.  
**

**Q: "Which of the 7 do you act like the most?" by IggyLikesToExplode**

**A: ALL OF THEM. All of the OCs are just little bits of me. There's Kris, who is my inner "popular girl", Daniel, who is basically my sense of humour, Audrey, who is my hardcore geeky side, Preston, who is my kind of calculating, practical side, and Travis, my quiet, shy side. They're all like me. I also have "Alois" moments, where I'm bold, and in your face, and "Ciel" moments, when I'm calm, cool, and collected. (Basically, me when I'm really, really into arguing with someone.)  
**

**Oh, and there were more questions, but the answers for this batch were long, so they'll be answered next time...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

**_MOAR CHARACTER SHET_  
**

_Question:** "Daniel how many ladies have you had with your pick up lines?"** by WooImmafox1305_

_Answer by Daniel:  "Too many than I can count!"_

_Fact-check by Kristopherson:__"That's a lie. The actual answer is NONE."  
_

_oooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOooooooo_

_Question:** "for Ciel and Alois: if you had a baby, what do you think he/she/it would look like? what would you name him/her/it?(I want a name for a boy and a name for a girl) Or are you even able to have a baby girl? As for Sebastian, what would you think of them having kids? and, do you have a child of your own?"** by White Bloody Queen_

_Alois' Answer:__"I dunno... Could be blonde, could be blue, could be a boy, could be a girl. Who's to say? I'm not a doctor! Helloooooo! There is no 'Demon Biology 101' class! (But if you find one, let us know. This shit is confusing!) I don't know for names, either. I'd probably go for something ironic, like naming it after an arch-angel or some biblical character. Dunno. I don't plan on having kids any time soon."  
_

_Ciel's Answer **(Warning: Be prepared for a biology lesson)**:__ "While I myself don't plan on reproducing in the near future (if at all), b__ased on our genetics, I'd say it hypothetically has a 50% chance of having my hair-colour, with a 50% chance of being blonde; blonde hair being a recessive trait. My mother was blonde, so I carry the gene for blonde hair, making it possible. If I were to put hair colour alone on a chart, with 'B' representing 'Blue', and 'b' representing 'Blonde', Alois' genes for hair colour would be 'bb', while mine would be 'Bb', each letter representing a trait passed on from both of our parents. This being the case, the possible variations for hair colour would look like this: 'Bb', 'bb', 'Bb', 'bb'. That is why they both have equal chances there.  
_

_As for eye-colour, it has a 100% chance of being blue, with an approximate 75% chance of being dark blue, and an approximate 25% chance of being light blue._

_Probability for gender is 50% on both sides, and..."_

_Alois: "Ciel, your inner-nerd is showing..."_

_Ciel: "O-oh, sorry..."_

_Alois: "You seem **excited** by the thought of having children..."_

_Ciel: "I'm **not**, I was just providing a scientifically-accurate answer."_

_Alois: "Are you SURE~?"_

_Ciel:_**_ "I am EXTREMELY sure."_**

_Sebastian's Answer:__ "I highly doubt either my young master or mister Trancy are mature enough to have children, and they tend to agree. I, myself, do not have children, that I know of."  
_

_Alois: "What's with the 'That I know of'?"_

_Ciel: "Sebastian..."_


	174. The Disappearance Of Alois Trancy

"This feels... _unnatural..." _spoke the blonde lad. He was not familiar in the slightest with the sensation of rocking back and forth on the waves of a river.

The three foreign demons were currently on a ferry to _Liberty Island_, the location of the ever-famous_ Statue of Liberty_. Alois was hanging over the side of the boat, gripping tightly onto the bar with his eyes shut tight. He looked green in the face as he tried to stop himself from swaying with the ferry, but his legs simply would not have it. Ciel stood there with him, rubbing the boy's back in an attempt to help his compatriot feel better, occasionally looking to the side to glare at a chuckling butler.

"That's often the case on your first time on a boat." said the bluenette, looking out at the city that seemed to get smaller as they gained more distance. "I didn't expect it to be _this _bad, however, since you're a _demon. _Do _try_ to show some sense of _dignity_, will you?"

"_Fuck... __**urgh... **__You..." _the Trancy lad managed to say without vomiting. Ciel laughed at the reply as their destination grew closer, the statue seemed to frown at the display, as though she was embarrassed for the blonde.

With time, they reached land, and after a few minutes of sitting to allow the rocking sensation of being on the boat wear off, Alois was fit as a fiddle once more. Once his condition improved, he immediately tried to make a mad dash toward the monument, only to be stopped by Sebastian. The man grabbed his shoulder, gaining his attention.

"_Don't_." he said, and immediately, Alois felt compelled to stay with his designated party.

They, with a bunch of other tourists, entered the base of the giant woman's pedestal, and began climbing the narrow, spiral-staircase that reached toward the statue's head. While lady liberty was impressive in her exterior beauty, on the inside, she was quite unbecoming. Every support beam of hers was completely bare, exposed to the public, and it was a wonder that no one hit their heads on them. The Phantomhive boy began to feel an almost overwhelming sense of claustrophobia; even more so than in the city, as there was no alternate path to take inside the massive structure.

Up, and up, and up, they climbed, slowly, but steadily toward the statue's cranium. They dodged people coming down the other side of the stairwell, and rambunctious, unattended children who played on them. At long last, they reached their destination. Alois immediately darted to one of the windows that made up the woman's headdress, and gazed out it towards the city.

New York looked so calm from far away. In the light of the sun, it could be observed that the same buildings that all appeared to be either black or grey under the shroud of night were more varying than the lad's knew. There were tans, and browns, and blueish-greys, and greyish-blues as well as others. They were all the same shapes as before, but they were much more appealing under the light.

The blonde looked down at the Hudson River, at the waves of deep blue and the many boats. Some had sails, some were speed-boats, and some were shipping boats, all varying in sizes and colours. He was smiling uncontrollably as he tried to take it all in, unconsciously leaning forward.

"_Careful."_ said the bluentte, grabbing the blonde's shoulder to direct him back towards safety. "_Don't fall out, you idiot_." The blonde simply furrowed his brow and pouted at the other boy.

"Lighten up, I wasn't going to _fall out!_ I know what I'm doing!" said the blonde. He didn't like always being treated as though he were incompetent by the bluenette. It was unintentional on Ciel's part, of course, and the blonde knew this. That was just Ciel's way of talking to everyone. Alois just couldn't help but allow it to get to him at times, though.

"Please, your _entire torso was practically dangling over the edge_." he said, looking out the window.

"Was _not!" _was the best the blonde could come up with.

"Now you're just acting _childish_." replied the bluenette. "Is that seriously the best you can do?" Maybe it was the sickness from before getting to him, but for some reason, this annoyed Alois. He couldn't come up with witty jests _all_ of the time, now could he?

"Probably. I'm just not as_ posh and sophisticated _as you are." he said, rolling his eyes.

"Obviously not. _Classy sophisticates _don't _hang out of windows_."

"I was _not!"_ Alois insisted, stomping his foot in order to somehow emphasize his point.

"Relax, stop _being such a girl_. I was only messing with you." said Ciel.

"I'm _not _being a girl! Maybe I just don't appreciate being taken for an _idiot_ all of the time."

"I don't think you're an _idiot..."_

"_You just called me one not even five minutes ago!"_ The blonde stopped talking when he saw the look on Ciel's face. He looked genuinely surprised, as though he simply had no idea he had actually said that. "_Forget it..."_ Alois said with a sigh. There was no point in arguing over something the other boy wasn't even aware he was doing.

He looked out at the water, and watched the waves and the many boats the rocked ovre them. Soon, he too began to feel the swaying sensation brought on by the waves. He started to feel dizzy from just remembering it. Soon, he felt nauseous, like his stomach was rocking back and forth like the ships on the water as well. Suddenly, the muscles in his abdomen contracted, and the blonde covered his mouth with his hand in order to prevent himself from regurgitating inside the statue's head.

_ "Alois?"_ the bluenette called, reaching out to the sick boy. Unable to speak, Alois simply fled, running down the staircase as quickly as he could on his currently uncooperative legs. "Alois! Where are you going?!" called the bluenette, unsure as to the reason for the blonde's escape. His shouts did reach the ears of the other boy, but he was on a mission to find the nearest restroom. He knew that he would have to explain to the bluenette the reason behind his sudden disappearance, but that would have to wait.

After he succeeded in his quest, he flushed his sickness and freshened up the best he could. Alois washed his face, making himself feel quite a bit better, but the horrible taste of sickness still lingered in his mouth. He wondered if there was a vending machine nearby so he could by himself a drink, but first, he had to call Ciel.

Exiting the restroom, Alois pulled out his cellphone, pressing the button to deactivate it's sleep mode, yet, the screen remained black. He held down the power button in order to activate the device, hoping that it was simply turned off, yet the screen remained black. He tried again, but the result was the same.

_ "Don't tell me I forgot to charge the damn thing..." _he thought, furrowing his brow in frustration a the insubordination of the small, handheld device.

He looked around just to check and see if the other boy was anywhere nearby. No such luck. He was on his own. Alois looked more closely and noticed a small payphone near the restroom, and figured that he could just use that. He felt better after making his discovery, and walked towards the phone, reaching into his pocket for some change. His hope was shattered when he read the sign. He looked at the many different coins in his palms.

_"Which one of these equals fifty cents?!"_ he thought frantically, eying the foreign currency. _"No, wait, calm down, Alois. You can do this. Show that cyclops he's wrong!"_

Thus, he began shoving coins into the slot, eventually discovering that two of the largest coins equates to fifty cents. Feeling proud of himself, he picked up the phone and placed it up against his ear, reaching out with his free hand to dial. Then, he simply stayed like that for a moment as he made his next discovery:

_ "I can't remember his number..."_

It was only the first day of the New York expedition, and Alois Trancy had already gotten himself lost...

* * *

**A/N: That takes some skill...  
**

**Ah, I'm tired...**

**I'm not ready for Monday...**

**There's stuff I needed to do this weekend...**

**I needed to write an essay for chemistry...**

**And design a logo for EAST...**

**And do a portrait for an acquaintance...**

**I also wanted to post some MIAAU...**

**Goddammit, Sunday, Y U gotta be so short?**

**Can I do "character shet" next round? I'm beat...**

**That cool? Thanks...**

**And if it _isn't:_ I'm not even sorry...**

**Instead, I shall write you a song:**

**Doo dee doo dee doo doo bum bum...**

**Tra la la... la... la?**

**Nah, I got nuthin'...**

**Laters, duckies...**


	175. A Chance Encounter With A World Traveler

_"I can't reach him..." _said the bluenette, cell phone pressed against his ear in an attempt to contact the blonde menace. He couldn't even get a dial tone. Finally, he gave up on the phone, and shoved the device back in his pocket.

He and Sebastian we standing next to the entrance of the attraction as they pondered where Alois had gone. Ciel had his arms crossed, and his brow furrowed as he thought about the events preceding the blonde's escape. He thought about what the blonde had said:

_ "Maybe I just don'r appreciate being taken for an idiot all the time!"_

The more he thought about it, the more the bluenette came to realize something: The frequency with which he did call Alois an "idiot" or something similar was quite often. He felt guilty about it, believing that it was _this _that caused the other boy to run away, while the truth was the contrary. Ciel, however, wasn't to keen on apologizing, either. It was against his nature to admit he was wrong, and it was because he knew that in order to "mend" his relationship he would need to do so that the bluenette was now _pouting_, much to the amusement of the man clad in black.

"I suppose we should start looking for him." Sebastian said, breaking their silence. Ciel wrinkled his nose, knowing that this would lead to him apologizing quicker.

"Come now, my lord. We still have work to do." the man continued, noticing the boy's resentment of the idea. "Wouldn't the best way to handle this be to simply _get it over with?"_ By that time, the bluenette knew that the butler was aware of his feelings on the situation.

_ "I suppose." _was all the the bluentte could force himself to say in a dignified manner. He moved from his spot leaned up against the wall, and began to walk off in some random direction. "Let's split up. We'll meet back here in thirty minutes."

_ "Yes, my lord."_

Thus, the two went their separate ways as the blonde menace in question performed his own search. He arrived only a minute after the older demons left at the entrance to the attraction. He spun around, in an attempt to better scan the area, but seeing nothing but a bunch of other tourists. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone once more, making a vain attempt at activating it.

_ "Shit."_ he cursed under his breath. Hastily, he put the phone back in his pocket, and began to walk again. The blonde was beginning to panic a bit. It was his first time abroad after all, and he was all alone. He hated being alone. He has hated it since he was small. Now he was without a familiar face at all. No friend, no acquaintance, not even an enemy to make himself feel a bit better.

Alois forced the thought to the back of his mind for a moment and thought. He began to try an think like the bluenette would in this situation in order to find him. If he were Ciel, and he was looking for himself, where would he go?

_ "Too much thoughtception..."_ he said to himself, rubbing his temples.

With no other ideas of where the other boy could possibly be, he went back to the scene from which he fled. He went back to the last place he saw Ciel, which was Lady Liberty's cranium. up the spiraling staircase he climbed, doing his best to ignore the much younger behind him who continuously shoved at his back, and the slightly older-looking teenagers who shoved each other in front of him, a stray body occasionally flying towards him. His frustration with this whole adventure was starting to build, and as he promised to the bluenette, he was doing his absolute best to be on his best behaviour. It was partially because he promised, and partially just to prove to the other boy that he, too, could remain calm, cool, and collected. He clenched his fists, trying so incredibly hard _not _to punch a child.

It was all for naught, however, since his compatriots weren't even there. In fact, there was hardly anyone there. Those same teenagers and children quickly got bored and left, there being nothing out there but a spectacular view of the city, and being far to young in mind to appreciate it. The only one's there were Alois, and a man, who simply stood there, resting is arm on the window and putting his weight on it as he gazed out at the cityscape.

The man wore a brown suit with black shoes, and a blue dress shirt with the first and second buttons undone. He stood there, smoking a cigarette with a melancholy look on his face, which wasn't as noticeable as the scar that was slanted diagonally across his temple. Alois didn't like the looks of this man. He looked dangerous. Yet, the blonde couldn't seem to force himself to leave for whatever reason. It seemed like it would be rude, somehow.

Thus, he stayed, and gazed at the same scene as the man a few windows over from him did, resting his elbows on the windowsill and his chin in his palms. He watched the buildings change slightly as the sun began to go down, turning them an odd orange on one side and a blueish-purple on the other. It reminded him a lot of London, somehow. In this sort of light, it looked a lot like the city that he now called home, regardless of it's odd, blocky shape and alternate atmosphere. He could see birds flying across the sky, some occasionally ducking down towards the waters of the Hudson River before pulling back up again. For some reason, he didn't feel nausea from staring at the scene anymore. Instead, he felt somewhat at home, more so than he did earlier that day when trying to figure out the value of currency when trying to use the payphone, and when buying a drink from a vending machine in order remove the taste of sickness from his mouth.

Suddenly, he felt his elbow slip off the sill, as he had leaned too far forward. His torso was literally hanging out the window just as the bluenette had jokingly said earlier. His stomach did back-flips as he realized that he was about to fall several stories down toward the statue's feet. He felt someone gripping his shirt before wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling the boy back in.

Ciel? No, the arm was too large to be that of the petite boy. Sebastian? No, the butler wore gloves, and the hand of his saviour was far too worn to be that of the man clad in black. Once Alois' feet were firmly planted on the ground, the boy turned to see that the man who had been standing a few windows down from him had rushed over to save him from a rough landing.

"Be more careful, now, will you?!" he scolded, the blonde simply stared at him as he processed the man's speech. The boy lit up when he figured out why his accent sounded so _ordinary._

"You're a _limey_ too!" the blonde declared, pointing at the man. The man simply stared back at him for a moment, before letting out a big, hearty laugh.

"Well, will you look at that!" he said finally. "Who knew that someone could miss the sound of an accent so much?" Perhaps the man wasn't as frightening as the blonde had thought. "I shouldn't be surprised, since this is a popular spot for tourists, but it never ceases to amaze me when I meet a fellow Brit abroad."

"I wouldn't know, this is my first time out of the country." said Alois, oddly comfortable with talking to this complete stranger. For some reason, the man reminded him of_ a certain politician's son he knew._

"What? _You need to get out more, _then. Travel is good for the spirit."

"I dunno, it's kind of scary."

"That's just because you aren't used to it yet." said the man, putting his hands in his pocket. His smile immediately faded when he did.

"What is it?" asked Alois.

"Nothing... I just remembered something, is all." the man in the brown suit's face went solemn, similar to as it was when Alois first saw him. The man looked out at the city. "Funny, what you did earlier... _My son _almost did that on his first time here, too."

"So I guess it's _pretty common, _then?"

"No. No it isn't. _Be careful when hanging on windows, kid_."

"I guess it's a good thing he has a dad who's watching out for him, then." The man was silent for a moment after the blonde said that, looking out at the city while playing with the object in his pocket.

"Not really." he said softy. "I haven't seen him in a long time. About a year, now..." The man in the brown suit flicked the butt of his cigarette out the window, as he leaned against the windowsill again.

"Do you travel for work, or something?" asked the blonde.

"Yeah. I go all kinds of places." the man said. "I never liked leaving Jonny-, or, my son alone, but I do it all for him. _I don't think he's ever seen it that way_, though."

Alois looked down at his hands for a moment, thinking about that statement, trying to see if he could relate. Maybe, just _maybe_ that's what Ciel is trying to do when he scolds the blonde, calling him out when he's acting a fool. Maybe he's just trying to help, only to come across as hateful. He could understand it that way.

"Maybe you should just _tell_ _him_ that." he said finally. The man standing in the window smiled sadly.

"I wish I _could_..." he said. Alois tilted his head slightly in confusion. "_He passed away while I was gone..._ I'll never get to tell him..."

"_I see_..." Alois said sadly, regretting saying anything at all.

"I don't really know what to do with myself now... The only reason I work as much as I do was for him, but now... Now I don't know what I'm supposed to live for-"

"_You'll find it."_ Alois said suddenly and surely, causing the man to look at him in surprise.

"I heard a long time ago that traveling can help you find yourself." he explained. "Since he's not here, maybe you need to start looking for what you're supposed to live for. Not just for you, but for him, too. I know I'd feel sad if someone I cared about was lost and confused." The blonde looked over to the man, who's smile went from sad, to somewhat understanding.

"You wanna know why that's _true?"_ he asked, receiving a nod from the boy. "It's because when you travel, _you meet all kinds of interesting people along the way to help you_." Alois simply smiled at the statement, feeling good that he could help this man out. Suddenly, the man's phone went off, and he had to reach into his pocket to check it. He furrowed his brow as he looked at the device before putting it back in his pocket.

"That means I have to get back to work." he explained, smiling again. He turned towards the stairs, pausing before turning to face the blonde again. "I hope you're able to travel more, yourself. It'll help you find your place in the world as well!"

"I will." replied the boy. "I'll travel to as many places I can!"

"Good! It was nice talking to you!"

"You too!"

And with that, he was alone again. He was alone in the head of the statue of liberty, now sure about some things, and unsure about others. He stared out the window again at the city as he thought, but soon, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs. He paid it no mind, however, as he was sure it was just an ordinary tourist.

_ "There you are!"_ Alois jumped when he heard the familiar voice and turned to see the bluenette standing there. He smiled at the boy.

"Here I am!" he replied, ignoring the rolling of the bluenette's eye.

"I searched this whole damn island and you were here the entire time_. Don't I feel intelligent..."_ Ciel said, taking a place next to the blonde.

"I only got here a few minutes ago, actually. _I _was looking for _you_." Alois replied. He tilted his head slightly when the bluenette didn't answer immediately. "What is it?" Ciel paused before answering.

"Listen... All the stuff I said earlier..." he began, looking out the window rather than at the other boy's face. "...You know I didn't really _mean _it, right? I was just..._ I don't know_... I just don't _mean _to say stuff like that..." The bluenette took a deep breath, forcing down every once of his stubborness for one mere sentence.

"What I'm _trying _to say is_.. I'm sorry."_ Finally, he forced himself to look over at the blonde, his face immediately flushing at the look on the other boy's face.

"Stop looking at me like that!" ordered the bluenette. _"You look like I've just grown a second head or something!"_ His embarrassment only heightened when the blonde snorted, trying to hold in a laugh. The blonde put his arms around Ciel's neck, and quickly pecked him on the lips.

"You're so _cute~!"_ he said in a sing-song voice, as he did his best to hold in his giggles. "You're just the_ sweetest little Satan ever!"_

"I am _not_..." the Phantomhive boy pouted, denying the statement in hopes to retain at least _some _of his reputation. He furrowed his brow when the blonde finally couldn't hold in his giggles. "What's so funny?!"

"I wasn't really that _mad _at you!" Alois managed to say between laughs.

_ "What?!_ Then why did you run away?!"

"I started feeling sick again, so I went to the bathroom! I felt like I was going to barf, so I couldn't speak!" Ciel simply stood and stared at the boy for a moment before finally answering.

"And you just _kissed_ me. That's just _lovely_." he said, relieved that he was never in any trouble with the other boy.

"Isn't it, though?" asked the blonde with a grin. "I know just how much you_ love _my _germs_." He licked the bluenette's cheek for no reason other than to bother him.

"What the _hell _is wrong with you, Alois?"

"Well, mostly the same things that are wrong with_ you_." Ciel sighed in exasperation at the explanation, knowing that it was partially true. Then, his facial expression changed suddenly, as though he just remembered something. "What is it?" asked the blonde.

"There was a man up here, in a brown suit, with a thin beard and a scar..." Ciel began. "I passed him on the way up here..."

"Yeah, and?" The bluentte's face suddenly became quite serious.

_ "That was Victor Beatie; The weapons dealer."_

* * *

**A/N: Mm-hm... I bet you either wondered what the hell was with this random character, of you knew it was him.  
**

**Don't lie.**

**I have stuff planned for Victor. Stuff I set up in here~!**

**My favourite line from this chapter: "You're just the sweetest little Satan ever!"**

**Seems legit.**

**Hmmm... I had other stuff to say here, but I forgot what it was. I hate that shit.  
**

**Laters, duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Travis Y U NO TaLK MORE!"** by WooImmafox1305_

_Answer by Travis:__"I just can't think of anything else to say... I prefer to get straight to the point, and if I don't have anything to add, I don't." _

_ooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo_

_Question: **"Also, if all the 7 watched one anime of their choice, which ones would they be and who would be the most Otaku of them all?"** by IggyLikesToExplode_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Darker Than Black..."_

_Alois' Answer:__"Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei. It's messed up in a totally awesome way!"  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Princess Jellyfish. I can relate to it. Kuranosuke is awesome."_

_Audrey's Answer: __"Code Geass. It's pretty badass. Dude, Lelouch totally reminds me of Ciel, sometimes."_

_Daniel's Answer:__"Rosario + Vampire. I like the **plot**..."_

_Preston's Answer:__"Bleach. It's badass! If only **Soul Reapers** were real..."_

_Travis' Answer: __"Ouran High School Host Club. I like how it parodies other anime and aspects of anime culture. The characters are also quite believable, as well as comical."  
_


	176. Grown-Ups Are Awful

New York City: City of culture and the headquarters of the United Nations. This is not our primary focus, however. No, while the lads are in New York, they are specifically in their hotel room, where the bluenette is trying to teach the blonde a technique that demons specialize in. The art of transformation.

Night had fallen after the events at Liberty Island, and the following morning they were going to pay a visit to the Funtom toy company's American branch. In order to do this, however, the bluenette would have to transform into his "adult" disguise once more, and as such, the blonde would have to as well. They had been practicing for several hours, now, and were starting to show some results.

"_Try it again." _said the bluenette. He was seated on the bed in their hotel room, arms crossed. "This time, try to distribute your energy more evenly."

"_Can't I take another break?"_ Alois whined, resuming his default form again, and taking a seat in the floor.

"One more time, _then _you can take a break." replied the Phantomhive boy, earning a groan from the Trancy. The blonde stood back up, and tried once more while following the bluenette's advice.

Focusing his essence, a diabolic mark appeared underneath the blonde's feet, glowing an ominous shade of purple. It was a pentacle with lines stemming from the points of the star, reaching toward it's middle, with what appeared to be vines outside of the star between it and the circle. It seemed to suck the light out of the room, the only source of illumination being the circle itself, and the blonde's glowing red eyes.

Black flames began to consume the boy, starting from the circle upward. Alois didn't seem to feel the burning sensation that the flames had given him the first few times he changed shape, which was a sign that he was improving. As the flames died down, the boy's appearance was changed to that of a young man around the age of twenty.

Alois looked the same as usual, but taller, with a more defined chin and broader shoulders, just like the bluenette when he altered his own shape to resemble an adult human. The blonde looked in the mirror, taking in his new appearance, his eyes wide for a moment. Then, he smiled and turned to the bluenette.

"What do you think?" he asked, a bit startled by the sound of his own voice. It was much deeper than usual, of course, which both he and the bluenette found odd for some reason unknown to themselves.

_ "Impressive." _Ciel said, standing up. He opened his mouth again in order to say something, but immediately stopped when it registered how much taller than him the blonde was now. He hated how he now had to look up to speak to the boy. Alois, of course, noticed this, and felt the need to tease the bluenette.

"_Aw~! The top of your head is so cute~!" _he said in his weird "grown-up" voice, causing Ciel to furrow his brow and cross his arms indignantly. His embarrassment was pushed even further when the other demon decided to pat him on the head like a small child. With a smirk, Ciel decided to get even.

A circle appeared before his own feet, startling Alois and causing him to cease his actions. The bluenette's pentacle was blue, with a smaller, upside-down star within it, and small circles in the gaps between the larger star's points. Ciel, too, underwent the process of bursting into the black flames as he underwent his own transformation. When it ceased, he was once again "Ciel Phantomhive: CEO of Funtom." The blonde stared at him for a moment, slightly intimidated by the boy's new appearance in the same way the he is only slightly intimidated by Sebastian. It was when the bluenette smirked, however, that he realized something; something very important:

_ Ciel was slightly taller than him._

_ "No fair!" _he said, pointing at the other "man" accusingly. "You _cheated_, didn't you!? You adjusted your height, I bet!"

"I did _no such thing_." Ciel said plainly. "Get used to it, '_shorty'_." The blonde before him made an attempt at speach, opening his mouth, yet no words came out. All he could do was simply look at the gloating expression on the Phanomhive gentleman's face, helpless against the fact that the very thing that he had so mercilessly teased the bluenette about was just thrown back in his face.

Alas, it was then that his tiredness hit him from all of the excessive transformation, and he reverted to his usual appearance against his will. He looked up at the man in front of him, slightly fearful of this sudden turn of events. He saw the bluenette reach towards him, and flinched, shutting his eyes tightly as a natural response. When he felt his hair being ruffled, he forced an eye open before looking at the bluenette.

"What? Did you think I was going to _attack _you or something?" Ciel asked, playing with the blonde's hair.

"N-no, I just..." the boy began, feeling awful that he gave that impression.

"I know. You just don't like adults." interrupted the bluenette. "I'm still _me, _though."

"I know that. It's not like I _wanted_ to be intimidated..."

"It's fine. Maybe you'll get used to it someday." Alois was quiet for a awhile as he tried to think of a response, but no matter how hard he tried, his mind was completely blank.

"Hey, Ciel..." he said finally, taking a step closer to the bluenette. "...Lean forward for a bit." While a bit confused by the request, Ciel humoured the boy, leaning forward, just as he said. Alois stood on the tips of his toes, and rested his hands on the other gentleman's shoulders an hesitantly pressed his lips against the bluenette's, much to the surprise of the latter. Nevertheless, he kissed the blonde back as the boy moced his hands from his shoulders to the back of his head, tangling his finger's in bluenette locks of hair.

Black flames began to encase the Phantomhive boy once more, yet neither of them could feel them. Even Alois couldn't feel the flames that looked as though they would not only burn flesh, but curse it as well, as he was too distracted by the bluenette to notice, moving himself to adjust to the other lad's decreasing height. When he pulled away, he saw that the bluenette was back in his usual form, looking shocked that he was now back on a level similar to the that of the blonde.

"You made me lose focus..." he said, realizing what must've happened.

"Is that necessarily a _bad _thing?" Alois asked playfully.

"No. No it _isn't." _the Phantomhive boy answered with a smile. He tightened his grip around the blonde's waist.

"Good, but if that's really all it takes to do so, you may want to consider further training." said the blonde, sticking his tongue out.

"Don't stick your tongue out unless you're going to _use_ it, Trancy."

"What's wrong with it? Is someone regretting _working _last night instead of _playing?"_ Alois leaned forward, forcing the bluentte to fall backwards onto the bed. "Tell me, was that a _threat_, or was it an _order?"_ He smirked, but that quickly faded as the bluenette rolled them both over so that he was on top of the blonde.

"Who knows? It could be_ both_." he said, looking down at Alois. "We have time before our appointment. Care to play now?"

"Why, I'd be insulted if you_ didn't!"_

"Just be careful to keep the _volume _down."

* * *

**A/N: Oh my~!  
**

**Have some shameless fanservice! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧**

**No smut, though. SUFFAH, yaoi-fans!**

**Hmmm~ I MIGHT have time for another update tonight, but no promises. I haven't decided if I want to actually tour Funtom USA, or skip it and go straight back to like, plot and shit.**

**Still trying to figure this shit out, yo.  
**

**Ah, it looks like Travis has been getting a few questions lately, too. Good for him. **

**He and other "useless" characters who seldom say anything or appear all have their own arcs and bits and back-stories and such, but I just haven't written them in here yet. I keep getting distracted by _criminal activity._**

**_Such is life._**

**Ah, I was gonna tell you guys something, but I forgot again! I was too distracted by shounen ai...**

_**Such is life.**_

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!  
**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"I now have a question for Travis! Since you like Ouran High School Host Club, which warrents a high five from me *raises hand for high five*, which Host is your favorite?"** by SisterOfScarletDevil_

_Answer by Travis:__"Honey. He's cute."_

_oooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo_

_Question: **"SEBASTIAN I CHOOSE YOU! Ever thought of getting married ?I mean you must get pretty lonely when everyone around you is a couple."** by WooImmafox1305_

_Answer by Sebastian: __"Admittedly, thought has crossed my mind once or twice before, but I'm not sure iif it's both a possibility or a necessity. You just don't come across other demons that often, you know. Oh, well. What happens, happens, I suppose."  
_


	177. A Stealthy Maiden Voyage

The Funtom Toy Co. dates all the way back to the 1800s, if you can believe that, and continues to thrive in a modern-era, adjusting with the ever-changing interests of today's youth. They continue to sell their "classic" toys such as their ever-famous "Bitter-Rabbit", but have now begun to branch out into selling things like action-figures and have sophisticated their play-sets and toy-design to stay ahead of the competition. Their most recent projects revolve around expanding that range even further, as the higher-ups discuss the possibility of going out into the video-game industry, and in fact, they have launched a marketing campaign in order to sell their newest line of action figures alongside a cartoon programmme about a super-hero team called the _"PhantomFive", _much to the annoyance of the CEO.

Today, he paid a surprise visit to Funtom's American branch, who's headquarters is located in New York City. Some of the higher ranked members of staff in the office building were almost in a panic as the eye-patched gentleman arrived, as the "man" had quite the reputation for his intimidating presence, along with the fact that he could fire practically anyone in that building on a _whim, _if he liked. All he had to do was say the word. Ciel always found these visits secretly amusing as he made the employees frightened for their careers. His "_new assistant_", however, paid no mind to conceal his amusement, smiling the entire time.

The blonde was introduced as _"Jim Macken_", much to his annoyance, yet it would be odd for him to deny it, especially to someone who was _supposed _to be his boss. Thus, he politely said "hello" and pretended to be working, as he gazed at anything and everything. Ciel was wrong, there were quite a few fun things to look at. Perhaps it was just different at the London building.

There were many toys on display decorating the lobby. Some were simple plush animals, while some were complex play-sets and of course, Alois had to stop and look at every single one, hindering the progression of the trip inside. When they finally did get to the front desk, there was a bitter rabbit sitting on it to greet guests. He couldn't help but smile at the oh-so familiar toy. But then, his eyes wandered while the Phantomhive gentleman was talking to the receptionist in order to meet with the head of this particular branch. Alois instead focused on a plush seal that was sitting off to the side of the desk.

"Hey, Ciel!" he called, obtaining the bluenette's attention. "Can I see your eye-patch for a second?"

"Why?" the CEO answered, not having the faintest idea as to what the blonde could possibly want with the covering. The receptionist behind the desk simply looked at Alois like he was insane for asking such a thing of the bluenette.

"Just let me see it! I'll give it right back!" With great reluctance, Ciel obliged, removing his eye-patch and handing it to Alois with one hand while covering his contracted eye with his other. The blonde took it, and picked up the plush animal, putting the concealment on it before holding the faux-marine-mammal out to his compatriot.

"Look. It's _'Seal Phantomhive'_." he said. The spontaniousness of the blonde's joke nearly made the two other demons crack up. Yes, Ciel too. Fortunately for his reputation, the bluenette was skilled at maintaining the appearance of indifference, only allowing his poker-face to waver for a slight moment.

"Alright, you had your fun. Give it back." he said, holding out his hand expectantly. Alois smiled.

"Your face twitched. You almost _smiled_, didn't you?" he replied while doing as instructed. The woman behind the desk was shocked that he wasn't fired on the spot. While the Phantomhive gentleman had never actually done so, it was rumored that he has done such a thing in the past, so most employees were on their toes when the CEO was around. Yet, this man had escaped completely unscathed, almost getting the rather serious bluenette to _smile_. Perhaps this was the reason why such a strange "man" was his assistant.

Hours passed, and the nerve-wrecking tour from the American branch leader had come to a close, much to the poor man's relief. The entire time it went on, Alois was looking at and touching things, cracking jokes, and other "Alois-ish" things while Ciel was discussing business. By the end of the day, however, both of them were quite tired from maintaining their "adult" forms, and reverted back to "normal" (if that is a semi-appropriate word) in the restroom, rather than in the elevator like Alois had originally suggested, due to the cameras in the ascending and descending box before returning to their temporary base of operations.

After a few hour's rest, they decided that it was high-time they got to work on their mission, after having wasted more than a day in the city. Their orders were to bring the weapons dealer Victor Beatie to the Scotland Yard either alive, or dead, and if the latter, make sure he is terminated in international waters, so his death cannot be linked to Britain. They geared up in their designated rooms, donning the usual outfits they used when working, their plain black suits and their coats and Ciel readied his pistol while Sebastian arranged for their luggage to be sent back to their estate, as they would not be returning to Britain in the fashion that they had arrived.

They would be stowing away on the Beatie's ship, waiting until it was out at sea before taking him down, just as instructed. They located the pier that the ship was located at the day before, and headed that way now, being sure to evacuate the taxi several blocks away so that it would be easier to sneak onto the vessel under the veil of darkness. Before they could even think about killing Beatie, however, they had to find a way to get part the few men out front. They were heavily armed, brutish-looking sort of folk, guarding the entrance.

"_Now what?" _asked the blonde lad in a hushed tone, looking to his commander for further instruction. Ciel, in response, surveyed the area, examining the the nearby warehouse that was filled with shipping containers the day before, but was now empty, and at the crane that supposedly loaded them onto the ship.

"_There." _the butler said suddenly before the bluenette could formulate a solution. He pointed at the roof of the warehouse._ "If we can get on the rooftop, we can jump to the ship." Sebastian then picked up a rock and pointed to some metal barrels. _"_ If I throw this at those, it will make a sound, gaining the attention of the guards. That way, they'll be too distracted to see us."_ Having no other ideas, the bluenette simply nodded in approval of the hastily-fabricated plan.

The trio found themselves a decent spot to jump from, and tensed their leg muscles in preparation for their ascent before springing forth. Ciel and Sebastian landed on the roof with no problems, the only sound being heard being the small "_clicking"_ noise their shoes made when making contact. Alois, however, wasn't nearly as skilled. The distance he had to cover in order to make that jump was simply too great for him, far greater than the gaps between buildings in London when "Simon" said they weren't allowed to travel by car. Thus, only the front of his foot made contact with the roof. While he was trying to swing his other leg forward in order to right himself, the only grip he had slipped, causing the blonde to fall forward and land on his stomach with a _thud_. That wouldn't have been bad if the roof wasn't slick, but it was, and he began to slid toward the edge.

He clawed at the roofing in order to stop himself from falling, only to have his arm grabbed by the butler. Alois' legs hung over the edge. With a pull, Sebastian was able to get the boy up, and balanced.

"Thanks..." the boy said, recovering from his scare. He straightened up his clothes as the bluenette let out a sigh of relief.

"Anytime." replied the butler. He then turned to face his target, pulling to small pebble out of his pocket, and with a swing of his arm, released it unto the barrels. The impact of the stone against the metal caused a loud clang, startling the two guards in front of the ship. The trio watched as they paused to talk amongst themselves for a moment, before sending someone over to investigate, watching his back the entire time.

Meanwhile, the ship was being boarded by a few stowaways, visible only by the light of the moon above them. They repeated the procedure they went through while getting onto the roof of the warehouse, but this time, the blonde menace was carried over the shoulder of the butler like a sack of flour. He set the boy down, who pouted about being put in such an undignified position, and they proceeded in sneaking further onto the ship. The night was still young, and it would appear that they would begin their voyage at any moment.

* * *

**A/N: Meh... Just some set-up...  
**

**Ah, I love receiving your suggestions on how to make this better~! And I need to thank you guys for pointing some stuff out to me that I basically couldn't see on my own. (Better development for characters, Ciel and Alois' relationship being a little too unrealistically "perfect".) I hear you, yo. I'll work on that stuff at the first given opportunity I give myself, because I am focused on this arc right now, and I can't shift that focus until it's over.**

**I don't really have control over it... IT CONTROLS ME.**

**But seriously, thank you so much for the constructive criticism.**

**I love you all so much (in a totally platonic way)!**

**Until the next chapter~! My~! Duckiiiiiieeess~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"If you would marry, would Alois wear a wedding gown? (was this question already asked?) And would Sebastian be the groomsman?"** by Anonyma  
_

_Answer by Alois:__"I dunno. I might wear a gown, but I might wear a suit. Who knoes? It kinda depends on whether or not I feel like it. I dunno about Sebastian. He probably would, though."  
_

_Answer by__ Ciel:__ "M-m-**marry**...?"_

_ooooOOOOOoo_

_Question: **"Alois: You wake up one morning to find that Ciel isn't in bed next to you, but in his study dead on the floor. Sebastian in missing. Two days later, Sebastian comes back with a mullet, and tells you that you were the one who killed Ciel. He shows you proof too. What is your reaction?"** by 8888littlecat8888  
_

_Answer by Alois:__"I would die. As a human, God never granted me things like happiness or love. Those things were granted to me by the devil. The devil is a more fitting God; a God that I can actually believe in. Should that God disappear, it would mean the end of my entire world. I'll kill the one who kills Ciel. I'll kill him before killing myself. Should that person be me, that simply makes the job faster to get done."  
_

_ooooOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"Do the Demon Duo after doing 'that' in bed, get tired after? Always been curious bout that cause demons don't need sleep ya know soooooo... Demon Duo I summon you to answer da question!"** by FreezinWinter_

_Answer by Ciel: __"Wha- what is with all of these perverse questions?! True, we do get a bit... tired after... that sort of thing, but it isn't a 'sleepy' kind of tired. Compare it to... I want to say 'exercising', but I'm getting the suspicion that the majority of you will go 'wink-wink, nudge-nudge' at that for whatever reason... A-anyway, it's more like the kind of 'tired' that simply remaining still for a few minutes can cure..."  
_

_Answer b__y__ Alois:__ "All we need to do is lay still for a minute or two, and then we're good."_

_ooooOOOooo_

_Question: **"Hello, I have a question for Ciel again this is really weird but... What was you reaction when you saw Alois, you know, ' like that'... ( wink-wink nudge-nudge)** **And Alois, what was your reaction to Ciel?.." **by Elle (also the person who asked "could Alois get pregnant?" which is probably one of the funniest we've gotten)_

_Answer by Ciel:__"Oh, uhm... well... I... I thought he was... he's... well... What's the word? 'Stunning'? No, I don't think that's right... He just made me feel... different... 'Different' in a good sort of way, I mean, of course, but... uhm... Like-, like fire..."  
_

_Answer by__ Alois:__ "He's so sexy. I want to look at him with both my eyes, and my hands. (if you know what I mean.) Ciel can be very passionate when he lets loose. It's hot."_

___ooooOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"How can you answer these questions so easily, Alois!?"** by Ciel_

_Answer by Alois:__"I'm just trying to **compliment** you, Ciel."  
_


	178. Cargo

_ "Will you be quiet?!" _asked a certain bluenette in a hushed tone, afraid that the blonde's constant asking of questions could put their entire mission in jepordy.

_ "As soon as someone explains to me what the hell we're going to do __**after **__this guy's dead!"_ replied the other boy in a similar tone. _"Do either of you know how to drive this thing?!"_

The three demons of Phantomhive house were currently aboard a cargo ship somewhere in the Atlantic ocean, thousands of miles away from home. Now that they were out of the bay, and in international waters, now was the time to strike their target down. They had to locate him quickly, and most of all, quietly, as to not start a war with the entire crew. Alois was, however, making the second requirement slightly difficult.

"_We can probably keep the captain hostage in order for him to drive it."_ the bluenette replied in a whisper. "_Judging by the looks of him, I doubt Beatie is the one driving the ship. If we can't keep the captain, then I'm sure Sebastian can figure it out."_

_ "Indeed, I could." _said the bulter, gracing the duo with his input. "_It might take me a few minutes, by I'm confident in my abilities."_

_ "No offense, but the uncertainty makes me feel skeptica-" _the blonde was silenced by the bluenette's hand covering his mouth, and he was shoved against a shipping container. The bulter crouched with his back to the container, and Ciel held Alois in place while keeping his own back to it's wall. They all ceased their unnecessary breathing as they heard footsteps grow closer.

They saw a man step into the light. A tall, brawny man with a mean brow, who looked like his nose had been broken one too man times. He wore a short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt, which appeared to have the image of a bulldog peeking out, as it was inked into the man's arm. The thing that made the trio the most nervous, was the fact that he was toting around a machine gun. He looked around a few times, checking behind things in a manner that showed he meant business. The man looked behind container after container, getting closer, and closer to the one that the demons were hidden behind. Sebastian reached into his coat, gripping his famous silverware, ready to strike, when the sound of a walkie-talkie crackling to life stopped the man dead in his tracks. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the device, placing it up to his ear.

"_Floyd!_ Vhat are you doing?! Get over here! The boss wants to talk to us!" a voice shouted in a German accent over the radio, causing the frightening-looking man to place more distance in between it an his ear in response. The demons were able to hear the conversation loud and clear because of this, and their superb hearing. The man, who name was apparently "Floyd", placed the device back up against his ear in order to answer.

"Can you not yell like that?" said Floyd, his voice scratchy and grainy, his accent American. Apparently, Beatie had picked up staff members from around the world. "It hurts. I thought I heard something in the cargo hold."

"Impossible! There's no way someone could have gotten past us." said the voice. "If vas probably just cargo moving with the ship, or something."

"It sounded to me like _voices_."

"_Mein gott! _First, you think you see_ veird lights _in the window of that _hotel room _across the street from us, and now you're _hearing voices?"_ asked the man over the radio, still not lowering his volume. "Floyd, are you sure you're not going _crazy _on us?" With a sigh, the other man replied.

"I must be getting _tired_, or something." he said, turning to leave. "I'll be right there. Calm down, _Heinrich..."_

Once he left, the trio let relaxed their muscles a bit, getting out of defensive mode. Sebastian peeked around the corner in order to make sure he was truly gone, before giving the others the signal, expressing that it was safe. Ciel nodded at the gesture, only to cringe seconds later at the feeling of something warm and wet touching his palm. Quickly, he moved his hand away from the source of the sensation.

_ "Did you just __**lick **__me?!"_ he demanded in a hushed tone, wiping the contaminated appendage on his pants' leg while giving the blonde a look.

_ "Yes."_ Alois replied. _"You didn't seem to be in any hurry to move your hand, otherwise!"_

_ "You could have pushed it away!"_

_ "I tried! You wouldn't move!"_

_ "Young master, __**the mission?" **_Sebastian intervened, causing the bluenette to immediately snap back into "business-mode" after being reminded of his presence. He hated it when the blonde would make him act so childish in front of others. Embarrassed, Ciel cleared his throat before speaking.

_ "Yes, well, you both heard what the voice over that man's radio said, right?" _he asked, and the two nodded, Alois trying his best to ignore the flustered nature with which the boy spoke in order to fulfill the mission's objective, while Sebastian did with ease, albeit smirking a bit at the bluenette's tone.

"He said that their boss wanted them to meet in order to tell them all something." Ciel continued. "I assume he meant Beatie. In other words, our target has all of his bodyguards in the same room as him."

"Sounds like a problem." the blonde commented. "So what's the plan? Wait for them to leave? Run in and kill them all? Have Sebastian_ silverware-snipe _him through an open window?"

"I'm... not sure..." the bluenette replied. He simply didn't know what they were going to do. With all of the man's guards with him, it was going to prove difficult exterminating him. It was moments like this were the bluenette simply felt awful. He didn't like knowing what to do. He didn't like not being able to formulate a plan. The frustration was visible on the bluenette's face, as he struggled to find a solution. The butler simply smiled at it.

"Well, we could take this opportunity to stake out the rest of the ship." he suggested, trying to appear as though he paid no mind to his master's irritation. Ciel would simply do this sometimes. He would have these slumps where he simply had no idea how to proceed with things, just as any "normal" person would. Unfortunately, however, they seemed to come at awful times. The bluentte looked at him for a moment, before conceding.

"Fine. I'm not sure what good it'll do, though..." the bluenette said, folding his arms. Every time he had one of these moments, he would kick himself quite hard for it.

"Maybe we can find the room he'll be staying in on the ship. " the blonde suggested, trying to scrounge up a reason. "Then, we can simply wait for him to come back there and finish him off when he's alone." He looked to Sebastian, who nodded, causing the boy to smile. The bluenette simply looked at him for a moment and sighed.

"Alright. Let's try it..." he said, not at all confident in this turn of events. His eye widened when the blonde put his hands on the bluenette's shoulders and began shaking him.

_ "Stop. Worrying. We. Have. A. Job. To. Do!" _Alois said in between shakes. Finally, he released the boy, now dumbfounded by the blonde's actions.

And so, the hunt for Victor Beatie goes on...

* * *

**A/N: UGH.  
**

**I really didn't feel like this today, in case you couldn't tell. No matter what I did, I had to struggle to come out with this... **

**I AM DISAPPOINT.**

**I'm sorry if I made you disappoint, too! Not much happened in this chapter and it makes me feel like such a DISGRACE.**

**Ah, I wanna draw...**

**Oh, I posted more shit on my Deviantart. I think I doodled pictures from the most recent couple of arcs, and some other random shit because I could... **

**Today was not a productive day, for me...  
**

**I read the latest update for Flightless503's _"And To Think I Hardly knew You"_, FINALLY. It was posted a few days ago, and I just hadn't read it yet. SHAME ON ME AGAIN.  
**

**That fic is basically the reason that I began writing this. I remember when it was first posted, and I was all like: "What is this?! Fanfiction isn't _just_ porn!? There's like, character development and stuff in here! ERMAHGERD. Sweet~!" Thus, I got the idea of turning my roleplay with my friends, and all the little drabbles I've drawn into a fanfic. Most of the funniest bits are based off of little one-, to four-panel comics I drew...**

**Good times, good times...**

**They posted a note talking about making a doujin of it. At first, I was all, "Ooh! Ooh! I can! I can!" and then I remembered that I couldn't make anything of professional quality. I can draw, and I've drawn comics and stuff, but that shit is_ hard._ I can't shade and tone that prettily (since I just discovered COPIC markers) and drawing panels is hard. My handwriting sucks... **

**I can only do stuff by hand... I can't edit shit on the computer... (which is entirely necessary for the field of work I want to go into after college. *cries*)**

**Besides, I'd also like to see a DLTD doujin... That'd be so righteous... **

**I'M SUCH A DISGRAAAAAACE!**

**...**

**...**

**Laters, Duckies...**

* * *

**_CHARACTER SHET_  
**

_Question: **"FOR Ciel; Would you ever marry Alois? And would you go on a honeymoon? FOR ALOIS; Would you go on a honeymoon with Ciel?**  
** And finally, For Sebastian; what would you think of Ciel and Alois' matrimony?"** by Zae Jeweal, and a whole bunch of others...  
_

_Ciel's Answer: "M-m-**marry!?** Well, uh, *ahem*. I-if that's the decision we both agree on in the future, then s-so be it... Legally, I'm not even supposed to be having a relationship with him, due to the fact that he's recognized by the government as **fifteen**, and I'm **one-hundred and twenty-six** (one-hundred and twenty-seven in a few days...). Although, that has been the subject of debate for the Council Of Twelve...  
_

_Also, m-marriage between two people of the same gender isn't recognized in Britain... We could get a 'Civil Union', but that's not quite the same thing... N-not that I really **care**, or anything..."  
_

_Alois' Answer: "Why not? It sounds like a lot of **fun**~!"_

_Sebastian's Answer: "Hmm? There aren't any objections on my part. I would be happy for them if they decide to do so. After all, if I were to deny such a thing of my master, what kind of a butler would I be?"  
_

_oooooooOOOOOOOooooooo_

_Question: **"Hey, I have a question for Ciel. What do you think your parents would think about all the things that have happened to you since they died?"** by White Bloody Queen_

_Answer by Ciel:__"Well, I highly doubt they would approve of the whole 'selling my soul to a demon for revenge' thing, or of becoming a demon myself. I also don't think they would appreciate my... relationship with Alois... (the Victorian Era was a different time, after all...) Overall, however, I think they'd be a bit glad to know I'm doing well for myself..."  
_


	179. Sorry, Sorry, Sorry

_"I don't want to go by myself!" _protested a certain blonde demon aboard a certain shipping vessel somewhere out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

_ "Sssssh! Keep your voice down, moron!"_ ordered a certain bluenette. Having decided their next course of action, he had suggested that they split up in order to cover more ground. "_It'll be harder for us to get caught this way! If any of us finds Beatie's room, we'll call the others, got it?"_

_ "I still don't want to go by myself!"_ Alois said, and it was true. It was dark, and the area was unfamiliar, not to mention the fact that there are also guards roaming the ship with machine guns. If he ran into any of those men, he wasn't sure if he could take them on. The idea of engaging them in combat simply terrified the boy. He shuddered as his mind uncontrollably wandered to the _absolute worst-case scenario_. Even though it was freezing outside, he was starting to sweat, and his uncontrollable imagination combined with the oh-so subtle rocking to the ship was starting to make him feel sick again.

"Alois, you can handle it. As long as you're able to keep your mouth shut, you'll be fine." The blonde simply stared blankly at the bluenette, as though he didn't quite believe him. "Look, even _if _you are caught, you're stronger than _ten_ of those men combined. If you get shot, you'll be able to get back up. You're a_ demon_, it's time to start _acting like one_." The blonde frowned at that final statement.

"I do _so _act like a demon!" It peeved him. It peeved him that the bluenette was expecting this of him, when he was so new to demonity. Things that seemed so obvious to Ciel simply weren't to Alois. He still had a very human-oriented mindset, often forgetting his own capabilities due to the fact that he was used to being human.

The blonde knew very well that the other boy's intentions weren't harmful, but it still irritated him when he was talked to like that. He couldn't help it. He has a bit of self-esteem issues when it came to the bluentte. He had admitted that to himself, and to himself alone, and he didn't appreciate it when he was talked down to by someone who he already thought he wasn't entirely worthy of. All of these things simply seethed underneath the blonde's surface. Often, he pushed them back away from the forefront of his mind, yet they nagged at him, just as the bluenette did.

_ "Ssssh!" _the bluenette hissed, ordering the boy to lower his tone. _"Are you __**trying **__to get us caught?!"_ Alois felt his eyebrow twitch at the way the boy worded that.

_ "I'm sorry!" _he declared in a hushed, angry tone._ "Sorry I don't know how to be quiet! Sorry I'm not that smart! Sorry I'm not that good of a demon! Sorry I'm not like YOU!" _He shoved the other boy at the utterance of his last insincere apology, startling the bluenette and causing him to take a few steps backwards in order to right himself. Sebastian simply watched the exchange with raised eyebrows. He felt that it wasn't his place to intervene.

_ "What the hell's the matter with you?!"_ asked the bluenette in tone similar to that of the blonde's. He had to repeat what he had said to the other boy in his mind in order to catch on. "_You know I don't mean it like that..."_

_ "That's what you __**say,**__ but you don't even __**try **__to change!"_ the blonde said, pointing at the bluenette accusingly. "_It's like you don't care what that feels like!"_

_ "I do care! It's just that I-" _Ciel cut himself off, as he was about to admit that he was wrong. Oh, how he hated to be_ wrong_. Remembering the mission, he stood up straight, resuming his usual stature. "_We don't have time for this_." he said. "_We have a mission_." Alois furrowed his brow, not believing his ears.

"_Fine." _he said, straightening himself so that he stood like the bluenette. _"I'll cooperate in your stupid mission. I'll finish it!"_

With that, he turned, and left. He didn't run away, though. He walked away with a powerful stride, similar to the way which the ever-prideful Phantomhive boy walked in, as if to prove that he to, could be every bit as competent as the bluenette. That was what this was all really about. Alois felt as though he needed to prove that to the bluenette once and for all. He would prove that he wasn't an "idiot", or a "mediocre demon". He would prove it to the boy, the butler, to everyone, but most of all, to _himself_. He wanted to confirm to himself that he really was worthy of being by the bluenette's side. He wanted to catch up with the bluenette in a mysterious race of sorts that had no starting point, or ending point; one that cannot be won, or lost.

Ciel extended his arm in order to stop the boy, to stop him and tell him how foolish he was being. Alas, looking at the blonde's back, he couldn't find the words. The bluenette's heart wavered in that moment, feeling a pang of guilt, a bit of shock, and a rush of anger at both the blonde, and at himself all at once. If there was anyone who understood "pride", it was Ciel Phantomhive, and he knew that the other boy was feeling as though his honour had been challenged. He understood that, but at the same time, he felt as though his own had been challenged as well. That outstretched hand curled into a fist, and found it's way back to the bluenette's side, as he furrowed his brow.

"_Fine. Have it your way_." he muttered under his breath. He turned in the opposite direction and began walking. "What are _you _waiting for?" he called to the butler, his tone annoyed. "Go and find a good place to strike Beatie!" The butler watched the bluenette walk away, his stride somewhat weaker than usual.

"_Yes, my lord..." _Sebastian replied, watching the boy a moment longer, before turning in another direction of his own choosing.

His master knew he was wrong to talk to people in such a manner, but that was the persona the boy had constructed after his parents' death, and he simply didn't know what to do, otherwise. Ciel's pride summoned this massive amount of stubbornness in removing the wall of ice around his heart. The blonde had warmed it, causing the ice to melt, but it was still somewhat frozen for being encased for so long.

He simply didn't know. The Phantomhive boy absolutely didn't know how to talk to people normally anymore. He didn't know how to express his own thoughts and feelings in a way that could be understandable to others. In truth, the boy only spoke that way to the blonde, calling him a "moron" and such for the sole reason that he cared about the boy, and worried about him. He just didn't know how to put that into words properly. His own stubbornness and pride hindered his ability to do so, especially at vital moments like these. Ciel hated making himself look foolish or weak, so he was especially bad about it when he was nervous.

That blonde, that horrendously strong boy who went through _hell_ and had the _audacity _to stand back up and smile again, was the sun that constantly beamed down on the bluenette's icy barriers, attempting to thaw his heart and make it beat again. Oh, how Ciel wanted to reach out to it and bask in it's warm rays, but he simply didn't know how. No matter what he did, his words would come out harsh, which was the exact opposite of their purpose, and it would cause the sun to drift away.

The bluentte furrowed his brow at these thoughts, and tried to shake them away in order to focus back on the search for Beatie's quarters. Alas, they would come crawling back again later, wasting his efforts. He tried as hard as he could in order to use that sixth sense of his, but his mind was just too foggy in order to feel it. He felt blind on this ship. He couldn't tell where he was going, or where he has been.

However, the blonde menace was abnormally sharp, paying attention to every detail of the ship as he navigated it. Alois was serious in his efforts, shoving his aching heart to the side for a moment in order to see clearly, just as Ciel would have done on a normal day. Every time the bluenette would begin to weasel his way back into his thoughts, he would shove him to the side for now, feeling awful for doing so, but not allowing it to distract him for now. It was this that made an uneasy feeling begin to bubble up in the blonde's stomach, like something was wrong. He knew what it was, so he ignored it, only causing it to grow without him hardly taking any notice. The anxiety helped him focus a bit on the task, firmly believing that completing it would put an end to this feeling.

Down a lonely corridor, he traveled, listening to every small sound, feeling every motion, and adjusting his travel accordingly. With his heightened hearing, he could hear voices coming from some of the rooms, so he was careful to step lightly without making a sound. Every time the air changed slightly because someone opened a door, he felt it now, and hid when it was close.

This was "being a demon". His mind almost felt overwhelmed by the amount of information it was receiving at once. He had ignored so many things in the past, but now, he could suddenly see them with vivid detail. It somewhat frightened him. Being a demon frightened him. He continuously ignored all of these things because it wasn't the "human" thing to do. It was a hard thing to accept, loosing his humanity. He still hasn't quite wrapped his head around the concept. It was foreign to him, thus it frightened him.

Once more, he shoved all of these thoughts away from the front of his mind, forcing all of these thoughts and feelings to take a backseat for now. Was this how the bluenette operated? He didn't know.

It was then when he cleared his focus one more time that he felt it. He felt something, a concerning presence of sorts coming from behind a door in the corridor. It wasn't a human, it wasn't a demon, it was something else. Something more _abstract_. Whatever it was, it was telling Alois that it was there, beckoning him to open the door. Hesitantly, he reached for the knob, and twisted it slowly, carefully, silently.

The blonde prepared himself to fight, but upon opening the door, he saw nothing. There was nothing there, not a single soul. Yet, the boy felt compelled to press onward, thus he walked into the room and closed the door behind him. He scanned the small room, looking for anything out of the ordinary, but saw nothing on the surface, so he pressed onward once more.

He ran his fingers across the surface of the desk as he walked by it, absent-mindedly feeling it's smooth texture, inspecting it. On the desk was a framed picture, and setting eyes upon it, the boy stopped. This item, this particular, mundane item that seemed to by smothered in whatever it was that the blonde had sensed in the hallway. Alois carefully picked it up and looked at it.

It was a picture of a man and a small child, or, more specifically of Victor Beatie and his son, Jonnathan when they were both younger. The deceased lad seemed to be around ten or so when this was taken, and they both seemed so happy. It was strange how such a happy image could hold such a melancholy aura about it. Alois took that in for a moment, thinking about why that would be.

Looking around the desk, and examining where the frame was placed, he imagined Beatie looking at it often. The way the man spoke about his son before made him seem as though he was hiding so much regret and sorrow from the public gaze. Perhaps it was when looking at this image, that the man would break down in privacy.

Alois moved to place the frame back down on the desk in precisely the position and location in which he found it, but his fingers rubbed against something on the back of it that made him curious. He flipped it over, examining what it was that he had touched, discovering that it was a piece of paper taped to the back of it. On it said:

_"Funeral on Dec. 12th 1:27 pm"_

The blonde raised his eyebrows when reading the date.

"_That's tomorrow..."_ he thought, recalling what day it was. He had remembered because he was counting down the days to the Phantomhive boy's birthday.

He felt a pang of guilt when remembering the bluenette boy, feeling his throat constrict as he fought off the urge to feel sadness. Alois quickly put down the picture and turned around, watching the door for a moment, making sure no one was there. His icy blue eye wandered around the deathly quiet room, over to the closet, which had a black suit hanging on the doorknob, no doubt the man was going to wear it to Jonnathan's funeral. Alois' heart ached even more when he thought about how he had to kill the man before he could even say goodbye to his son. It felt like all of the emotions that he was trying to ignore were resurfacing at last, and he still needed to contact the bluenette and inform him that he had found the room of their target. He pulled out his phone and stared at it for a long while, hesitating to send a text. He hated how he could be such a coward sometimes.

It was on this thought that he heard a small _click _behind him, coming from the doorway. The boy quickly turned around in order to discover the source. There, stood Victor, pointing a pistol at the boy.

* * *

**A/N: Well, fuck...  
**

**So much drama~!**

**I had to stop every once and a while to figure out what on earth I was talking about... Emotion is a difficult thing to convey, as it is an incredibly abstract thing. It's hard to put into words...**

**I still don't really know what this chapter is about, really... What is the focus again? **

**How do I fanfic?**

**Hm~? A question? For moi?**

**"to hate weasel what do you think if i made a fanfiction about you,me,and an other author ?" by psajo**

**I say "go for it". Send me a link. I have no idea what you would write about, but go ahead.  
**

**People keep askin' permission and stuff, bein' all polite and shit, and I'm like: "This is the internet! FAWK DAT SHET."**

**That reminds me, I find it incredibly weird when people PM me and write like it's a formal letter. I, for one, am not a fan of formalities, and appreciate the humour of being greeted with a "quack" or a platypus noise (whatever that may sound like). **

**My views on writing or creating anything based on me or my work is: "Go for it, just send me a link so I can look at it later." **

**You think I asked Yana Toboso before writing this? _Hell_ no, I didn't!**

**Has anyone ever noticed that I always put the word "_Hell"_ in italics? I do it every time the word is used as a joke for myself. I do shit like that all the time just because I can.**

**There is one line that I haven't used yet, but I use it in real life with my friends at school, usually on our anime club site. I'll post a picture of Alois with the phrase _"Did someone say 'Alois Trancy'?"_ as a play on _"Did someone say 'Draco Malfoy'?"_ from _A Very Potter Musical_ because I find it funny (and am the ONLY one who finds it funny in my group...) for no reason in particular. (I swear Alois may just be Malfoy from another universe...) I want to use that line so bad, but haven't found an excuse. **

**DON'T QUESTION MEEEEE!**

** Oh, God, I'm tired...  
**

**The amount of use of the phrases "Wink-wink, nudge-nudge" and "If you know what I mean" in the reviews is TOO. DAMN...**

_**PERFECT.**_

_**Oh, you guys~!**_

**You guys make me laugh. I laugh so hard at your reviews. (especially your questions. "I have to answer THAT?!") Never feel ashamed for allowing your minds to wander into the gutter. EVER.**

**IT'S THE CIIIIIIIRRRRRRCLE OF LIIIIIIIIIIFE~!**

**Yeah... I'm really tired...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: "this is for sebastian watch hey little sparta and react" by psajo  
_

_Answer by Sebastian: "I really don't understand humans, sometimes... Poor cat..."  
_


	180. It's Hard To Fight With Rigor Mortis

Alois was a bit stunned by the man's sudden appearance. His senses had been so sharp before, yet he didn't hear to door open at all. They had dulled when his mind became clouded by all of the sudden emotion, remembering Jonnathan, and the conversation he had with Victor at the Statue of Liberty, but most of all, about Ciel. Now, he was staring down the barrel of gun, held by that kind, fatherly figure he had met before.

Victor's brow was furrowed, a frown prominent on his face. He stood in the doorway of the room with a strong stance, ready to fight. The pistol in his hand was small, but it could definitely kill at the range he was at. It was aimed right at the blonde's head, the safety off, with a finger on the trigger.

"_You..." _the man said finally, recognizing the boy. "What are you doing here?" Alois stood speechless for a moment, speechless. He couldn't think of anything to say. It wasn't as though he could simply spout out his true purpose for being there. He put his hands up in surrender, in order to convince the man that he wasn't a threat.

"Oh... Hello, again..." was all the boy could manage to say. Beatie seemed less than amused at the remark.

"You didn't answer me." he said, never lowering his weapon. "I asked you what you were doing here? How did you even get on my ship?"

"Oh, this was _your _ship?" the blonde asked innocently. "I just knew it was heading back to Britain! I just wanted to get home! Honest!"

"I don't believe you. Judging by the way you're_ dressed, _you could have easily_ afforded to travel_." the man said, pointing out the boy's black, brand-name suit and debunking his argument. "There's _others _with you too, aren't there?" Alois smirked, as that was what he knew to do in a situation such as this. It helped him calm his own nerves.

"_Alright, you've got me." _he said, finally. He was unable to convince this man, so he decided to just go with it. "You're right about others, too, _but I don't know where they are_. We split up."

"Keep talking." replied Beatie. "How many? What do they look like?" The boy opened his mouth to speak, but stopped just short of doing so. He paused for a moment before answering.

"You know, had you asked me several years ago, _I woud've ratted them out without a second thought, _but I'm afraid I just can't do that anymore." He didn't quite know what he was saying or why, but it sounded good. It was like he couldn't control what he was saying.

"You're _a pretty noble kid,_ but I'm afraid that just won't cut it. I'm a weapons dealer; a criminal. Criminals have no use for things like that."

"They have no use for _emotion_ either, _but you still cling to Jonnathan_." The man's eyes widened in shock and he lowered the gun for a moment, his heart wavering. Victor held the gun up again.

_ "I never told you his name_..." he said, his expression conflicted with many, many different emotions all at once. Alois had found the man's weakness.

"I go to Warwick Academy. I've met Jonnathan before." the blonde replied. "I met him on the day he died."

"_And you didn't try to stop him?!" _Victor shouted. "You were there and you still didn't-!"

_"I tried!" _the blonde shouted back, matching the man's volume. "I _tried _to stop him! I _tried_ and I_ couldn't! _There are just some things that you can't stop!" The weapons dealer was completely silent at those words. He couldn't find any more words. "I couldn't stop him_ even in your place, Beatie..."_

The man grit his teeth, remembering that he could've stopped all of it. If he had been there to talk to his son when he was being mercilessly bullied, if he had been there to intervine, maybe, just maybe, the boy would still be alive today. The gun was still in his hand, and slowly, _he put pressure on the trigger._

The sound of the gunshot could be heard all around the shipping vessel, alerting the attention of everyone on board, including the bluenette.

Ciel's stomach dropped at the sound, and he felt blood drain from his face, making his complexion even paler than usual. He knew it couldn't possibly have been the butler who had been caught, leaving only one possible explanation: _Alois had been caught._

The muscles in the boy's legs tensed, and he ran in the direction the sound had originated from without the slightest clue where exactly it was that he was going. He ran, he feet hardly touching the ground, fortunately, but unintentionally making no sound. The bluenette's mind was unusually absent of thought in that moment, making it easier to find the other boy with his sixth sense, and he ran off in that direction, the direction that he could feel the presence of the blonde. Finding Alois was the only thought that occupied his head in that moment. Down the corridors of the ship, he ran, following the scent of the blonde's presence.

At last, he felt as though he was getting close; really close. He erratically rounded one last corner without even checking to see if anyone was there like he ordinarily would and made his way down one last corridor before stopping in front of a door. He could feel that the blonde was just on the other side, and opened the door, freezing upon setting his eyes on the sight before him. Victor Beatie was now gone, presumably to find someone to help him remove the body from his room. Yes, _Alois' body_.

Blood was on the back wall from where the bullet exited, and just in front of the stain was the blonde in a lifeless heap. He was lying on his back, a clean hole in his forehead, and his eyes were opened wide as though he were surprised, yet it was obvious that he wasn't seeing anything. There was a crimson puddle on the floor where the back of the boy's head rested, staining the carpet an ugly shade of maroon as it began to dry. Ciel simply stood motionless as he took in the scene.

With a deep breath, he forced his legs to move forward, and walked towards Alois before crouching down next to him. His mind was completely blank at seeing the blonde's face up close. He felt completely empty upon coming across the sight. Silently, he raised a hand to move stray locks of hair away from the entry wound, examining it.

_ "Stop making faces at me and wake up_." he finally forced himself to whisper. _"Wake up. That's an order."_

Ciel stared at the blonde's icy-blue eyes and watched as the life slowly started to fade back into them, gradually losing their new glassy look. He felt a rush of relief at the sight, knowing that the other boy _wasn't dead_. It was Alois' first time getting shot in the head as a _demon_, so it would take a while for him to_ wake up _again. Even though Beatie was a weapons dealer, he didn't sell weapons capable of actually _killing_ a supernatural creature of any sort, let alone a _demon_.

The bluenette removed his tie and wrapped it around Alois' injury before forcing his arms between the floor and the blonde's body, placing one arm around his shoulders and the other underneath his legs. He knew had to move the boy before Beatie came back with help, and they threw him overboard. But, by now, there wasn't any doubt that the crew was now aware of the presence of intruders, and would be hunting them down. They would have a hard time hiding from them, as most of them appeared to be ex-military specialists of sorts. Ciel lifted the the other lad with ease, and carried him out of the room, his tie preventing stray droplets of blood to drip onto the floor while the blonde's bleeding began to stop, hindering the possibility of their being a trail to follow.

With the knowledge that the blonde was going to be alright, Ciel's mind was now capable of processing information again, and he was able to use his senses once more. He was able to avoid several batches of guards this way, taking alternative paths in order to hide. As much as he didn't like too, he needed to stall until the blonde was capable of moving on his own again. He finally stopped on top of one of the many shipping containers in the cargo bay, and gently set the boy down, removing the improvised bandage and brushing his hair to the side in order to inspect his process.

The skin had healed up nicely with no odd discolourations, but sagged where the bone and muscle had yet to finish regenerating. It would probably tear if if he applied too much pressure to it, so the bluenette refrained from touching it. With one hand, he closed the blonde's eyes so they wouldn't get dehydrated from being open for too long, and with the other, he pulled out his cellphone and sent Sebastian a text, telling him what happened and asking him if he had found anything. Moments later, he received a reply.

_"Don't worry, young master, Mister Trancy will be perfectly fine._

_Be sure not to leave him in the same position for too long, or the_

_Rigor Mortis will effect him badly later. The captain will now be _

_heading straight to Britain, so we must hurry._

_-SM"_

With that, the bluenette assumed that the butler had used their little hypnosis trick on the captain of the ship, and didn't need to worry about Beatie changing their course. Before Ciel could send a response, however, he began to hear footsteps coming closer, as well as whispers. Quickly, he shoved his phone back into his pocket so the light of the screen wouldn't give away his location, and grabbed his pistol. _Zamiel_ was now loaded with ordinary bullets, as "_anti-freak_" ones were expensive, and unnecessary for their task. This was also so if one of the bullets went haywire and ricocheted in the enclosed space, friendly fire wouldn't be a problem. Ciel inched his way over to the edge of the container and looked down, seeing the shadows of the approaching guards in the doorway, illuminated by the light of the moon.

"How many do you think there are, _boss?" _asked a voice, the same one with the German accent that the lads had heard over the radio of one of the guards'. It belonged to a young man, with golden hair and green eyes that were visible even in the slightly dark environment. He carried a machine gun along with several others, all obviously older than him, and with them, armed with a pistol, was _Victor Beatie_.

_"It's hard to say_." replied the weapons dealer. "Probably_ not many, _since they were able to sneak in so easily and catch us off guard." The frightening man from before was with them as well, and he shot the German a look for telling him to ignore the first signs of trouble.

As he listened, Ciel shifted himself so he was laying on his stomach, in order to disable the group from hitting him if they fired, all while aiming his own custom pistol at their leader. Suddenly, the younger German man took a strong stance and aimed in the bluenette's direction. He pulled the trigger, and the sound of repeated gunfire assaulted the eardrums of everyone in the room. Ciel had to duck his head back down as to not end of in a state similar to that of his companion's. Alois' eyelids twitched at the sound, but remained closed.

"_Heinrich!_ _What in blazes are you doing?!"_ demanded Beatie, uncovering his ears.

"They're there! On top of the shipping container! _Floyd! _Turn on the lights!" shouted the other man, who was apparently known as "_Heinrich_", to the frightening-looking man in the Hawaiian shirt. Floyd did as he was instructed, and flipped the switch, illuminating the room. The hiding place of the demonic duo was still hidden, due to the angle at which the other group was looking at it from. Everyone was silent, as they listened for the first signs of life in the area that the German had indicated.

This sign, of course, came in the form of shots being fired at them from above, injuring several, some fatally so. The assassins who's names were known to the bluenette fired back as they retreated behind their own source of cover, escorting their employer to safety. Ciel ducked down again, as bullets bounced of the edge of the shipping container and denting it while some whizzed by over the boy's head.

He looked back at the blonde boy, making sure that he hadn't been hit. Ciel noticed that his position had changed slightly, his hand in a slight fist, rather than open like it was before. He shook away the thought and focused back on the task at hand, as the gunfire seemed to slow down. The bluentte knew that as soon as he lifted his head up again to fire, his opponents would fire, so he stayed down, and simply surveyed the situation. He had to wait for them to make that same mistake before he could take them down.

* * *

**A/N: Set zappers to "pew"! _Pew! Pew!_  
**

**Yeah, I don't even know...  
**

**Question for moi?**

**"If you had your hair change every time your emotion changed, the color being your emotion, what would you do?" b y Purple Giraffe  
**

**DAT NAME.**

**Anyways, I dunno. Kinda like_ Nymphadora Tonks?_ I'd try and work it to my advantage, I guess. I tend to be the quiet type in person (like, "Amelie quiet", sometimes), so it might actually be useful for when I want people to piss off, or just expressing my thoughts in general. Ah, it might also suck, 'cause I wouldn't be able to keep my thoughts a secret anymore... Hmmm... that's a toughie...**

**I can't think of anything else to say here... soooo...**

**Laters, duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question:** "Request for Lawrence: Read an M-Rated Fan-Fic of Devil Butler. And it HAS to be of Cecil and Alphonse. What is your reaction?"** by Jman15008_

_Lawrence's Response: __"What? Is... Is this REALLY what fans think about when they watch us? I, uh, don't know what to say... I don't think that's really in character, though..."  
_

_ooooOOOOOooo__Question: **"Question for alois: do you sometimes think that ciel secretly likes to see you in drag? Question for ciel: you DO like seeing alois in drag don't you? (Don't deny it.)"** by chestnutghost  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"It was a **secret?**"_

_Ciel's Answer:__"... I WILL deny it..."  
_

_ooooOOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"Question for Ciel and Alois Have you ever tried "playing" in your demon forms? That tail comment made me curious *wink wink nudge nudge* If not, how would you react when you go to bed and see the other one in his demon form?"** by rasu_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Well... y-yeah... Alois' demon form... is just so..."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"I would MOLEST him. We've only done it once or twice like that, actually, because the tails and horns get in the way sometimes, but still, Ciel's demon form is just so... And with my tail it's just... ***blushes*** A-anyway, It isn't that different, really, only a bit more... uh... what was the question again?"_

_ooooOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"Question for Ciel & Alois (since I can't get the topic of "make-up sex" out of my mind o.o)What is your favorite position? :) If you know what I meaannnnn"** by LongerWalks-And-ShorterWalks  
_

_Ciel's Answer: "Oh... Uh... I don't know... Th-that's extremely personal... I guess... ***mutters*** ...I guess I kind of like to see his face, though... maybe..." _

_Alois' Answer:  "Huh? I dunno. That's not really my main focus when we're... uh... y'know...** *mutters*** ...I kind of like to hold onto him, though... maybe..."  
_

_Question: **"Hmm ciel...*pats head* how's it feel being in eternal puberty kiddo*smiles*"** by Wooimmafox1503_

_Ciel's Answer:__"...it's **rubbish**..."  
_


	181. I Won't Die, Even If I'm Killed

Alois remembered being in Victor Beatie's room, talking to him, but then everything suddenly faded to black. He couldn't see anything, yet he knew his eyes were open. The only thing the boy could register was darkness, yet this wasn't the most disturbing thing. He couldn't hear anything, yet he knew he had ears, yet this also wasn't the most disturbing thing. While those two factors were more than just "a little" unsettling, the thing the frightened the blonde the most right now was the fact that he couldn't _feel _anything, yet he knew he had _limbs_.

There was just nothing. He couldn't tell if he was sill standing, as he couldn't feel his legs, but he didn't know if he was lying down either, because he couldn't feel his back. His fingers, his toes, his arms; he couldn't tell if he still had them anymore, because he couldn't feel them. From the _air on his skin_, to _his own heartbeat_, he couldn't feel anything aside from the excruciating pain in his head. He didn't know why it hurt, or why it hurt so badly, but it did.

He wanted to cry out in pain, but he couldn't speak. He couldn't take in the oxygen to so much as _whimper_, let alone form words while being unable to open his mouth. He couldn't tell if he was crying, because he couldn't feel his face or his eyes. It was only his cranium that ailed him so, as it began to feel _colder_ inside his head, _like all of the blood was leaving it_.

Alone, he drifted in the darkness for what seemed like ages, until he began to sense something. He couldn't entirely tell what it was, but it felt like he was being watched, and it began to frighten him. It felt like it stayed in the same spot for a moment before moving closer. This unknown presence began to scare him, until it was right up next to him. While he couldn't feel his body, he could still somehow tell that it was there; this familiar, and somewhat comforting presence.

It was then that the boy thought he heard a voice, however, it was muffled to the point that he couldn't understand what it was saying. In fact, he could barely hear it at all, and wouldn't have if he could feel anything else. It was brief, but he focused on the voice, trying to distinguish it. He realized that he knew this voice, yet he couldn't place who it belonged to.

His focus shifted briefly as he realized that he was moving again, but he didn't know what was moving him, as he knew it wasn't him. It must've been that presence he had felt before, whatever it may have been. He knew it wasn't going to hurt him, at least, and that was reassuring. Yet he still was immensely concerned by the fact that he couldn't hear, see, smell, taste, or touch anything. The only thing he could use was his sixth sense, and it wasn't very helpful in this situation.

After he felt like he stopped, he wondered a bit where he was, or who he was with for a moment before returning his focus again to the pain in his head. It didn't hurt as badly as before, but was still horrible. This focus on this feeling shifted again, as he felt something tickling his forehead, and then he felt his eyes close, which was odd, since he didn't instruct himself to do so. He was glad that he was regaining feeling, but was concerned about what was happened, a concern that grew as he hear the muffled sound of loud, rapid, booms, and hostile voices. He desperately tried again to move himself and get away from them; his arms, legs, _anything_. Alas, they would not.

There were others nearby, he could feel it, yet the presence from before was the one closest to him, being his only comfort at the moment as he regained his body. Gradually, the booms became clearer, and he could tell that they were guns of some sort, and they were coming from the others in the room, who seemed hostile, while the person next to him didn't. They didn't feel like a threat in the slightest.

But then that presence changed slightly, as though it were _damaged_, causing his fear to return once more. He wanted to get up and help it, but couldn't. He felt so _helpless_; a feeling that he hated more than anything else in the world.

Alois always felt helpless, but never to this extreme. He felt helpless when he was human, he felt helpless as a demon, too, just in different ways. The blonde didn't like being fussed about since he wasn't used to using his power, or called an "idiot", since it only reminded himself of his faults. The boy was helpless. He couldn't do anything on his own. He always needed someone else to save him or give him aid. While he liked the _care_ that he was given, he didn't like being so _pathetic_ all of the time. While he loved Ciel, he didn't love making the boy worry about him. Was it so wrong to want to be able to stand on his own feet?

He couldn't though, _not in this situation_, anyway. He couldn't move or see, yet he could still sense the presence of others and vaguely hear them. Suddenly, the gunfire stopped again, causing him to pay attention to whatever sounds came next, so that he may perhaps better understand what was happening. It was a voice. The same voice he had heard first, only slightly more clear, and less muffled. He listened carefully to what it was saying, as it appeared to be talking to the other people in the room, who answered back at it. Alois couldn't understand them, however, as he was only able to pick up small fragments of the conversation. The voice from before sounded confident and dignified, which he liked. That means that it's owner wasn't losing. That voice was so familiar, yet he couldn't place it. It was a voice that he knew well, yet his head was too foggy to process it. It irritated the boy to no end. Who's voice was it? Who's voice? _Who's?!_

_ "I am 'The Queen's Guard-dog', my name is Ciel Phantomhive!"_

Alois' eye shot wide open at those words. The light above him was almost blinding, but he didn't care; Not even in the slightest. He just wanted to find it's source. He just wanted to see it's owner and his_ haughty, arrogant face_. Slowly, he was able to move his eyes to the side, but that wasn't enough, so he forced his head to move as well, the stiffness of his neck hindering him the entire way. It was the _Rigor Mortis _that was preventing him from seeing that _self-righteous, bluenette, rich brat._

The blonde's movement went heard by the bluenette's ears, causing him to turn around to check on the boy. When he did, Alois could see that the Phantomhive's cheek was bleeding, as a bullet had grazed it, but he was otherwise unharmed. Ciel noticed that the other boy was now awake and with a sigh of relief, he smiled at him, the bluenette allowing an uncharacteristically gentle expression grace his face. With this knowledge, he turned back to his opponents.

"You hear me, Beatie?" he said in his usual authoritative manner. "If you don't surrender now, you _will _be eliminated."

"_He's just a kid..." _Floyd said aloud to his teammates, all dumbfounded by the appearance of these child-soldiers.

"I can_ see _that!" replied Heinrich, before turning his attention to his employer. "Vhat do you want us to do, boss?" Beatie paused for a moment and thought. He didn't entirely like the idea of killing children. Why, he was even distressed over killing the blonde boy from before, but even still, there was something he had to do first; something that he couldn't do either in prison or dead. After thinking for a moment, he looked up with a determined expression on his face.

"_Not a chance, boy!" _he shouted from behind his cover. "I've got places to go, and things to do! I can't surrender yet!"

"_So be it." _the bluenette said, reloading his weapon by giving it a fresh magazine. He crawled over to the blonde, and gently rubbed the boy's head with his free hand.

_ "I'll be right back." _he said, offering the boy a smile before standing up. He turned to leave, but suddenly stopped when he felt something grab his ankle. Ciel looked at the blonde again, watching the boy wince at the pain of suddenly using his muscles that haven't fully regained their flexibility from the Rigor Mortis. Alois had used a lot of willpower to do that, internally screaming at his limb to move, and Ciel simply bent down and unhooked the blonde's nearly frozen fingers from his ankle, perpetuating the feeling of helplessness that the boy had.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you keep your promise to finish the mission." the bluenette said gently. "If I did, we would have made it all the way back home by the time you'd be able to move again." He paused to watch the boy's face twitch in what he wasn't sure was anger, worry, or something else. "When this is over,_ I promise to listen to whatever complaint you have. _Alright?" He was answered with the sound of the blonde inhaling, trying to get his lungs to work again so that he could reply. Before he could, though, the bluenette had already stood back up and walked over to the edge of the container. Ciel jumped, landing on the ground gracefully, while a human-being would have definitely broken something.

The other group heard the sound of his shoes hitting the floor, and one of them peeked out to investigate. He was immediately stuck down by the demon-boy's bullet, being pierced right between the eyes. Ciel smiled a bit as the men gawked at their fallen comrade. One of them was so bold as to appear from being the corner, relentlessly firing at the boy, yet somehow missing with each bullet.

It was as though the boy could teleport, as he would be right in the line of fire one moment, and out of the way as soon as the man blinked, repeating the action whenever the gunman corrected himself. Even when he thought he had hit the bluenette, it had only been an after-image. The boy got closer, and the man got increasingly nervous, a feeling he felt up until the bluenette fired a second bullet, hitting the man just above his eye.

"Vhat the hell?!" shouted Heinrich, seeing the man fall. "How could he miss if he's right in front of him?!" The German moved in order to confront the boy himself, confident in his competence, only to be stopped by a coworker.

"Dumbass! He'll only get you too!" said the man. "We'll wait here until he rounds the corner, then we'll fire all at onc-"

He was stopped mid-sentence, and then dropped to the floor with silverware protruding from his head and neck. The others looked to see a man dressed in black several feet from them. He wielded silverware in his hands, and looked ready to fight.

"My apologies, my lord." said the man clad in black with a sly grin. "I had a bit of trouble finding you. Honestly, _what kind of butler does that make me if I can't do something so simple?"_ He threw a few more projectiles, taking out a few more of Beatie's men. The remaining few moved to find better cover from both sides, dragging their employer along with them. A few more fell during their retreat, regardless to the fact that they were far more heavily armed than the two demons.

* * *

**A/N: Whoo!  
**

**Abrupt halt because I didn't know how to end it!**

**Honestly, the hardest part about writing this chapter, though, was coming up with a title afterwards...**

**True story.**

**I like to think that Ciel has grown into this badass version of himself for some reason. In season two, he starts to want to do things himself, and this is just an extreme version of that. (I think?) Or, I just think it's cooler that way... Who knows?**

**Question for moi: "Will Grell ever be making an appearance here? I love an uncomfortable Sebastian." by LongerWalks-And-ShorterWalks  
**

**Maybe? _I don't even know how this arc ends yet._ I'm just improvising, for now, but hey,_ it could happen.._.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET (OR BLATANT SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF THE CHARACTERS)  
**_

_Question: "**For Sebby: What do you do in your free time? (More specifically, when Ciel and Alois are...you know...*nudge**nudge*) Any fellow demon friends?"** by LongerWalks-And-ShorterWalks_

_Sebastian's Answer:"I seem to have less free time now with those pesky maids running about. (ESPECIALLY the werewolf...) But, when I'm not working, I like to volunteer at the local animal shelter. Cats are my specialty. As for "demon friends", I can't say that I really have those, as it's quite uncommon to find our kind simply running about."  
_

_oooooOOOOOooo_

_Question: **"So...a question for the 7 (besides Alois and Ciel) I have dubbed you all gay. Don't argue with me, you are gay, Nuff said. Who would you rather have as a lover, Ciel or Alois? And why? Don't use the whole 'not gay' thing on me, in this question,you are."** By EmeraldPaw_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Seriously? Do I REALLY have to? Haven't you been paying attention?"_

_Audrey's Answer:__"Hmmm... If I liked guys, I'd probably go for Ciel, since we have the most interests in common. Doctor Who rules."  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?! I'm still freaked out by the LAST question I was asked! ***shudders*** UGH! Well, Ciel is no fun, so I'd probably rather have Alois. (Do NOT add a "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" there!) But seriously... I can't... I just can't... Not after finding out how they... Nope! Nope! NOPE! I'm not gonna let my mind go there! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"  
_

_Preston's Answer:__"What? What's with these questions? Well, if I absolutely HAVE to pick, it would probably be Ciel. Alois is just too wild..."  
_

_Travis' Answer: __"I don't know."_


	182. The Right Thing To Do

The blonde menace clicked his tongue in annoyance as he heard the gunshots go off around the vast room. He not only wanted in on the action, he wanted to be the one to complete this mission. The only thing standing in his way was his own immobility. He tried with every fiber of his being to get his muscles to move freely again, grunting as he moved his arms, flexing his back muscles as well. It hurt, but he preferred it to being the odd one out.

When he felt that he had the ability, he flipped himself onto his stomach and crawled towards the edge of the container, looking down at how far away the ground was. He knew that in his current state, he wouldn't be able to land that without injuring himself, so he simply waited, stretching his legs and listening to the orchestra of nearby gunfire as he knew the bluenette was no-doubt picking off Beatie's team. He felt utterly defeated by his inability, and thus began to plan what he was going to tell the bluenette the next time he saw him.

Ciel was meanwhile having a wonderful time completing his mission. He had a lot of frustration built up over the past few hours, and was keen to take it out on these poor men by ruthlessly exterminating them. He wasn't even trying to aim for Beatie at this point. No, he was now reduced to a monster who was killing simply for sport, smiling as he switched out the magazines of his pistol. While this may seem to be a horrible thing for the boy to be doing, it should be understood that this isn't quite normal behaviour for him, and is now only being used as a therapeutic means. He wasn't entirely "morally correct" to begin with, you see.

With both him, and the butler hunting them now, it was only a matter of time until their target's forces dwindled down to naught. As they ran, Victor thought about many things. He thought about his son, and the predicament he was currently in. Beatie desperately wanted to say his "goodbyes" to his son properly, like a normal father would have done, but with this turn of events, it slowly began to sink in that this was an impossibility. Thus, he stopped running, his two remaining colleagues passing him by a few feet, only to stop and turn around.

"_Boss, what's wrong?!"_ asked the frightening-looking man in the Hawaiian shirt. "Let's go!"

"_This isn't working." _Beatie said. He put his hands up in the air. _"We surrender! We'll come along peacefully!" _he shouted, hoping that their pursuers could hear him. His two remaining men looked at him in shock.

"Boss!" called Heinrich. "What about _Jonnathan?!"_

"It's impossible." said the weapons dealer. "I just can't do anything right. I can't save my son, I probably can't even save _myself_, but if I can save_ somebody_, at least...Maybe Jonnathan might forgive me?" The two others looked at each other for a moment before looking back to the man.

"We can't do that, sir." said Floyd, finally. "We have a contract to protect our boss with our lives, and that's just what we're gonna do-"

"Stand down!_ That's an order!" _the man barked, startling his crew. "Don't you_ get _it? _You're all that I have left_... No matter what, you _have_ to make it out of here alive..." He reached into his pocket, pulling out an abject an handing it to Heinrich.

It was the man's most prized possession, a small, toy car that his son had given him on the first day of his around the world journey. Jonnathan gave it to him so he would always remember to visit whenever he had the chance. Victor had a bad habit of always placing his hands in his pockets, and that was the reason why. It was to make sure that he hadn't dropped that toy car. The German was speechless at the man's actions, staring at him with a shocked expression. He didn't need Victor to explain this to him, but the man did anyway.

"This will be your _last_ mission from me." he said, placing his hands back in his pockets. "Your mission is to get out of here alive, and _return that to my boy,_ alright?" He turned around in order to walk away from the crew. "I'm not that good of a father, or of a leader. I'm sorry that your mission has to be something selfish like this. But, if you can do this, I can leave you with no regrets." Heinrich clenched the toy in his hand for a moment before putting his arm at his side.

"Boss!" he called out, causing the man to stop for a moment. He turned his head to look at the younger man. When he did, he was greeted by a salute.

_"Auf Wiedersehen!"_ the young man with the golden hair shouted. The American man with the scary face and the Hawaiian shirt did the gesture as well.

"Let's meet again someday, boss." he said with a smile. Victor smiled back at them whole-heartedly.

_ "Auf Wiedersehen. See you in the afterlife." _he said, turning to walk away again. This time, he didn't look back at them. That would be the last time either of them would see Victor. He walked away to meet up with the bluenette, who stood behind one of the many shipping containers, arms folded with his back leaned against it.

"Are you done yet?" he asked, not even looking at the man.

"Yeah." said Victor, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette before lighting it. "It's awful _nice _of you to wait on me."

"I can _respect_ a dying wish such as that. That's the only reason I'll allow them to escape." said the boy, moving from his spot against to wall in order to stand in front of the man, blocking his path.

"_Much obliged."_

"You seem a bit_ too _okay about this."

"True, but I knew from the beginning that you had no intention of simply _arresting _me. You came to _kill, _right? You wouldn't have gone through killing all of my men for _just _an _arrest._ If that's the case, then_ go ahead_. I've got nothing else keeping me to this mortal world any longer." replied the man, holding out his arms like he was inviting the boy to shoot.

"Not even a little bit of fear of the unknown?" asked Ciel.

"Nah. I've seen lots of death in my line of work, so I think about it a lot." Victor put his hands in his pockets again. "This world's a _damn ugly place_. I don't like looking at it. I could use a change of scenery."

"Well, then. Shall I_ grant _your _wish?" _the bluenette asked, tilting his head slightly with a slight smile. His visible eye flashed crimson for a slight second, something that the man noticed, but paid no real mind to.

"_Be my guest_." Victor said, flicking his cigarette off in some unknown direction. He smiled, and closed his eyes, bracing for an impact that would never come to him.

Instead, he felt a swift yank at the collar of his shirt and a pair of lips on his. His eyes went wide when he realized what the boy was doing, and wanted to pull away, but couldn't. His limbs grew numb and went cold, and his vision began to blur before finally fading to black. His body fell to the floor in a lifeless heap, and unlike with the blonde menace, Victor Beatie would never wake up again. Ciel wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, staring at the man with his glowing, crimson eye. He really did wish that there was a better method for taking people's souls. He was really glad that the blonde hadn't seen that. Alois would have thrown an absolute fit if he did.

The bluenette felt nothing but guilt when remembering the blonde menace. He couldn't help but remember how he had left him in his immobile position on top of a high structure; how angry the boy was with him, and how angrier still he would be for leaving him like that. Even his high from obtaining a new soul couldn't over-shadow thoughts like these.

He wished that the blonde understood his reasoning for everything. He wished that he knew why it was that he called him names, and why he picked at him for being unable to do the things he could with his power. Ciel wanted Alois to know that it wasn't at all intended to put him down, but it was instead the bluenette's way of expressing concern for the boy.

_ "Maybe you should just tell him that."_

Ciel grabbed the sides of his head as the phrase assaulted his mind. Sometimes he would get little tidbits from a person after consuming their soul, phrases, words, images, scenes; he'd received them whether he wanted to or not. Strangely, though, he knew that voice. It wasn't the voice of _Victor Beatie _who spoke_,_ but the voice of none other than the notorious _Alois Trancy_.

The image of Alois standing by the window at the Statue of Liberty flashed before the bluenette's eyes, the blonde facing the window and looking at his hands, as though he were uncomfortable. It was obviously when the bluenette wasn't there, as he was in Victor's shoes in the memory. The scene replayed once more, the blonde repeating the words one last time before Victor's esscence dissolved and was suppressed by the bluenette's own.

"_Maybe you should just tell him that." _he said before Ciel finally snapped back to his senses.

He stood there, pondering the image for a moment, realizing that they must have been talking about the man's son at the time, yet he couldn't help but relate it to his own troubles. He pulled out his cellphone, signalling the mission's completion to Sebastian, informing him to make the appropriate preparations for arriving home. When he received the "Yes, my lord" response, he went in search of the blonde, starting in the place he had last seen him.

His shoes made a small "clicking" noise as they hit the metal roof of the shipping container. Ciel had to stop and take in the sight of the blonde laying on his stomach, close to the edge of the container; obviously not in the position the bluenette had left him. The bluenette walked over to the boy, and sat next to him, legs dangling over the edge of the container. He hesitated for a moment before putting a hand on the other boy's shoulder. Alois simply groaned in response.

"Well, _'hello' _to you, too..." the bluenette said, pausing for a moment. "The mission's over. We're going home." The blonde simply groaned again. "Can you not speak yet?"

_"...I can..."_ the blonde answered, his voice somewhat airy, like he couldn't quite find all of it. His face was directed away from Ciel, the back of his head where his hair was all matted together from dry blood plainly visible. Ciel couldn't help but touch it, making sure it had healed up properly. "_What are you doing?"_

"Making sure there's not still_ a hole in your head_." the Phantomhive boy replied. "You scared me..."

_"I know... Sorry_..." the blonde replied, not moving. Ciel knew he was alright, though. Colour had returned to the blonde's face. "_I can't do anything right_..." the boy said, causing the bluenette to raise an eyebrow.

"That's not true. You're just _inexperienced_, is all." Ciel said. He stopped playing with the blonde's hair, and leaned over him, balancing his weight on his arm, resting on one side of the boy while remaining seated on the other. His looked at the blonde's face, with it's unusual depressed expression. Alois' eyes moved to look up at the bluenette.

_ "Is that what this is about?" _asked the bluenette. Alois moved his head so that his forehead was touching the roof of the container and that his face was hidden from the Phantomhive boy. Ciel knew he had hit the nail on the head. "_Alois..." _he said, his tone a bit cross. The blonde groaned as his reply once again.

When he did, the bluenette forced his hands between the container and the blonde's body, flipping him over on his back so that he couldn't hide, just as Ciel wanted to right then. Summoning all of his courage, the bluenette shoved his pride to the side for a moment. He took a deep breath and spoke.

"It's not that you_ 'can't do anything right',_ or that you're '_useless_'." he said, forcing the blonde's hand out of the way so that he couldn't cover his face. "You aren't _'stupid'. _and you aren't a 'child'. I say those things but don't really _mean_ them. Do you know _why?"_ Alois shook his head.

"It's because I just don't know how else to show you how much I _worry_ about you." the bluenette said, moving a stray lock of hair out of the other boy's face. Alois' eyes were wide as thought he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I don't worry about you because I think you're _'weak', _either. I worry about you because _I love you_." The blonde's face immediately heated up at those three words, causing the bluenette to smile.

"I don't say it as often as I should, but I do." he continued. "_I love you_. I love _Alois Trancy_, and I love_ Jim Macken_. I love you when you act a fool, and I love you when you act serious. I love you_, even when you're mad at me_."

"_Sh-shut up..." _the blonde said, desperately trying to hide his face. His voice cracked, like he was trying not to cry. _"How do you always know exactly what to say?"_

"I _don't._ Personally, I thought I just sounded _like a rambling idiot_." Ciel smiled. He leaned down to lightly kiss the blonde's forehead, but the blonde instead grabbed the sides of the bluenette's head in order to kiss his on the lips. It lasted for quite some time, but fortunately for them, demon's don't need_ air _in order to live.

_ "I love you, too." _Alois said when he finally released the other boy. He smiled. _"Even when you're an arrogant asshole."_

_ "Thanks."_ said the bluenette with a smile of his own. "_That really means a lot_."

* * *

**A/N: Oh, Alois, you sweet-talker, you~!  
**

**I'm still not done with this arc yet... Nope. Still shit to do.**

**Still not sure how I feel about this chapter... **

**Ah... I'm tired again... It's three a.m... While that might not be anything to some of you night-owls, that ain't normal for me. I like to sleep...**

**Ah, good, I don't have any questions that I have to think that hard about this time... *rereads a few of the questions***

**FUCK. **

**I'll answer those later... **

**Until then, my duckieszzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question:__**"****Question for Ciel: If today was the last day you could spend with Alois, how would you spend it?"** by LongerWalks-And-ShorterWalks_

_Answer by Ciel: "I would probably have to spend it trying to get him to stop crying about it..."_

_ooooOOOooooo_

_Question:** "Ciel, did you ever let Grell have Sebby for a day?"** by SakuraNanami_

_Answer by Ciel:__"Psh, **no**."_

_ooooOOOooo_

_Question: **"Question for Alois: When you and Ciel are...you know..."Doing IT", would you say he's more gentle/kind? Or just as bossy and smart-ass-y (is that a word? o.o) ?"** by LongerWalks-And-ShorterWalks_

_Answer by Alois:__"Sounds like a word to me. Well, to be honest, he's kind of a combination of both... He likes to tease sometimes, but most of the time... H-he's really... g-gentle with me... ***blushes*** What the actual fuck?! Why am I embarrassed by stupid shit like this, huh?! I don't get it! I was never bothered before, right?! RIGHT! This should be nothing... B-b-b-but when it's like that... I just... ***blushes* **...I can't... I have lost the ability to can..."  
_


	183. Ghost Ship?

It was another fine day at Warwick Academy. Specifically, the date was December the twelfth, some time around noon and the sensational seven were going about their usual daily routine, eating lunch before hanging out in the common's area before it was time to go to class. Yet, it wasn't like most days, as they were missing two key members to their ensemble, a pair collectively known as "the demonic duo".

They had been missing for most of the week, actually, which wasn't entirely unusual. The only odd thing about it was how the school was okay with that. While Warwick offers a few "working days" for students who have gotten a head-start in progressing their careers, it was uncommon for anyone to actually _use _them. The four lads who were aware of the duo's "condition" simply shrugged it off as the two going off on some sort of supernatural escapade, like they would do on occasion. Preston, however, was suspicious of the two.

The Indian boy wasn't sure why they were in the business they were in, but he knew it wasn't right. It simply didn't add up, none of it did. How did they find those bombs with such vague information in such a short amount of time? How did they retrieve them? What was with that_ red eye_, and why couldn't he remember anything else about it?

Questions like these stirred up a storm inside the boy's head, doing nothing but further perpetuating his confusion over the matter. Preston's eyes slowly wandered over to the television that was in the commons, placed high above the ground in the corner, finding himself absent-mindedly watching the news while the others talked about whatever nonsense came to mind. Nothing seemed to be happening in the world today, that is, until a certain shot of the Thames River came onto the screen.

A news helicopter was recording from above, a scene of an odd shipping vessel lazily sailed up the river, apparently heading towards London. The shot then changed to the image of a bunch of police cars parked up by one of the local docks, lights flashing and everything as though they were somehow going to stop it. To his surprise, however, the boat began to slow down, and it pulled up to the dock before coming to a complete stop. Several officers ran out, ready to bring the "unknown criminals" on board to couldn't help but notice how little information there was on the matter. The person reporting seemed to have a hard time trying to come up with things to say. Obviously it must be a pretty big deal, whatever was going on.

He didn't notice, but the rest of the seven observed the television as well, putting their conversation on hold for a moment. Daniel, Audrey, and Kristopherson all had a gut feeling that any moment now, the demonic duo would appear. They silently watched the screen as well, waiting for it, observing every bit of it so that they may not pass by in the background unnoticed. Preston squinted his eyes at what he thought looked like the demonic duo.

"Hey, _is_ _that...?" _he began, his thought brought to a screeching halt as the channel was quickly changed.

_"What the fuck, Lawrence?! Change it back!" _shouted Daniel, startling the actor as he stood in front of the television with his finger on the channel button.

"Oh... Sorry..." the boy in green replied, returning the television to it's previous setting. "I didn't know anyone was watching it." The image of the boat on the Thames returned again, but the small glimpse of the demonic duo had already passed, much to the five's disappointment. They let out a series of groans and a couple of them smacked their foreheads at Lawrence's unwitting faux pas.

_"Police report that they cannot release any further information as of yet as to what was on the ship, or why it was so sparsely manned. It is, however, apparent that there has been a severe amount of cassualties due to the amount of ambulance's on the scene..."_ the reporter on the screen droned on as images of body-bags being taken onto the boat passed by discreetly in the background. The only way one could have noticed is if they weren't paying attention to the reporter at all, and instead focused on what was going on behind them. Audrey looked closely at the blurry images of people working on the scene, sitting up in his famous chair to point.

"Look at that!" he said, noticing an pair of individuals that looked much shorter than the adults on the scene, one blonde and one with dark, almost black hair. He couldn't tell if it was an odd blue shade or not due to the quality of the video, but he was sure it was Ciel.

Over the bluenette's shoulder, the arm of the blonde was swung around as he limped slightly, having not fully regained the strength in his legs yet. Ciel had the arm closest to the other boy in the small of his back, helping prop the boy up as they walked off the boat unnoticed, concealed by the other people running on and off of it. They were followed by Sebastian, who followed closely behind. The man had offered to be the one to help the blonde along, but Ciel utterly refused, much to the older demon's amusement.

They walked off-screen, disappearing from the Warwiccan's sight again. They then began conversing the possibilities of what could have possibly happened, being sure to leave out anything that might tip off the ignorant two in their group on the lad's secret. Preston, however, was almost dazed as he listened to them, replaying the image of the two boys walking off of the boat, and coming up with his own theories, keeping them to himself, of course.

Ciel helped the blonde into a taxi, and they went home. It was a relief that the driver hadn't asked what had happened or why the back of the Alois' head was all bloody. When they arrived home, they paid the pleasantly apathetic driver and went inside, where they had made their next big discovery.

The house was still standing, even though they had left the troublesome supernatural maids there on their own. It wasn't quite as clean as usual, as they had obviously missed a few spots, but it was surprisingly well-kept. That was when they made yet another discovery. _There was an exhausted vampire laying in the floor in the middle of the foyer._ Slowly, she turned her head to face the trio, offering them a rather tired smile.

"_Welcome back, my lord..." _Charlotte said, almost wheezing. _"I'm sorry about the mess... I couldn't do everything, even with Mister Michaelis' instructions..."_

"Where's Amelie?" asked the bluenette, adjusting the blonde on his shoulder.

_ "Oh, that's the other bad news..."_ replied the girl._ "I was trying to find her, but then the sun came up..."_

"Ah, well, _I'm sure she'll turn up_." said Sebastian, a little _too _enthusiastically. His _hatred of canines_ obviously ran deep, judging by the way he acted around the wolf-girl. "Why don't we all get settled back in? You did very well, Charlotte, especially for someone who can only work at _night_."

"Of course..." said the girl. "_I'm just a bloody good maid,_ aren't I?" And with that, she passed out in the middle of the foyer floor, tired from both doing the task of a full staff on her own, and from the horrible daylight sapping her strength. The three demons simply walked into the house as if nothing had happened. Apparently this sort of thing was "normal" around here.

"I'll collect her from the floor after making sure everything is in order." said the butler, removing his outer coat and hanging it up. "Would you like help getting mister Trancy upstairs, my lord?"

"_I'm sure I can manage_." the bluenette replied, walking slowly so that the blonde lad could keep up. "Just make sure that _French Poodle _hasn't_ chewed on any of the furniture_."

"Understood." the man said, giving a slight bow before going off to do just that. After he left, the blonde let out a giggle.

"A '_French Poodle'?" _he asked, questioning the other lad's silly choice of words while making his way up the stairs at what seemed like an _ungodly _pace. Even with help, it was quite difficult, since his nerves weren't completely "reactivated" yet.

_"It seemed fitting when I said it." _the bluenette replied. "Are you making _fun _of me?"

"No, it was just _unexpected_." the blonde said with a smile as they reached his room, formerly a guest bedroom on the second floor. He reached to grab the knob, but had difficulty grasping it, as his hands were more worse off than the rest of him. The sophisticated inner-mechanisms that enabled any person able to perform precision work with ease, simply weren't working. Alois furrowed his brow in frustration as he tried harder to clench his fist, but when he failed again, the bluentte put his free hand over the blonde and applied the amount of pressure needed to perform such a mundane task.

"_Thanks..." _Alois said with a slight pout, displeased with the fact that he had to rely on the bluenette yet again.

"Anytime." Ciel replied, helping the boy over to the bed and sitting him down. "Your fingers are the _last_ thing to regain feeling; That's how it was for _me,_ anyway. How is the rest of you feeling?"

"_Gross._ There's_ blood all in my hair_, and I feel groggy as _hell_."

_ "Take a shower, then."_

"Oh, yes! Good idea! Let me just _untie my tie_ and _remove by button-up dress-shirt _with my _immovable fingers_..." the blond said, holding up his hands, his words dripping in sarcasm. In response, the bluenette simply rolled his visible eye.

"_Need help?" _he asked, realizing the alternative way that could have been taken from the blonde's smirk.

"Not in a _dodgy _way, you pervert..." he quickly added so the blonde couldn't turn it into a joke.

"I will inform you when I begin to _believe_ that, good sir." Alois replied, stretching out his arms a bit.

"Something is telling me that you just simply _want _it to be_ suggestive_."

_"On second thought, will you look at that? I can totally undress myself after all."_ the blonde said suddenly, standing up. He began to move his hands at the bluenette as if he were trying to shoo him away. _"Well, I'm going to go scrub the rubbish off of me. See you later-"_ he was cut off by the Phantomhive boy grabbing onto his tie.

"You can't do that without hands. Don't worry, I'll help you." With a gentle tug, the bluenette was leading the blonde to the bathroom that connected to the guest room by the strip of cloth around his neck.

"Whoa! Hey! Wait, I-I thought this _wasn't_ going to be 'dodgy'?!"

"No, no. You _wanted _it to be. What's wrong? Not up for it anymore?" Ciel flashed the blonde a smirk, only becoming even more amused when the other boy pouted in response. "Oh, _I get it. _You only like suggestive things when _you're_ the one doing the teasing, right?" Alois' face turned a deep shade of scarlet at the remark.

"I-it's not like that..." the blonde said, looking away. "You just... You make it feel so _awkward..."_ Soon, the piece of cloth around his neck slipped off and he was pulled into an embrace, arms around his waist with his own on the other boy's shoulders.

_"I love you too, muffin."_

* * *

**A/N: Get those duckies some fanservice. DUCKIES LOVE FANSERVICE. **

**Yeah, I had no idea what I was doing. **

**There was actually a whole other scene that was supposed to be here, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work in with what I had. It was semi-important, so I don't want to just cut it...  
**

**Next time, next time...**

**Until then, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"for Ciel and Alois! how often do you (wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more, say no more)"** by Emily_

_Answer by Ciel:__"Uh... It depends mostly on how much work I have... A couple times a week, I suppose... maybe..." _

_Answer by Alois: "At least once, most nights. Not all, just most. Sometimes we'll skip a night, sometimes two. Whatever's reasonable. ...The libido that comes with eternal puberty, though... Sneak attacks aren't fair, Ciel..."_

_ooooOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"for the Seven Sins; if you could be any animal, what would you be and why?"** also by Emily_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I don't know... I'm often associated with dogs, so..." _

_Alois' Answer: __"Hmmm... a lion! Lions are pretty badass. (Gryphondor!?) I can totally see myself with claws and a cool mane killing shit in Africa! ...or maybe a platypus... or a unicorn..."  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"A cat, maybe? Cats are just so elegant, you know? They have a nice look to them."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:__"I dunno. A bird. It'd be so cool to fly. Maybe an owl or something. It'd also be cool to be able to twist my head around like that..."  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"A wolf! Wolves are badass! Even more so than lions! Sissy 'Fabio-kitties'."  
_

_Preston's Answer:__"A bat. I like the idea of flying, but I don't really care for birds. The sonar thing is also super-cool.  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"A rabbit."  
_

_**I have a question!**_

_What animals do the duckies think suit the seven? Or if you had to make an animal version of each, what would it be?  
_


	184. La Venganza

While December is considered the a major part of the holiday season, that day wasn't entirely festive for a certain duo. No, I'm not talking about the two young demons, either. No, yet this pair was still of an unusual sort, while not in a supernatural sort of sense. They were foreigners stuck in a European island nation, one being a German, and one being an American. While their predicament was unintentional, they still had a task to complete in Britain; a task that wouldn't earn them any money to return home, but it would help a friend out immensely, as it was his dying wish.

Just as instructed, they would "return" to the son of their employer something that the man held very dear to his heart. Thus, they ventured out into a cemetery somewhere on the outskirts of London in search of the grave marked _"Jonnathan Beatie_", walking along the path of the reasonably well-kept cemetery for what seemed like hours under the dreary, grey sky and in the painfully cold air. While It was well-kept, it didn't appear to be organized in a certain way, making it incredibly difficult to navigate. They didn't like being here, but it was just something they had to do. They had to do it for the sake of their employer; their friend; their family member.

They found what they were looking for; a stone cut in the shape of a rectangle that seemed to match most of the others. The dirt on the grave was fresh and decorated with flowers and things as the funeral for the boy buried there was only two days ago. Heinrich knew that his employer would probably say something about how his contribution wasn't impressive in the slightest, but that wasn't true. The token that the blonde man placed on the grave amoungst all the flowers was perhaps the most meaningful of contributions. He crouched down and set the small, toy car in front of the grave, making it stand out better among the flowers in a way that made them look shabby, almost.

"You know vhy Victor _really _sent us here, Floyd?" the younger of the two men asked, standing up. He brushed the dirt off of his pants while he waited for an answer.

"Yeah." the American man said. "He wanted us to say '_goodbye_' for him."

"That's right, but I've been thinking: is that _really_ necessary?" Heinrich inquired. "The boss vas a good man. He was a_ criminal_, but he vas a _good man_. He everything in his power for his son, und even though he said he'd have_ 'no regrets'_, I think he only said that so_ ve vouldn't vorry."_

"That's just the kind of man he was_, Hein_. So, are you saying that he'll be able to see Jonny again someday?"

"Yeah, he vill. I _know_ he vill. I just don't know about _us,_ though."

"Who knows? The lord works in _mysterious ways_. We're not exactly_ noble _like _Vic, _but hey, anything's possible."

_"The lord's a fool _for letting a man like him die. You don't see people like that every day. To throw avay someone like that is a _crime_ greater than simply smuggling weapons."

"So what do you wanna do about it?" asked Floyd, wondering where this was going. "We've got all the time in the world, and nothing to lose, _so what do we do with it?" _Heinrich turned to face his comrade, and looked him in the eye.

"_Ve correct the mistake_." he said, expression and tone completely serious. "Victor is _gone,_ Jonny is too, und that vill never change, no matter vhat ve do; but we can still destroy that vhich took him avay from the vorld, telling God that he vas_ wrong_."

"_Revenge_, huh?" asked the American in the Hawaiian shirt. _"I like it. _I dunno if God was _'wrong', _but I do know one thing: Vic had his heart in the right place. I can't let the guy who _stopped_ him from finishing his mission just_ live_. That's just the_ gentlemanly _thing to do."

"That's right." Heinrich said, looking determined. "That monster boy has to pay. Victor said that visiting Jonnathan vas our final mission from him, but that's not true anymore. Now, ve must take out the one who called himself _'The Queen's Guard-Dog'; _The one named-"

_ "Ciel~!" _called a familiar voice, elsewhere in the city, startling a certain bluenette boy while he sat at his desk. Alois waltzed around the side of the desk and wrapped his arms around the other boy's neck, kissing him on the cheek. _"Happy Birthday~!"_

Yes, the date was now December fourteenth, Ciel Phantomhive's_ one-hundred and twenty-seventh _birthday. At least _someone_ was excited. Ciel never liked his birthday; not since that was also the day his parents died, throwing him into frey of this mad world, and was thus reluctant to celebrate it. The last time he celebrated his birthday was against his will over one-hundred years, as his fiancee insisted. He hadn't celebrated it since then, and was somewhat reluctance to begin to do so now. The bluenette wasn't even sure how the blonde knew when his birthday was, since he didn't recall ever mentioning it to him. Secretly, he suspected the butler was responsible for the other boy gaining this knowledge, but he lacked evidence. Ciel gave a small grunt in order to convey that he had heard the boy, placing his free hand on the blonde's arm while continuing to fill out documents with the other.

"You have to_ work _on your birthday?" Alois asked with a pout. "That's dumb."

"Well, I missed a few days' worth while we were gone." the bluenette replied, moving a recently finished paper off to the side in a neat pile that he had been working on. "It's not a big deal. It's just like any other day, isn't it?"

"No, it's not. If it were '_ordinary'_, why would it have a special term?" He had to admit, the blonde had a slight point, but still, Ciel wasn't convinced.

"Then what's so 'special' about it, then?" Alois opened his mouth to speak. "_Other_ than the fact that it has a_ title_." Alois closed his mouth again. He thought for a moment about this.

"It's the day where the people who care about you show you how much they're glad you exist." he said finally, giving the bluenette the exact reason why the event is recorded in the first place.

It wasn't a day for simply receiving gifts. It wasn't something you're entitled to. Really, someone's birthday has more to do with the people who one celebrates it with, rather than oneself, giving others the chance to show their appreciation and care. Really, living another year isn't that much of an _accomplishment _in the first place_, _if you think about it, _especially _if you're a _demon_. Ciel couldn't help but smile at the blonde's unusual innocence.

"_Do what you want." _he said, giving in somewhat. A wide grin plastered itself across the face of the other boy. Alois' hands moved from their place around the boy's neck, and moved to grab at his arm.

"Alright!_ I'm going to have to have you come with me, then!" _he announced, pulling on the bluenette's arm a bit.

"_What?" _the Phantomhive boy asked.

"There's no time to lose! Don't question me, just go with me!"

With a swift yank, Alois forced the confused boy out of his chair, and into the hallway. From there, Ciel was lead down the corridor, and down the steps to the first floor, where everything was oddly quiet. They walked briskly, further perpetuating the bluenette's confusion by heading to the dining room. Alois opened the large door for the boy, ushering him inside the vast, empty room. He then quickly stepped out of the doorway. Ciel watched him with a questioning expression on his face.

_ "Ready?" _called a voice, making the bluenette to whip his head back around to look at the room, which was now full of people. They had come out of their hiding places when the boy wasn't looking.

_ "Fire!"_

The Phantomhive boy was hit by a barrage of orange, foam darts, some actually sticking to his skin, as he was fired upon by these familiar assailants. When it stopped, he forced open his uncovered eye in order to look at their smiling faces. The unknown group of assailants who so viciously took him by surprise, were none other than Warwick Academy's own _sensational seven_. With them were the two maids, armed with Nerf weapons as well, the shorter one looking somewhat triumphant, while the taller one looked a bit guilty. Finally, one of the lads in the room spoke up.

"That was _awesome!"_ shouted Daniel, throwing a fist up into the air. "_We got the cyclops!"_

"That was just a little revenge for Alois' birthday." Audrey said with a grin.

"Don't worry, _we'll get him too, _eventually." spoke Kristopherson.

"Sorry, sir... _They made me do it..." _said Charlotte, meekly.

_ "To arms, monster!"_ shouted Amelie with her usual bored expression.

"_You're one to talk..." _spoke a certain butler as he entered the room through the kitchen. Sebastian was carrying a cake and once he sat it on the table, he looked up at his master. His face twitched ever so slightly as his lips wanted so desperately to smile at the sight if the bluenette; bewildered face, covered from head to toe in orange foam darts, looking like he wanted to throw a childish fit.

"My apologies, young master," said Sebastian, "but you've instructed me to respect the wishes of mister Trancy, have you not? It was _he_ who organized this."

Ciel felt his eye twitch at the fit of giggles that sprang forth from behind him. He turned around, a handful of darts losing their grip on his skin in the process, to find the blonde menace in the doorway, clutching his stomach while erupting into an absolute fit of laughter. There was a moment when it began to slow down, but then Alois looked up and saw the bluentte's face, causing it to return. Ciel began plucking the darts off of his skin while listening to both the blonde's giggles behind him, and the snickering of the others in front. At last, he moved again, this time actually heading over to the blonde, before pinching the other boy's cheeks and staring at him with the most menacing face he could muster.

"Hahaha-haha! D-don't look at me like that!" the blonde pleaded blonde between laughs, his speech slightly hindered from the other boy pinching his face. He knew full well why the bluenette was making that face at him. Ciel was embarrassed beyond belief, having been made a fool of.

_ "Tell me, was all of this completely necessary?"_ the bluenette asked, his tone grave, but off-put by the blush on his face.

_ "Yes." _Alois said plainly and simply. "I couldn't resist! I needed _revenge,_ too for the way you _teased _me the other day!"

_ "Too much information..." _said Kristopherson, interrupting the duo's quarrel. He set his gun down on the table and took a seat. "If you two are just going to bicker all day, can _we _have the cake?" Ciel's ears perked up a bit at the word, his interest obviously shifted. It came right back when he heard the blonde snort at the boy's behaviour, earning him a scowl.

"_No_, if I'm going to be _forced _into having a party, _I get cake_." the bluenette answered, letting go of Alois' cheeks, leaving them a bit red, and grabbing onto his hand before leading him over to the table as well. With his free hand, the blonde rubbed his face as he walked along.

They sat down and began conversing to the others, dancing around the true nature of their mission from two days prior, as they simply weren't allowed to give details. They talked and ate horrendously unhealthy foods, played games and socialized. Occasionally, one of the lads would say something that earned them a scowl from Ciel, or a growl from Amelie, which was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. They rediscovered that Daniel was a complete failure at multilayer video-games, and that Alois could randomly burst out into song at inappropriate, yet humourous moments, earning a laugh from the others. All of this spanned over the course of several hours, only ending when Audrey looked up and realized that it was almost eleven-thirty at night, causing the other boys to nearly go into a panic at the realization that most of them were on the verge of breaking their curfew. Five of the seven hastily said their goodbyes and left, leaving the demonic duo alone again at last. As per usual, the bluenette was worn out from being around people for so long, and reclined on the couch in the entertainment room, joined by the blonde, who absent-mindedly played with the other boy's hair.

"Is that an okay birthday so far?" he asked finally, earning a small grunt from the bluenette in response. "_Tired?"_

"_Quite_." Ciel replied. "Still, I had fun."

"What do you mean you_ 'had' _fun?" the blonde said, smile prominent. "It's only _eleven_, your birthday doesn't end until _midnight_."

"What do you mean?" the Phantomhive boy asked, unsure if the blonde was using an innuendo or not. It really was hard to tell, sometimes.

"_You know what I mean."_ Alois answered, shifting on the couch so that he way now laying on top of the bluenette, who simply looked up at him with a surprised look as the blonde leaned down to kiss the boy. They stayed like that for a while, hands roaming, breathing beginning to become heavy, and pulse quickening.

_"No!" _shouted a voice, frightening both lads and causing them to separate. They looked over at the sound's point of origin, and discovered that a certain wolf-girl had walked in, garbage bag in hand.

"_Out_." she said, face not changing, her big, blue eyes staring at them in a way that made both of them even more uncomfortable than they already were. _"I have to clean. Do that elsewhere."_ With that, she began picking up debris from the party and shoving it in the plastic bag, now pretending that the demonic duo didn't exist.

What was with the servants in this house and casually interrupting them?

* * *

**A/N: It's stiiiiiil a myyyysssterrrryyyyy~!**

**I think there's almost too much fanservice in recent chapters... But, as long as you all are happy, it's no big deal... (we've been lacking in it for an arc or so, anyway...)**

**Still, it's weird... Kinda awkward...**

**By the way, I'm curious: How many of you have seen the Monty Python sketch that "wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more" is from? No reason. Just wondering. It's on youtube. **

**I love all of your animal suggestions, by the way~! There's actually I reason why I asked, but it may contain spoilers, hurr durr!**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!  
**

* * *

_**BLATANT SEXUAL HARRASSMENT WE SHOULD ALL BE ASSHAMED ASDFGLAKDHGADFALDKGA  
**_

_Question(s): **"Question fur Ciel-illy-kins: do you and alois ever act out your guy's "fantasies"...*winks suggestively (if that's a word)* Question fur Alois, my man!: *high freakin five* ok so do you think Ciel, in his adult form, is HOT?!"** By jellyfish'confetti  
_

_Ciel's Answer: "He has 'fantasies'? ...This is the first I've heard of this... I might have to ask about that..."  
_

_Alois' Answer: "Huh? Oh... Well, yeah... I'm not into older guys (they still make me a little nervous), but Ciel's still pretty hot..."  
_

_ooooooOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo_

_Question: **"Question for Ciel and Alois: After a romantic day, you decide to propose to your boyfriend. How will you do it?"** by InvaderPhantom16_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I-I'm... not really good at romanticism, so I'm not entirely sure what's acceptable... I'd probably go for a somewhat traditional method..."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"Hmm? Ah, well... I'd probably plan something totally out there and have it blow up in my face, only to casually ask him afterwards..."  
_

_oooOOOOooo_

_Question: **"For Sebastian: Are you still as mad with Alois for forcing you into eternal servitude to Ciel? Do you still resent him as much, or dislike the situation as much as when it first happened? Also, if not, how do you feel about your situation now? For Alois and Ciel: How do you two dress now a days? Aside from the Warwick uniform and formalwear for 'business' that is. Do you still wear good amounts of blue and purple too? "** by TinyTyrant_

_Sebastian's Answer: __"__At first, I was completely outraged. I wanted nothing to do with him. I'm still just a tad peeved, but I suppose it isn't all that bad. He's an alright individual, after growing up some. I'm not entirely sure how I feel anymore, but I don't think it's resentment any longer."  
_

_Ciel's Answer: "True, I do still wear a lot of blue, but my wardrobe has modernized a bit. When I'm at home, I just wear ordinary pants and a T-shirt, but when I'm not, I seem to wear a lot of dress shirts and an sweater-vests..._

_Alois'__ Answer:__"Lots of T-shirts with funny crap on them. My favourite one has a picture of Jesus riding a T-rex on it! Sometimes I wear a lightweight buttonable(?) shirt over them. While I'm famous for my short-shorts, I don't wear them when it's cold..."_

_ooooooOOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"Question for the Seven (excluding Ciel and Alois):You walk in on Ciel and Alois doing "it" *wink**wink**nudge**nudge* . Immediate reactions , but limited to 10 words. Go!"** by LongerWalks-And-ShorterWalks_

_Kristopherson's Reaction:__***Deer in headlights stare* *Face turns odd shade of red*** "...Oh...Sorry." ***closes**__** door* *dies in hallway***  
_

_Audrey's Reaction:__"Oops... My bad..." ***closes door***_

_Daniel's Reaction:__***deer in headlights stare* *silently closes door* *unable to look at either of them for weeks* *Mentally scarred***  
_

_Preston's Reaction:__"S-s-s-sorry!" ***slams door***_

_Travis' Reaction:__"Sorry... I'lll leave you to it..." ***closes door***  
_


	185. Well, That Certainly Is News

Warwick Academy is a place of extraordinary stature and grandeur that both it, and it's students exceed the expectations of most other schools in the country. It's students are cultured, intelligent, and above all else, of such breeding that gives them the inherent air that they are above most children in some kind of economic aspect.

Not all students meet the final requirement, and that suits Warwick just fine. Why, one of Warwick's most famous students originated from such mundane genetics; a mister _Alois Trancy_, who's current place of residence isn't exactly a secret from the eyes of the public, but the secrets of that household are. The boy, commonly known as "_The Blonde Menace_" to students and staff, resides within the Phantomhive household, under the guise of the adoptive brother of the master of the house. The romantic nature of their relationship is no secret, regardless of this fact. Why, almost the entire campus is aware of this, yet they are blind to the actual history that this relationship stems from, and the darkness in which it resides.

There are a select few students aware of this history and it's dark nature, along with the fact that the two lad's are a whole different species from them, yet they don't seem to mind in the slightest. It does occasionally lead to some confusion, however, with some of the lad's habits. Things like "aren't you tired?" or "don't you get hungry?" There is no "Demon Biology 101" class, therefore elaboration on the answers to these questions is at a minimum. Almost all of the sensational seven are aware of the demonic duo's paranormal status; all but two.

Preston, however, was beginning to get suspicious of the two boys. He began to have these thoughts ever since the "Simon Says" incident, and they nagged at him relentlessly. He thought about it at school, he thought about it at home, he thought about it at violin practice, and he especially thought about it at the Phantomhive house. Why was there such a small staff for such a massive house? Why were they allowed to take on obviously dangerous, and possibly deadly missions for the government? Why are they able to perform such tasks so absurdly quickly? What was with that vision of a glowing, crimson eye that seemed to stare right through him?

It was the last one that disturbed him the most, and the more he thought about that, the crazier he felt he was. He began noticing strange things about the duo, things that didn't seem to matter, but they were odd. The fact that the duo never went to the bathroom during school, the fact that they both had black fingernails, that didn't fade or appear to be polished, and the fact that they, unlike the rest of the children, possessed a sort of air about them that gave you chills down your spine. He felt silly for noticing these things, and shook them off quickly after catching himself pondering them.

Those who knew began to fear that the Indian boy was starting to figure it out. Often, when the boy wasn't around, they would discuss the possibility and the consequences of that being the currently sat around in a circle in the Warwick commons' room, somewhat off to the side in their usual spot, so that no on may hear. Preston was taking a make-up test, and Travis had a gardening club meeting, so it was safe to converse about such confidential subjects.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Audrey, peeking out through his bangs. "He keeps asking us if we noticed anything _'weird' _about you two lately."

"So he's been asking all of you then?" the bluenette answered with a question of his own. "What all does he know?"

"He keeps talking about how you two solved that _'collar-bomb' _mystery so _quickly_." Kristopherson stated, folding his arms. "He says that it's also _'suspicious' _that there's not nearly enough staff at your house."

"We told him that was because of our _job, _though." said Alois, arching an eyebrow.

"That's also '_fishy_'." said a certain politician's son. "Though I have to admit, it doesn't really make sense for two _'kids'_ to be doing the police's job."

"A valid argument. I'm not sure if there's really anything we can do about it." Ciel said. "If he finds out, he finds out. We can't quell his suspicions, either. They've become too deeply-rooted for that to be able to work anymore."

"So, we wait and see if he figures it out?" asked Audrey. "That can't _possibly_ go _wrong_." He rolled his eyes even though the others couldn't see them that well. His tone was sarcastic, so they still got the joke.

"Well, if we simply come out and tell him, he's probably not going to believe us." spoke the blonde menace, feeling as though he had been quiet for far too long. "_Most_ people stopped believing in that sort of thing a long time ago."

"Yeah, that's true." Daniel said with a grin. "I mean, who's going to believe that their friends are actually _demo_-" He was silenced by a swift punch to the shoulder by Kristopherson, as he and the others didn't fail to notice one of the so-called "ignorant two" walk up behind him.

Travis stood there with a surprised look on his face, eyebrows raised and his lips pursed into a small frown. The five others simply stared at him in silence for a moment as they all wondered if he had heard their conversation. The tall Sullivan boy's face relaxed from it's surprised state, and shifted into his normal, somewhat neutral expression.

_ "'Demons'?"_ he echoed. Daniel looked away from the others, feeling guilty for even putting that out there. While it was doubtful that the boy would believe that from just a small fragment of a conversation, it was still possible. The others all internally scrambled, trying to formulate an excuse, but as it turns out, that wasn't nessecary.

"So..._ You all knew too?" _

"_Huh?"_ was the only thing that the others could say. They were completely dumbfounded by the the usually silent boy's statement.

"What? Knew what?" asked Daniel nervously. "_Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Travis?"_

"_That Ciel and Alois were demons?"_ Travis replied, arching an eyebrow. He didn't entirely appreciate the blank stares he was getting, but he could somewhat understand, all the same.

"Wait, wait, wait." said Kristopherson, rubbing his head. "You _knew?_ Since _when?"_

"Since last year. I didn't really think it was any of my business, though. If they didn't want to tell me, I wouldn't bring it up, and since none of _you _did, I figured I was the only one who figured it out."

None of them could argue with that. How could they? They were all stunned. Not only did Travis know, he had known longer than any of them. He had always known, but simply didn't bring it up.

"How'd you figure it out?" asked Audrey, curious as to how the taller boy could have accomplished such a thing, just as everyone else was.

"Well, It actually started _before _I even met them." the boy began, trying his best to articulate his tale. "Going through class pictures of some family members, I noticed a few times that there was one boy who was always the same in several of them; same name and everything. I didn't get it at first, but I thought Ciel always looked kind of familiar, and after awhile, I remembered that."

"But why _demons?_ Maybe he's a _time-traveler_, or something." stated Kristopherson, folding his arms.

_ "I saw Alois form a contract in the library, one day._ He _said _he was a demon._"_ said Travis. Immediately, all eyes shifted away from him and to the blonde. Alois looked around nervously, deliberately avoiding the bluenette's gaze, as he knew the Phantomhive boy was giving him an angry look.

"_What?!" _the blonde menace asked. "I was _hungry! _I hadn't eaten yet _ever!"_

"You _ate_ another student's_ soul?"_ asked Daniel. "That's pretty _sick..."_

"It's not like we're your _'fairy godmother' _who'll grant wishes for _free!" _added Alois. "_Human food _isn't _filling _at all!"

"You can't just go around eating people's _souls!"_

"That's why I formed a _contract!_ Duh! It's fine if it's _consensual_ soul-snatching!" Daniel was about to say something else, but Audrey placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

"They're _demons_. That's what they _do,_ Daniel." said the boy in the skull beanie.

"Do you want us to_ starve to death?_" asked the bluenette, folding his arms. "It's alright, once and a while. It's only necessary once every one-hundred years, or so."

"Still, it's..._creepy_." Daniel said with a small shudder.

"You think that's bad? Try being there for the actual _signing_. I had _nightmares..."_ spoke Travis, rubbing his forehead.

"Don't worry, we won't eat _your_ souls..." the blonde said with a grin, "...Unless, of course, you_ want _us to!" The others looked at the two demons for a moment, all taking that in fir a moment before Audrey spoke.

_ "How_ exactly _do_ you take someone's soul?" he asked, causing the demonic duo's faces to immediately change to a slightly more pinkish hue. This reaction, of course, simply sparked further interest in the others.

"_You sick freaks..." _Daniel said, causing the bluenette to immediately stop him from saying anything else.

"What the bloody _hell _are _you_ thinking?" asked the Phantomhive boy, furrowing his brow and firing an "ice-beam" off in the direction of the brown-haired lad's direction. "It's called a_ demon's kiss,_ for a r_eason_, you know."

"You're also _dementors?" _asked Audrey.

"Oh, so you didn't get Alois' first kiss, then, did you, Phantomhive?" asked Kristopherson.

"No, no! Those two things _aren't the same at all_, so that time _didn't count!"_ Alois intervened before the bluenette became tempted to _tear someone's head off_.

"Maybe I was wrong," said Daniel. "Maybe _Alois_ is the one who has _Ciel _on a leash."

"_Do you want to die?!"_ demanded the bluenette.

"Whoa, whoa, heel, Ciel! Stay! That's a_ good boy!" _the blonde said while jokingly stroking the Phantomhive boy's hair.

"_Stop it..."_

* * *

**A/N: Wot?  
**

**I don't even...**

**I wanted to hurry up with this one because I haven't updated in two days! I'M SORRY! I was working on schoolwork... I had to prioritize my final Statistics grade. That was my final project! WHEEE~!**

**So don't worry, I'm not dead... I was just like, being all productive and shit...**

**Oh wait, I have a question...**

**"Question for Hateweasel: Y U make me stop doing homework to read!? D:" by Shadow Veli  
**

**Because you make me stop doing homework to write.**

**That's why I had to work for two straight afternoons...**

**BECAUSE I CARE.**

**Laters, duckies~!**

* * *

**_OH FUCK THERE'S A SHIT-TON OF QUESTIONS ASLDGFADSGASDG I CAN'T ANSWER ALL OF THEM THIS TIME_**

_Question: **"Question for Ciel: Which side of Alois do you like more? The flustered, blushing, "girly" side, or the flirty & more... suggestive side? (basically the side that makes YOU blush.) For Alois: Honestly, would you WANT to top Ciel? & Do you think he'd actually let you?"** by LongerWalks-And-ShorterWalks  
_

_Ciel's Answer: "I'm not really sure... When he's flirtatious, it just makes me want to turn him back into that 'flustered' side... He's also quite cute when he's like that. It seems oddly more **genuine** than his 'promiscuous-self'. I kind of like being able to make him flustered. One does not simply fluster Alois Trancy."  
_

_Alois' Answer: "What? You don't think I COULD? I think it would be pretty hot to see Ciel on bottom. I'm not sure if he'd let me, though. His **pride** is already shoved up his ass, so I'm not sure if that's even a **possibility.** I don't particularly mind, or anything, though."  
_

_ooooooOOOOOOooooooooooo_

_Question: **"Alois: is there a favorite outfit you like to wear to fluster ciel? Ciel: what is your initial internal reaction to this?"** bt chestnutghost_

_Alois' Answer:__"My '**birthday suit'**."  
_

_Ciel's Internal Reaction:_**_ *Response withheld due to inappropriate content*_**

_oooooOOOOOOOoooooo_

_Question: **"Question for Alois: How would you react if you ever get to see Luka revived and what if he were older than you? Question for Ciel: If you won't let Alois or Sebastian have cats as pets, how about dogs then? I'm sure something like a cute golden retriever would be perfect to keep Alois from getting bored AND Sebastian getting annoyed would be a plus since he despises dog (ps nope I wasn't paid by Alois to sell you the idea of pets, nope, not at all)"** by Rasu_

_Alois' Answer:__"I would probably cry! Him being older than me wouldn't really matter. It would be a little weird, at first, but that wouldn't be a problem. I still miss him..." _

_Ciel's Answer:__ "Why would I do that? Is__n't Amelie close enough?"_

_oooooOOOOOOoooo  
_

_Question: **"for demonic duo: Ciel Trancy or Alois Phantomhive?"** by Shadow Veli_

_Alois' Answer:__"Ciel's really proud of his family name, so I guess it would be 'Alois Phantomhive'. Also, 'Trancy' isn't my real name, so it wouldn't really make sense for Ciel to take it..."  
_

_Ciel'__s__ Answer: "Alois is the girl, so it would probably be 'Alois Phantomhive'."_


	186. Dance Of The Horribles

As the holidays grow nearer, Warwick gets ready by decorating the parts of the campus that the snow had missed. Depending what teacher you had, you may walk into a classroom with a Christmas tree, only to walk into another with a manora. Other Warwiccan traditions include the "Holiday Dance" that students from both Warwick, and their rival school, Tamworth academy would attend. This tradition was set in place due to the spirit of unity that most holidays of the season seemed to embody or encourage, hopefully to promote peace between the two schools.

Alas, this is usually not the case. Usually, the festivities would end as soon as fights began to break out due to the bitterness of unclear origin between Warwick and Tamworth. The students of Warwick were known to the Tamworthians as being stuck-up and pretentious, while Tamwortians to the Warwiccans were considered brutish delinquents.

No one really knows why the schools have such a spiteful history. Rumor has it that the founders of each school were old friends who had a falling out of sorts, and that is the reason for this long-lived hatred. A certain bluenette boy, however, had no interest in such a feud, as it was "childish and silly".

"You're not going to the dance, Ciel?" asked a certain politician's son, leaning with his hands on the seated boy's desk, as he interrogated him.

"Probably not." replied the bluenette. "I don't really care for dancing..."

"Not even with _me?" _called the familiar voice of a certain blonde, wrapping his arms around the bluenette's neck in a loose hug. The Phantomhive boy somewhat faltered at recalling the memories of the two dancing together. Ciel cleared his throat and furrowed his brow at the question.

"It can be fun _sometimes_, I suppose..." he said, causing a small giggle to bubble from the blonde's throat. "I'm still not quite a fan, however."

"People don't really go to dances to _dance, _anyway." said Daniel. "Most people just go to hang out."

"Surely there's better places in _London _to _'hang out'."_ replied the bluenette while pawing at the blonde's hands. Alois apparently thought it would be "funny" to play with the boy's hair and tickle his neck.

"I guess that's true, but from the looks of Alois, I'd say he'd like to go." Daniel said with a smile. He was simply trying to pin the bluenette into a corner for his own amusement.

"Why don't you focus on trying to find your_ own _date?"

"I just can't seem to find any takers. I wonder if Anastasia would like to go..."

"Probably not. She's with _Lawrence _now." said the blonde menace in a matter-of-fact tone. The son of a politician seemed taken aback by this.

"You've got to be _shitting _me!" he said to the blonde at an unnecessarily loud volume.

"Go ahead and ask around. There's Kris right now. He'll tell you." Alois replied, gesturing toward the boy in the pink tie.

"Fine, but if I find out you're lying, I will fuckin_' end you!"_ the brown-haired boy said, leaving to walk over to their friend. As soon as he was gone, though, Alois began to giggle. Ciel immediately knew what that meant.

"You _lied, _didn't you?" the bluenette asked.

"Yeah, but it was _funny,_ huh?" replied the blonde, causing Ciel to smile a bit.

"You do know that as soon as he says that you told him that, Kris is going to play along, right?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Naturally! If everything plays out right, he'll tell Daniel to ask Anastasia directly! _That'll be a laugh, won't it?"_

"You're _horrible_."

"I know, but that's just one of the many things you _love_ about me!"

"It feels like I'm only _encouraging_ you by doing so."

"It's okay, because you're _'horrible' _too. We're _horrible _to our friends, we're_ horrible _to each other, we're just _horrible_ people!"

"You seem almost _proud_ of that fact."

"Of course." said the blonde. "That's just my way of showing _affection_."

"I'd hate to see how you treat people you _don't_ like." replied the bluenette. "So, about this dance... Do you want to go?" Alois thought for a moment, and the looked to the bluenette again to answer.

"Maybe. It could be cool to see what the modern-equivalent to a ball is like." he said before adding: "Only if you're willing to go, though."

"How could I not? Leaving you alone at a dance would be absolutely_ absurd_." Ciel said, turning his head around to face the blonde. When he did this, however, the blonde took the opportunity to peck him on the lips.

_"Public displays of affection _are _against school rules_, Trancy." said a familiar, cynical voice. Ciel turned his head back the other way to see a faux-blonde boy wearing a pink tie standing in front of his desk.

"You're _no fun, _Kris!" the naturally fair-haired boy said, his grasp around the bluenette's neck never wavering.

"Too bad._ I'm not even sorry_." Kristopherson said. "Why'd you tell Daniel that Anna is dating Lawrence?"

"For_ my own sick, twisted amusement_." Alois replied. "Wha'd you tell him?"

"I told him to ask _her_, of course. Watching him fail is sure to be _funny_."

"You're _both horrible_." said the bluenette. "Is it a blonde thing?"

"Who knows? Does that make Kris_ less horrible _than me since he bleaches his hair?" asked Alois.

"Almost _everyone_ is _'less horrible'_ than you, Alois." commented the boy in the pink tie. "Oh, I was wondering, will Amelie be acting as '_security_' for the dance? She'd probably be great at breaking up a fight."

"That can be arranged, but do realize, if she _bites _anyone, we may have to kill them." said the bluenette.

"That's _harsh_. Are you going?"

_ "Possibly_. I can't leave Alois there on his own, and I'm not sure if I trust Amelie by herself either."

"You know some pretty _troublesome_ people, Phantomhive..."

"You have _no idea,_ Miles..."

"Oh! Are you going to the dance, Kris?" Alois asked suddenly. "You gonna go with that rugby player from Tamworth?"

"_Cameron?_ N-no. Why would I go with _him?"_ the faux-blonde asked, crossing his arms.

"Dunno. It just seems like you might _fancy _each other or something."

"I do _not!"_

_ "Can~ You feel~ The love~ Tonight~?"_

_ "Shut up, Trancy!"_

_ "That. Girl. Is on fire~!"_

_ "What the hell?! That doesn't even make sense!"_

"Ladies, please..." began the Phantomhive boy. "..._You're both pretty."_

* * *

**A/N: Wot?**

**I don't know... I had an idea... And because it was the ONLY idea I had... I went with it...**

**Ohmahgawd. So much DRAMA in high-school! (I wouldn't know. I never experience it, because I've got more important shit to do. BITCHES.)  
**

**This feels like filler, somehow. It isn't, though, promise~!**

**DOUBLE POST ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE SKY!**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**OH GOD EVEN MORE QUESTIONS OMG WTF BBQ ROFLMAO PB&J **_

_Question: **"Now ciel im tired mind sending sebastian for me to read a bedtime story :3 and sebastian read the lion king to me !"** by Wooimmafox1305  
_

_Ciel's Answer: "Spoiler alert: **everybody dies.**"_

_ooooOOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"Question for AMELIE this time: How do you react to the cats Sebastian hides in his closet?"** by Rasu_

_Amelie's Answer:__"Immediate disposal."  
_

_oooooOOOOOOooo_

_Question: **"Alois! I choose you!: I gots ADHD, ODD, anxiety, depression, and PTSD and I was just wondering how u deal with the ones you got."** by jellyfish'confetti_

_Alois' Answer:__"I dunno. I just do? I kinda got used to it, but occasionally, it can get bad. Fortunately, though, Ciel and the rest of the seven help me out a lot. FRIENDSHIP IS FUCKING MAGIC!"  
_

_oooooOOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"Oi I got some questions for ma BASSY MAN! So remember how you fucked some lady to get info out of her... U had sex with her... Heh, idky but I'm in the moment on hearing some of Daniels dirty jokes if you know what I'm saying. ANYWAYS! Did she get pregnant?! If she did then wouldn't the baby be partly demon? TELL ME SOME SHIET ABOUT DA KID BRAH OR ILL RAPE U AND STROKE UR HAIR SO YOU CAN FEEL GORD!"** by Sushi Earl Trancy_

_Sebastian's Answer: "...I don't know? I never saw her again after that, so... I really don't know... I don't even know if it's possible for humans and demons to copulate..." _

_oooooOOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"For the demons: If your clothes in your demon form get dirtied or ripped, do they still stay dirty the next time you transform? And have you tried exchanging clothes in that form?"** by Rasu_

_Alois' Answer:__"Nope. They stay the same. We don't know how it works, but it does. Sebastian says it was something to do with "demonic energy, blah, blah, blah..." I was only half-listening..." _

_Ciel's Answer: "Me?! In ALOIS' demon clothes?! NO. Not going to happen. EVER. Besides, when we remove them in that form, they revert back to whatever we were wearing to begin with. It's weird."_


	187. A Discussion Of An Amourous Nature

The next day came around, and the demonic duo once again found themselves at Warwick Academy. They walked to their classroom in no particular hurry, as always. Mr. Irons was usually a few minutes late anyway, so it didn't entirely matter if they arrived at the chime of the bell. Up the staircase to the third-floor, they went, taking care to avoid those students who were actually _concerned_ about being tardy, but when they got to the third-floor hallway, they began to her the erratic _thumping _of feet hitting the linoleum floors as someone ran straight at them after walking for a short distance.

Alois looked over his shoulder to see who it was while continuing to keep his pace with the bluenette, only to discover that they knew the one who was currently breaking one of the most well-known school rules by running in the hallway. It was Daniel Westley who was charging straight at them. The blonde saw this coming, of course, as a result of the lie he told the politician's son the previous day. He and the bluenette stopped for a moment to allow the lad to catch up, since continuing to walk would only postpone the inevitable.

Daniel tried to slow down, managing to bring himself to an abrupt stop, yet passing the two demons by a foot or so in the process. He quickly turned to face the pair, yet oddly, he didn't appear to be angry, like the impression he had given. No, instead of a frown, a large, stupid grin was plastered across his face, much to the confusion of the others. Had he not threatened Alois just the day before that he would "end" the blonde menace had he found out that the information he was giving was in fact, a _lie?_

"In your _face_, Trancy!" Daniel declared, pointing with his finger annoyingly close to the blonde's visage.

"What?" Alois asked, arching an eyebrow. He hadn't the fainest idea as to what the human boy was talking about.

"You tought you could make me look like an ass with your _lie, _but guess who came out on top, instead? That's right! _I did!" _replied the son of a politician. "Kristopherson might have played along and told me to ask Anastasia directly, and maybe I did, but even still, everything worked to _my _advantage, because _I_ have a_ date _to the dance!"

"Oh, I thought you were talking about something_ important_." the blonde said.

"How is that _not_ count as _'important'?"_ Daniel asked, putting his hands in the air. He followed as the demonic duo began to walk again.

"It's not _my_ date."

"Is _'the cyclops' _even going?"

"I'm not a _cyclops..."_ interrupted the bluenette. While he got the joke, he didn't especially appreciate being compared to such a _brutish _mythological monster. "...I'm a _demon."_

"But does_ 'the devil' _dance?" asked Daniel, doing some odd, awkward "fast-walk" in order to keep up with the other lads.

"_Seldom." _replied Ciel in what almost sounded like a "_hiss_".

The Phantomhive boy had arranged for the two "maids" of his household to work as security for the dance, as dances between Warwick and Tamworth famously end in someone getting hurt, and he simply didn't trust the two on their own at such a large event. One of them was a nearly-starved vampire, and the other was a vicious, ill-manered werewolf, and they would be in a crowded area filled with human-beings for several hours. Charlotte would listen to Sebastian, but Amelie would immediately feel compelled to rebel, and the wolf girl only saw the blonde menace as a "playmate" rather than an authority figure. Thus, Ciel had to go, being the only person who both girls would listen to. He didn't particularly care for going, but the bluenette's presence alone seemed to encourage them to behave, it would seem, and while he wouldn't admit, as it made him feel silly, he was partially going because Alois hinted at wanting to.

"Are your _dancing_ skills like your _swimming_ skills?" the brown-haired human-boy asked, earning a playful punch to the shoulder. He continued to rub the now sore spot as they walked into the classroom, where the others were already waiting.

Audrey was sitting at his desk, playing some game on his _Nintendo DS _while Preston watched, shouting advice over the lad's shoulder, and Travis appeared to be doodling in his notebook as he waited for something interesting to happen. Kristopherson simply sat at his own desk, messing with his cellphone, which was famously of a pinkish hue. None of them really seemed to be having that great of a time as they were, so of course Daniel went up to them in order to stir up some trouble while the demonic duo took their own seats.

"What are all of you doing, moping about? It's almost _Christmas, _you sad-sacks!" the politician's son said. "_You'll make Jesus cry!"_

"_Sorry, Jesus." _Kristopherson said, pressing one final button on his phone before carefully placing it on his desk. He kept it close to his hand, specifically because Daniel might begin to feel mischievous, and take it. "I'm just not that into the holidays."

"Yeah, Christmas isn't as _fun_, once you figure out_ Santa _isn't real." said Audrey, his green and yellow eyes never straying from the small screen in his hands.

"I know, right? It takes most of the excitement out of it." said the boy in the pink tie, tapping his fingers on the desk.

"_Santa isn't real?" _asked Daniel, immediately earning the shocked looks of his friends. "Calm down! I was _joking!"_

"We wouldn't put you _above_ that, Dan." said Preston, tearing his eyes away from the Audrey's screen for a moment in order to shoot the brown-haired boy a patronizing look, something that the boy. in turn, frowned at.

"Piss off, Preston! You're getting coal!" Daniel said back, pointing a finger at the Indian boy in an accusing manner, an action that only earned him a rolling of eyes.

The discussion was immediately dropped when the phone on the faux-blonde's desk began to vibrate. Kristopherson had it set that way, so as to not disturb others when it went off, an action that was performed in vain, as the small, handheld device shuddered violently, clattering against the desk. The boy in the pink tie quickly grabbed it before Daniel could, knowing full-well that the boy's intention of lunging at the device was to take a peek at his messages. His face immediately reddened when he read the text he had received. His friends simply stared at him.

"What is it?" asked Alois, unable to contain his curiosity. If something was able to fluster the faux-blonde, he definitely wanted to know what it was, as did everyone else. They had seen the lad's face turn _pink_ before, but never _red._ Kristopherson's widened, brown eyes strayed from the device in order to answer, but became even more hesitant as he saw that the other six were staring at him intently.

"_Uh... I-I, uh_..." he began, trying to remember how to speak again. "_C-Cameron just asked me to the dance..." _The others were silent for a moment_, _pausing to look at each other before looking back to the faux-blonde.

"Isn't that a _good_ thing?" asked Audrey, pressing the "pause" button and resuming his game.

"Yeah, you've moved up from _'bootycall', _to_ 'date'!" _said Daniel with a grin.

_"I was never his bootycall!"_ the boy in the pink tie insisted. "Wh-what am I supposed to say, though?"

"Just say _'yes', _you _half-wit." _Alois said, oddly being the voice of reason in this situation.

_ "It's not that easy!"_

"Chill out, Kris, it totally _is _that easy on your end." spoke the boy in the skull beanie. "Think about how _he_ must be feeling, being the to _ask_. He's probably freaking out."

"_I-I guess..." _Kritopherson said reluctantly, looking back to the pink mobile in his hand.

"You should probably _hurry_, before he thinks you're going to say _'no'_." Preston added.

"You know you'll just regret it if you let this chance slip." the eye-patched bluenette spoke up, his insight causing the blonde menace to look at him with a stupid grin. Alois immediately understood what Ciel was talking about.

"Want me to send it _for_ you?" asked the fair-haired demon, extending his arm to the pink-wearing human-boy and flexing his fingers.

"No! I can do it myself!" Kristopherson said defensively. He didn't trust _Alois Trancy _to play with his phone, and _wisely_ so.

"_Do it! Do it! Do it!"_ the Trancy and Westley lads obnoxiously chanted as Kristopherson furrowed his brow in frustration an typed.

"There! I sent it! _Happy?!" _the boy in the pink tie snapped.

_ "Ecstatic." _said Alois, leaning back in his chair and facing the bluenette. "I find your silence _disturbing_. Plotting _world domination, _are we?"

"_Definitely." _Ciel joked back. The dance was only a matter of days, and everyone simply knew that it would be a night to remember.

* * *

**A/N: Gah! I'm sorry about being late again! I just felt awful yesterday!  
**

**Fortunately, I managed to get about half of this done before collapsing at 7:30... I have no idea why I felt so crummy... I just did...**

**I'm sorry for not keeping up like usual!**

**I'M SUCH A DISGRACE!**

**Oh, and _Bayonetta_ finally came into the mail from Gamefly, so I might not be spending as much time on this as normal... I'll do my best though! **

**I'M SOOOOOOORRRRYYY**

**I hope you can find the ability deep within your hearts to forgive me, duckies...**

**Oh, and in relation to the second question below, the idea of "Steven the Platypus" came from RP sessions with my friends. In the original thread, Alois found Steven in a bathtub with a bunch of other platypi after a party. He couldn't get rid of them all, so he kept one and named is "Steven". Recently, though, it has been discovered that Steven is actually FEMALE, as "he " laid eggs on Sebastian's pillow. Alois has since renamed the platypus "Juanita" for some unknown reason...  
**

**Also, your questions make Daniel cry... A lot... Poor Daniel... Y U do dis? **

**Until the next chapter, my duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Alois- you like my little pony, don't ya my little adorable psychopathic gay demon *snuggles* Ciel- if you saw Alois in a dress of your choosing, what would it look like?! And don't answer me with the 'Hannah's dress' crap, you are friends with Kris. I know you've envisioned Alois in one dress or another."** by EmeraldPaw  
_

_Alois' Answer: __"**Rainbow Dash** is best pony!"  
_

_Ciel's__ Answer:__ "Uhm... I... I...Uh... I simply don't know what you're talking about..." ***averts gaze and blushes.***_

_oooooOOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"Ciel: what do you think of steven the platypus and does he interrupt your "fun" time? and also what do you wish to do to Amelie when she walks in when things are getting heated? what is your reaction to wearing Alois's booty shorts. Alois: Would you do anything in remembrance of Luka and what would you do? and would you like to see Ciel wear your booty shorts and what is your reaction if he walks in wearing them?"** by sebastianthedemonbutler_

_Ciel's Answer:__ "That platypus... Usually, __it stays in Alois' room, so it seldom gets involved. As for Amelie, I want to strangle her. Very quite muchly, in fact."_

_Alois' Answer:__"Ah... I dunno... I'm really not good with that sort of thing. I can never come up with anything clever... I at least wish he had a grave that I could visit..."  
_

_oooooOOOOOooooo_

_Question: **"Ciel I been wondering what did you do for all those years before you brought back Alois? Did you ever meet other demons? where did you all live? and all the years you been alive did any girls (or guy) ever ask you out/like you? I been wondering what your life was before now:)"** by singergirl01_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I traveled a lot, and signed a few contracts here and there before World War I, and around twenty years later during World War II, I came back to England and helped defend London during the Blitzkriegs. It was because of me that Big Ben is still standing. (That's SIR Ciel Phantomhive, Hellsing!) It was afterwards that I started performing missions for the Council of Twelve. There was always a lot of missions, and defending of London, while someone else always got the credit. I don't particularly mind, or anything... I began resuming 'Guard-Dog' duties with my return, and worked with the Scotland Yard in between business with the Twelve. I don't really feel like telling the entire story at the moment..."  
_

_ooooOOOOOOoooo_

_Question: "Task for ciel and Sebastian: read all of "Glamourous Lip" and tell us what you think of the characters that look like you guys. Imagine that you replaced them in the story and did everything they did." by chestnutghost_

_Ciel's Answer:__***reads half of the first chapter*** "FUCK. NO." ***slams book down and leaves.***  
_

_ooooooOOOOOOoooooo__  
_

_Question: **"So all u 7 Mongolians have to answer this or ill rape u! Accept Daniel... He's a loner. nah ill defenitely rape dat ass of his. Anyways, so just say u were forced to make a porno with one of the 7 of u guys. But! Alois u can't pick Ciel, so as you Ciel you can't pick Alois -coughs- heh, those two are so ghay... Oi! Ma Bassy man! U have to answer this too! So as you HateWeasel! Who would u do the porno with?"** by Sushi Earl Trancy_

_Answer:_

_"Our sincerest apologies, dear reader, but the cast of 'Devils Like To Dance' refuses to answer this question, as it was deemed 'too embarrassing' by some, and 'completely fucked up' by others (primarily Alois). The seven (and Sebastian and HateWeasel) would never appear in a pornographic film due to their hopes at maintaining a future career in their own specified fields, and appearing in such media would jeopardize their hopes of accomplishing that. After a long discussion (the majority of which consisting of bickering), it has been decided that this question shall not be dwelled on any further.  
_

_Sincerely, _

_The allance of HateWeasel, Sebastian Michealis, and the 'Seven Sins' (except for Daniel. He was too busy crying in the corner of woe in order to give any input on the matter.)"_

_Daniel's__ Answer:__ "Stay away from my ass, you FIENDS!" ***sobs***_


	188. The Envelope

Ciel sat in his office, in the early evening, it an ordinary black suit with a blue tie, as the event they were going to was semi-formal, while he waited for the blonde menace to get ready. In truth, Ciel was quite nervous. He had never actually gone to a school dance before, as it has never held any actual interest to him. He didn't know what they were like at all. It was all so foreign, the social territory of modern teenagers. In a way, it made him feel old, but at the same time, wasn't that perfectly alright?

Refusal to waste time on such frivolities was standard Phantomhive practice, yet all of this seems to be slowly abandoned as of late, due to the arrival of a certain blonde lad. To Ciel, it was a complete anomaly, how his former nemesis had gone from making him feel nothing but anger and spite, to feelings of affection and whimsy. Maybe these were all just signs of the _Queen's old Guard Dog _going _soft,_ and losing his _bite_. This was a thought that the bluenette grimaced at, knowing nothing but cold, bitterness and detachment for so many years. His thoughts on the matter were brought to a halt, however, as he heard knocking at the door.

"Come in." he said in his usual disinterested tone, arching an eyebrow at the somewhat early-appearance of the blonde menace from behind the door. He had expected the blonde to dawdle for ten more minutes at the least.

"Hullo~!" Alois greeted, smiling at the bluenette as he entered the office. Ciel grunted in order to acknowledge the boy's existence in his usual manner, trying his best to uphold the illusion of indifference, but struggling somewhat due to the blonde's attire.

It wasn't anything outrageous or anything of the sort. No, it was in fact the opposite, being a plain, black suit, similar to that of the bluenette's, only instead of a blue tie, his was purple. They were both simply wearing their "mission clothes", as they didn't see the point in going out to buy something new for the event. Still, Ciel never could resist ogling the blonde lad a bit in his unusually masculine attire. The bluenette kicked himself slightly whenever he caught himself doing this. Alois was supposed to be the "girl", right? So, how was it that whenever he dressed in an unusually boyish manner, the bluenette found him to be especially attractive? It always made Ciel question his sexual preferences a bit. He had never planned on being a homosexual, and figured that if he were at least _bisexua_l, he would be at least somewhat "_normal"._ Perhaps this was still his old Victorian-era values hindering him once more.

"Ready to go?" asked the blonde, bringing the bluenette's thoughts to an abrupt halt yet again. Judging by the grin plastered on his face, he was aware of where the other boy's visible eye was focused on.

"Yes," Ciel replied, standing up from his seat and walking toward the door. "Have you remembered everything?"

"Yup. I got my mobile, house-keys, and etcetra on me!"answered Alois, trying his best to contain his excitement.

"Then we should get going, then. I don't trust _those two _on their own for long." the bluenette said, walking down the hallway with the blonde to his side. It was quiet for a few moments, but then, that silence was shattered to pieces by the blonde menace.

"You're wearing_ that suit_, huh?" he said with a grin.

_ "What_ suit?" asked the Phantomhive boy, confusedly. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you, huh?" the blonde asked innocently. "I like that suit. It looks good on you." he said, causing the other boy to blush slightly.

_ "It also makes your butt look cute."_ Alois continued, making the bluenette's blush darken, and encouraging him to shoot him a mean look that was only laughed off. With a giggle, the fair-haired demon began to dash down the halls in a race that only he seemed to know about until the bluenette began to chase him.

Eventually, they made it downstairs and met up with the man who would be driving them to the school that evening. Ciel immediately reverted back to his "serious" self upon reuniting with the butler. He never liked showing that he could in fact, act like a child in front of Sebastian. Perhaps it was because he was supposed to be the supreme authority of the household, and wanted to be taken seriously, or perhaps it was because he was self-conscious about never maturing physically, either way, the boy didn't like it. While the man in question did, in fact, notice the bluenette's childish outbursts that he would occasionally let loose, Sebastian pretended not to notice, keeping his own amusement at the sight to himself in order to respect the young lord's wishes.

The trio of demons piled into the car, and set course for Warwick Academy. The school looked exactly the same as it did last time they were there at night, only there was a lack of outdoor lighting, due to the fact that the event wasn't held outside in the cold. The shadows that seemed to reach up the walls of the building's exterior the previous time, now completely enveloped the campus, aside from a portion of area near the dance hall. As they got closer, they began to hear the muffled sounds of the pounding music that seemed to shake the walls of the building.

As they walked even closer, up to the doors, to be exact, they began recognizing a few faces, while being completely lost at the identity of others. They simply assumed that the ones that didn't look familiar were Tamworthians, and that was the only thing they could do in order to distinguish between students of the two schools, as none of them were in uniform. Some of them wore their school colours in order to distinguish between their two "teams", however, and those were generally the people that security was instructed to keep an eye on, as they were considered to be the most likely initiators of "trouble". They were generally also the ones who were performing- _ahem_, "_inappropriate"_ dance moves on the floor, much to the disgust of the demonic duo.

Even Alois, who was considered to be quite perverse, was offended. In fact, it was _Alois_ who wasn't sure were to put his eyes upon entering the establishment. If he looked in one direction, he was nearly blinded by flashing, multi-coloured lights, and in another, there was borderline pornographic dancing between minors, which he found to be more than "a little" disturbing. His disturbed feelings were only made worse with the obnoxious sound of heavy bass assaulting his eardrums. It was so heavy, he couldn't even consider it "music" due to the fact that it was the only thing he could actually hear from the speakers, causing the ground to quake slightly underneath his feet, much to his confusion.

He simply covered his ears and closed his eyes, not knowing what else to do with himself. All he knew at that moment was that he wanted this anxious feeling he was experiencing to stop. This wasn't "fun". It was frightening. The ground was shaking, the music that was less than such, and more of a series of displeasing sounds, were deafening, the lights that ironically failed to properly illuminate the room were blinding, and the people around him had turned into wild animals. It was as though he had stepped into some twisted, alternate dimension, or even _hell, _rather than a social event.

Closing his eyes only lessened the impact of the harsh lights. He could still see them through his eyelids. Covering his ears only slightly muffled the thunderous sounds. He could still hear them. He could even feel the vibrations in his feet. The only defense he knew existed at that moment had failed, leaving him to ponder what he was supposed to do next.

The blonde was snapped back into reality by the feeling of slight pressure resting on his shoulder,pressing the fabric of his wardrobe against his skin, and radiating faint heat that barely made it past his jacket. He forced open an eye in order to look in the direction the feeling was originating from, setting his sights on a certain bluenette boy, who looked at him with a concerned look on his face. It was then that the blonde realized how odd he must've looked at that moment; how out-of-place, and out-of-character he must have looked. The blonde forced his hands away from his ears, and his eyelids open in order to look at the other boy with a faux-smile and a nervous laugh.

_ "Are you alright?" _Ciel asked, leaning a bit closer to the boy so he could hear him over the music.

"Huh? O-oh, yeah... It's just a little... _Overwhelming_, is all." replied the blonde menace, trying his best to speak in a tone that would ease the other lad's worries, but failing miserably.

"We don't have to stay, you know." the bluenette said, grabbing onto the blonde's hand and squeezing it lightly.

"But what about Amelie and Charlotte?" Alois asked, remembering the excuse that Ciel had fed him. He too, was uncertain as to whether or not leaving the Vampire and werewolf on their own (,Or as he would call them: "_the leech and the poodle",) _was a good idea or not.

"Well, then why don't we try to find the others, so we can ignore this racket?" the bluenette answered with a question of his own. "I really don't understand modern teenagers anymore..."

"Neither do I, but that sounds like a pretty good idea..." the blonde said, carefully watching the other boy's face as the lights flashed different colours on it's side, casting odd shadows every now and then across it. He unconsciously leaned closer, and the bluenette did the same, watching the same phenomena take place across the blonde's visage.

"There'll be none of that!" called a harsh voice, startling the duo. They looked to their side, and saw Mister Irons standing there, giving them a stern look. The man held up two fingers and pointed at his eyes for a second before rotating his wrist so that the fingers pointed at the lads. He did this as if to say "I'm watching you." It was then that the boys had realized that school rules probably applied here as well, yet it begged the question as to why he wasn't stopping the provocative dancing taking place on the floor. Perhaps the problem was just at too great of a scale in order to realistically tackle.

The duo simply each gave the man an awkward smile and nodded in order to acknowledge that they understood. They then retreated to parts unknown in the large dance-hall in search of the rest of the sensational seven. They found Kristopherson, but left him be, as he was busily talking to Cameron with odd enthusiasm. They felt happy for the boy, and oddly disturbed by his unusual behaviour at the same time. They found Daniel, but left him be as well, as he was dancing with Anastasia, them being one of the few pairs on the dance-floor who seemed to show common decency. Last but not least they found Travis and Audrey, and began conversing with them, only to discover the whereabouts of the final member, Preston, who was apparently in the restroom. Much to the demon's relief, simply conversing seemed to tone down the feeling of chaos in the room.

Meanwhile, just as a certain lad was exiting the bathroom, he was approached by a strange man, the likes of which he has never met. The man wore an olive-coloured turtleneck, and a denim jacket, along with cargo pants and heavy-duty boots; certainly causing him to stand out more than just "slightly". He appeared to be in his early twenties, with golden hair and bright green eyes, but it was the way in which he spoke that really surprised the boy.

"Excuse me, but do you know someone called '_Ciel Phantomhive'?" _the man asked in a slight _German accent_.

"Y-yeah, I know him. Why?" inquired Preston, hesitantly. If such an odd person was looking for the Phantomhive boy, it certainly couldn't be_ good_. Yet, the man smiled happily at the lad's answer, and reached into his pocket before pulling out an envelope.

"Can you give this to him for me?" the man asked, holding the object out to the boy. "It very important." The boy took the envelope, noticing that it wasn't particularly heavy or anything, most likely only containing a small note. However, the mysterious contents of the note was what worried Preston, knowing that it could have anything to do with murders, or spy missions, or terrorist threats, or practically anything grave and dangerous.

"Alright..." he said finally, eying the plain white envelope. "I'll give it to him."

"Thank you, so much!" the man said with a smile. "I'll be counting on you." And with that, he turned and left the building as if he were never there.

Preston stared at the envelope for a moment, contemplating what could be inside. He considered opening it, but then the bluenette would probably kill him for looking at some top-secret documents or something. He couldn't help but have a feeling that this dance was going to take a turn for the worse at any moment.

* * *

**A/N: UGH...  
**

**TIRED...**

**WANT TO SLEEP...**

**I DUN WANNA ANSWER QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW..**

**UGH...**

**UGH, DUCKIES...**


	189. A Delinquent's Wrath

Although the night hadn't started off that well, the demonic duo was having a pretty decent time just talking to Travis and Audrey. Now they were able to ignore the obnoxious atmosphere in the room and occupy their interest, rather than simply stand around and feel awkward. When the conversation turned to the dance itself, however, they learned a few important tips.

"...Just be sure you don't drink the punch." said Travis, folding his arms. "The kids from Tamworth spiked it early on. Several of them have already been kicked out."

"What on earth is _wrong_ with them?" asked the bluenette, shaking his head.

"Who knows? Tamworth kids are just _weird." _said Audrey, putting his hands in his pockets. "Notice that the majority of the _pervs _on the dance-floor are from _Tamworth_, not _Warwick."_

"Just as long as no one starts anything, we should all be fine." Ciel said. "Unfortunately, from the stories I've heard about previous dances_, that probably won't be the case."_

"Yeah, apparently, about ten kids on both sides got kicked out last year because of a brawl. Someone supposedly looked at someone else's girlfriend '_the wrong way'." _spoke Travis.

"What a bunch of _idiots_..." The bluenette said before noticing yet another familiar face out of the corner of his eye. Following his eye, the others saw Preston trying to navigate the treacherous crowd and make his way over to his friends, experiencing nothing but absolute difficulty in the process.

He tried to politely squeeze in between other individuals, but they seemed to pay him no mind, causing him to begin forcing a path. Mysterious envelope in hand, he made haste in reaching his destination, only to be blocked by a human barricade of Tamworth students. Now, Preston had heard all of the rumors about the school, about how it was simply for all of the rambunctious children who managed to get kicked out of Warwick, yet he pressed on, forcing his way through the barrier in order to deliver the message in his hand to the Phantomhive boy. In the process, however, he accidentally shoved one of the Tamworth boys a bit too roughly, and being the polite individual he is, he immediately turned to the boy in order to apologize for his lapse of judgement, only to look up and see that he recognized the boy. His name was Walter; _Walter Hackett._

Yes, Walter Hackett, the child actor famous for his role as the antagonist in the popular film_, "Devil Butler", _and it's sequel that would be released the following year. He was also the lad who had so viciously bullied Preston and the rest of the sensational seven earlier in the year, harassing them with his team of accomplices, only to be kicked out when his shenanigans were brought to the attention of Warwick school officials by the demonic duo. He was still apparently trying to pull off that "punk rock" look he was going for, the only difference in his appearance now being that the highlights in his hair were gone, presumably due to the fact that filming on his recent movie had just ended, and they obviously didn't have pink hairdye in the 1800s.

The boy obviously recognized the Indian boy as well, scrunching his nose at the boy and furrowing his brow, almost to the point were it looked like he was snarling. Preston quickly spouted a quick "sorry" before trying to escape to the safety of his group, only to be brought to a halt by the menacing boy. Walter had grabbed his shoulder and spun him around before giving the Indian boy a shove.

"What was that?!" Walter asked in a harsh tone, "You said _'sorry'?_ No, no, no! _'Sorry' _doesn't cut it from Warwick-rubbish like you! _You shove me, I beat you."_

"I didn't mean to!" said Preston, holding up his hands in surrender. He wasn't going to be able to fight a bunch of Tamworth boys on his own, and he knew it. He saw his friends begin to move towards them, setting his nerves at ease, slightly to know he had backup. Still, that didn't change the fact that their was a rather irate actor in front of him and his thugs, threatening to flatten him.

"Hey! Pay attention to me when I'm talking to you, _'Whorewick'!" _ the Tamworth boy shouted, raising his leg to kick the boy while he was down. Yet, he stopped. Why?_ Because the scent of roses had suddenly filled the air._

"What are you doing,_ Wally?" _a familiar voice called to him. "You do know if _security _catches you, you'll be shown to the door, right?" It was none other than the Tamworth lad's co-star and _former_ friend, _Lawrence Rose,_ famous for his role as Cecil Hauntington, the protagonist of the movie "_Devil Butler"_ and it's upcoming sequel. He was dressed as dashing as usual, with his favourite combination of red and green in his attire, mixed in with more subtle colours in order for it to not be so flamboyant. The Tamworth boy furrowed his brow at the lad's appearance.

"Piss off, Rose! I've had enough of you on the set! Furthermore, this is none of your business!" he replied, causing the other actor to raise his eyebrows in surprise. Then, with a sigh, Lawrence gave his answer.

"I know we haven't been on the _best_ of terms, as of late, but I would appreciate it if you would begin to _think_ about the consequences of your actions every once in a while." He discreetly waved his hand at Preston, signalling for him to make his escape while Walter was distracted, and with a slight nod, the boy heeded the actor's advice, and retreated toward his friends.

"Are you alright?" asked Audrey, his eyes slightly visible through his bangs.

"Yeah." replied the Indian boy, trying to catch his breath. "I really need to remember to _thank_ Lawrence later!" He looked back over to the actor, who was still speaking with his agitated co-star, trying to make the best of the situation.

"What's_ that_?" Travis inquired, pointing at the slightly crumpled envelope in the lad's hands. Preston quickly tried to flatten it out, managing to straighten out the major wrinkles.

"O-oh, I forgot..." he said, holding out the paper container to the bluentte. "This is for you. Some bloke came up to me and told me to give it to you." He released the envelope only when he felt that it was secure in the eye-patched teen's hand, and watched as the boy eyed it before slowly opening it.

"What did they look like?" asked Alois, wondering if he knew the stranger that Preston was referring to.

"Well... he was blonde-, golden-blonde, not pale-blonde. He looked older than us, and was dressed completely wrong for a dance." Preston began. "He also had a German accent. Do you know him?" Alois furrowed his brow in thought for a moment as the bluenette read the message to himself.

"Nope._ Doesn't ring any bells_." the blonde said. "What about you, Ciel?"

Ciel looked up for a moment with an expression that made it obvious that he wasn't really listening to the conversation. He was too busy reading, in order to understand what they were saying with much clarity, especially over the horrible music that was blaring in the background. He lazily folded the piece of paper and slid it into the inner-pocket of his jacket.

"Yes, I've met him." he said, not looking the least bit concerned. "We didn't speak directly, but he was working under our _target _during our previous mission, Alois." Ciel turned to the others. "Something has come up. We're going to have to step out for a bit." The others immediately knew that it was something of importance.

"Alright. Take care." said Audrey, giving the demonic duo a small wave.

"We'll inform _'security' _to watch the students while you work." said Travis.

"If you would be so kind?" replied the Phantomhive boy. "That would be extremely helpful." With that, he turned to walk away fro the group, blonde menace in tow. Before they could make their escape, however, they were stopped by Preston.

"What is it?" he asked, a concerned look on his face. "What's going on?"

"We'll tell you later,_ maybe_." Alois called back before turning to follow the bluenette again. This didn't do one single thing to calm the human-boy's nerves. Thus, the demonic duo left the dance hall.

They walked away from the deafening music, the blinding lights, and the animal-people inside the building into the crisp night air, looking up at the murky sky without being able to see one single made their way to their destination, the roof, were they would be meeting their appointment. Ciel had simply informed the blonde boy on their way up the situation and who they were most-likely meeting, along with the potential dangers that came with attending this meeting.

With every word the boy spoke, Alois only became more and more excited, eager to prove once and for all his worth. No matter how many times he was told by the bluenette that it was unnecessary, the blonde would never accept that. That was simply too easy for someone who was so "_nearly perfect_" to say to someone who was not. Alois had an inferiority-complex when it came to the other boy, that was too deeply rooted in order to budge. He was simply itching for a chance to reaffirm himself, and would try at practially any given opportunity.

They made it to the dimly lit rooftop of the gymnasium, just as the note had instructed, and came face-to-face with two shady figures who they presumed had sent him the note. One was the German man who had given Preston the message, and the other an older man with a somewhat flat face. Both men were familiar to the bluenette, as he had seen them on the smuggling vessel, guarding his target at the time, _Victor Beatie_.

"You called for me?" the bluenette asked the two men in a bored tone that matched his expression.

"Yes." said the younger man with the golden hair. "Ve have business vith you, _'Queen's Guard-Dog';_ Ciel Phantomhive."

"Let's hear it, then. I don't have all night." the eye-patch-wearing demon said with a smirk, knowing full-well what the duo were after. He knew the look in their eyes. Even though they were hardly visible due to the darkness, his demon-eyes could see them. He knew that look, and he knew it well. Only one type of person had eyes like those. Those were the eyes of men who lusted after _revenge._

The younger man's eye twitched in annoyance at the lad's expression, yet he smiled a sort of haughty, arrogant smile that gave the impression that he truly believed in his victory. He reached both hands into the insides of his jacket, pulling out two large pistols, each with a bayonet-like projection on the bottom of the barrell, like there were knives attached to his guns. The other man reached into his pockets, pulling out nothing fancy, but a weapon that required nerve to use. The man in the Hawaiian shirt revealed brass knuckles with small rounded spikes on the end, slipping them on like rings onto his fingers. The two men assumed their own unique fighting-stances, and the younger of the two spoke.

"Even if you're only a child, ve vill never forgive you for vhat you did to Victor!" he shouted, readying himself for battle. "My name is _Heinrich Stumer_, and this is _Floyd Hopkins. _Remember our names vell, because those vill be the names of your _killers!"_

With that, the man lunged.

* * *

**A/N: Oh.  
**

**Cliffhanger! LOL. I'll try and post again before tomorrow's sun rises~!**

**I would've finished this sooner, but my boyfriend, Chestnutghost, called and we ended up talking for about three hours about _DLTD, Doctor Who_, crime in Britain, Crazy schools, and rapist dolphins. **

**Lovely.**

**I love the way a German-accent sounds, because it's just so beautifully gutsy and full-sounding, but I don't like typing for Heinrich in it. I think it's kind of distracting from the content, so I may quit doing that in the next chapter. **

**As a little bonus trivia: Heinrich is directly named after _Heinrich Stumer,_ the original actor to play the role of "_Max", _the protagonist in the German opera, _Der Freischutz,_ which is an opera that I have referenced previously in naming Ciel's gun, _Zamiel._ **

**Question for moi: "how do u come up with this stuff? Its amazing and are u a girl or a boy im kinda curious" by otakuichigo**

**I'm a girl~! A somewhat boyish one, but still a girl.  
**

**Also, I dunno how I come up with this stuff. I think most fiction is a conglomerate of reality, and other works of fiction. I read the news a lot, primarily the crime section, as well as other verticals on the subject in order to come up with these cases for the demonic duo to solve. My imagination just kind of fills in the gaps. I logic my way through it quite a bit.  
As for the "non-crime" segments, I base a lot of that around my own expeirience with high-school, as well as that of my friends.  
**

**I also feel inspired by other works, like, I mentioned that the "Simon-says" arc seemed kind of like _Sherlock BBC, _and I also draw inspiration from other shows and books as well. It can be simply a screenshot of something that makes my imagination 'click', or a line, or a set-up, a character, a scene, a drawing, an abstract idea; it could be virtually anything that makes be go "holy shit, I wanna write something right now!"**

**Rewatching Black Butler also helps. **

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET**_

_Question: **"Question for Ciel and Alois: Since you eat human food, do you still have to... You know... Use the toilet?"** by Guest  
_

_Alois' Answer:"Nope. We still don't have to. We have no idea were the food goes, either. If anyone finds a 'Demon Biology: 101' class, be sure to tell us."  
_

_ooooooooooOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo_

_Question: **"F is for Friends who do STUFF together, U is for YOU and ME, N is for ANYWHERE and ANYTIME at all, HERE in the deep blue sea! Get it? Wink-wink-nudge-nudge."** by FreezinWinter_

_Alois' Answer:__"Oh, you~!"_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Spongebob? Why?"_

_oooooooooooOOOOOOOOOooooooo_

_Question: "**how come sebby is so laid back and cool with alois and ciel and why does he barely get into the cases ciel and alois get?"** by otakuichigo_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"I am in no position to question my master's personal preferences, nor may I give my master orders. If my lord wishes to be with another male, and if that male happens to be his former nemesis, I am inclined to support him with every step. It's my duty as the butler of the Phantomhive household, afterall. I don't assist on many cases, simply because I wasn't ordered to. I believe my young master is taking a liking to the 'hands on' approach to solving cases. Perhaps it's his age..."  
_

_ooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOoooooo_

_Question: **"Question for Cielly-cutie-kins *glomps him* What would you do if the governement told you, you have to kill Alois? Alois same quslestion for you.."** by TheMoonAndStarsLove_

_Ciel's Answer:__I honestly don't think I **could** kill Alois. First, I would try to reason with them, and should that fail, I would gladly use all of my power to evade or eliminate the threat."  
_

_Alois' Anwer:_**_"FUCK THE POLICE."_**

_ooooooooOOOOOOOoooooo_

_Question: **"All of you 7 Mongolians especially ma Bassy man and hate weasel must make a dirty joke! Don't give me dat shiet like "fack dat shiet!" You must answer it or prepare to be raped personally by Grell -cough- Sebastian."** by Sushi Earl Trancy_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I have arrived at the conclusion that Sebastian cannot possibly be a homosexual. He likes** pussy-cats **too much. (I blame Alois for that one...)"  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"Why is Kristopherson such a tight-ass? It's because he's so** 'anal'.**"  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__ "They say 'Devils Like To Dance', so what's Ciel and Alois' favourite dance? **The 'Horizontal Tango'.**"_

_Audrey's Answer:____"How is Ciel like an egg? It's because he's always getting **'laid'."**_**_  
_**

_Daniel's Answer:__ "We call Audrey **'Bones'** for a reason." ***wink-wink, nudge-nudge* **(But not in a gay way, ew!) _

_Preston's Answer:__"Why is it awkward when Star Trek fans see an attractive woman in public? It's because they get a** Klingon.**"  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"What did Nala say to Simba after the credits of The Lion King? **'Hakuna my tatas'**."  
_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"A Dirty Limerick:  
_

_There once was a woman from Queue, _

_Who filled her vagina with glue._

_And she said with a grin,_

_'If they pay to get in,_

_They'll pay to get out of it too'."_

_HateWeasel's Answer:__"Why do so many characters in Kuroshitsuji want in Ciel's pants? There's Sebastian, Alois, Claude, Lizzie, Baron Kelvin, The Viscount Druitt, and a random assortment of characters who are after the contents of Ciel's pants. What could possibly be in Ciel's pants, that is so valuable, that it drives humans and demons alike to pursue it with such desperation? I'll tell you, plain and simple.** DRAGONBALLS.** Two of them, to be exact. _

_Demon-free wishes are **hard** to **come** by, these days (if you know what I mean)._

_Boom._

_There's two."  
_


	190. It's My Right To Fight

Ciel moved just in time to dodge the bayonet on the end of Heinrich's pistol. The man attacked from below, swinging upward, but cutting nothing but air. He aimed his weapon's twin at the boy, defending his torso which was otherwise open to attack from his swing, and pulled the trigger, narrowly missing the bluenette's head. He shifted his feet underneath him, preparing his stance for his next set of attacks. The Phantomhive boy reached for his own weapon, the Zamiel, grabbing it's handle and swiftly moving his arm to reveal it.

But then, the scarce light from the moon was blocked. The German's almost gorilla-sized accomplice cocked his arm back and prepared to strike the boy down, distracting him for a moment. Floyd immediately stopped his attack, however, when he felt a weight on his own back. He couldn't see what it was, as the blonde menace had covered his eyes, nor could he shake the boy off, as Alois had his legs wrapped around the man's torso, securing himself.

"_Guess who!"_ the blonde shouted playfully as the man in the Hawaiian shirt flailed his arms about.

_ "Get off, kid!"_ the man roared in his own odd accent, that sounded American to the lad's ears.

"Wrong! _That's not my name!" _the boy joked, causing the already agitated individual to become more so. "Don't worry, Ciel! _I totally got this!"_

"Like _hell,_ you do!" the bluenette retorted, dodging another slashing movement from his own opponent. Alois opened his mouth to speak, but the man he was currently battling reached back, grabbing the fabric of his coat, and forced him off, tossing him. Alois landed on his feet, and stood up straight again in order to face the man.

His eyes widened when he got a good look at the man's face. Floyd's nose was flat, his eyes were beady, and his chin was square, his face wrinkled, with a scar or two. He looked as though he had to be in his forties, at least, with a bulky build that was mostly muscle. His silhouette alone was enough to put Alois off, and all of it combined really made his blood boil.

The blonde furrowed his brow and grit his teeth, his own eyes becoming sharp at the sight before him. It wasn't "Floyd" who Alois saw before him. No, it was _someone else_; someone from his past; someone by the name of_ "Trancy_". His mind because fogged with the memories of the man, the one who he had once called "_father"._ All of the blood drained from the blonde's face and went to his limbs as he prepared for fight or flight.

Which would he choose? Fight? Flight? _Fight. _The man who he had seen before him was a mortal foe of his, one that wasn't a "beloved" one like the Earl of Phantomhive. No, this foe was one whom he wanted nothing more than to destroy completely. One who Alois would fight until he was ground into dust beneath the blonde's heel.

It was for this reason that the blonde lacked fear when confronting this enemy. He no longer felt the fear he would have when he was human. Now, he felt absolutely nothing but seething hatred for _that_ man. It was for this reason, that Alois _smiled._ At last, he could vanquish this foe of his, and be at peace. He would vanquish this man, who had made him _dirty; _this man, who had made him _unworthy_ _of being at Ciel's side._ He would expel this force of doubt in his heart. He would tear it out, and destroy it.

Yes, this is why Alois _smiled._ That is why he charged blindly at the man. It was this belief that caused the blonde to not fight as "_Alois Trancy",_ but as _"Jim Macken_". He was no longer that frail human boy who couldn't fight against the forces around him, and only be able to work_ with _them in order to achieve his goals. At long last, he would fight; not with tricks or manipulation, but with his _own _force; his own _will_. He would fight in the way _he_ saw fit. He would fight with _dignity_, and defend his _pride_. He would fight, and he would _win._

He cocked back his arm and clumsily expelled it forward, striking only the air. He adjusted his footing and swung again, yet the man was able to dodge with ease. In turn, Floyd swung his own arm, hitting the boy on his first try.

The brass knuckles left large, dark purple marks on the boy's skin, due to the driving force behind them. While such an injury would heal in mere moments, that didn't change the fact that the boy still felt pain from it, fortunately dulled due to his supernatural physiology. That single blow completely banished the air from Alois' lungs. He couldn't help but feel discouraged from it. That burning hatred and unyielding confidence he felt before was now replaced with fear as he was, in his mind, reduced to that helpless little boy he was ages ago.

The bluenette was having troubles of his own, as his own opponent was somehow able to keep up with his speed. The German failed to waste even a single movement, never leaving himself open for attack. It was as though he had the entire thing choreographed, the way he fought.

He seldom swung too wide as to keep himself guarded, but when he did so, the weapon in his free hand would prevent entry, and fire at the bluenette while it was difficult for the boy to dodge. He didn't especially want to go all out on the human, but Heinrich was making it extremely difficult for him to do so. He wanted so desperately to look over at the blonde in order to see how the boy was faring on his own, but knew that as soon as he looked away, he would get slashed or shot.

Ciel fired shots from his own pistol at the short range they were at in hopes of at least hindering the man. The German, however, shattered that hope to pieces by deflecting them with his bladed weapon. This thing that was supposedly "_human"_ was the senses and reflexes of _anything but_. The bluenette began to dash sideways in an attempt to cover a larger area, but Heinrich was keeping up, annoyingly mimicking the movement.

Fed up with the game of tag, the bluenette finally decided that he ended it. His eye glowed red, and everything it saw seemed to slow down. They both seemed to do so, and it was because of this, that he was able to register fine details. From the glint in the golden-haired man's green eyes, to every tiny movement he made, Ciel was able to now see it. He extended his arm in order to fire, but waited. He waited for Heinrich to aim his gun at him again. When Heinrich complied, the bluenette pulled the trigger, signalling for time to move normally again.

A bullet ricocheted off of the man's gun. Startled, he dropped it, and it fell over the side of the building onto the lawn below with a small _thud_. The German quickly swung his other arm around in order to compensate, but the weapon in that hand was quickly lost as well, diving to join it's twin.

"You're good, _'Guard-Dog'." _the man said, turning from watching his gun fall in order to look at the boy again with a smile.

"As are you, _'War-Dog'."_ the bluenette replied, gun still aimed at Heinrich. "Tell me, why exactly is it that you seek revenge for your employer? Is it your own integrity on the line?" Heinrich's smile faded at those words and furrowed his brow.

"You don't know anything, do you, _'Guard-dog'?" _he asked, almost snarling. "Victor... was a good man. The _best._ He wanted nothing more than for his son to be happy and taken care of, so he worked constantly. He blamed himself up to the very end for what happened to Jonnathan..."

"But why? He wasn't there. _There was nothing he could have done_." the boy replied.

"That is exactly why he blamed himself!" the German shouted angrily. "He regretted not being there to help his son more than anything else! He was desperately trying to find a way to move on, like Jonnathan would've _wanted_ him to! He was still trying to uphold his son's wishes even after he was gone! Victor loved Jonnathan more than anything else; not money, not power, but his own son with all of his heart! A man like that-!" he paused for a moment, looking down at the ground before speaking.

"A man like that... who does horrible crimes, sells weapons that cause nothing but death and destruction, dooming nations, and damning himself to hell, all for the sake of one, single, solitary little boy's happiness and future... is at the very core, _good _in every sense of the word..." he continued, his voice softer. "All us... we looked up to a man like that... he was proof that in this chaotic, cruel world, that there could be a human being who was still_ genuinely kind_. For someone like that to suffer so much... losing that one thing that they were constantly fighting for... and to be cut down before even getting the chance to say _'goodbye'..." _He looked up, eyes determined, yet on the brink of tears.

_"...That proves that there really is no hope for this goddamn planet after all!"_ he shouted, clenching his fists. His fingernails left small, crescent-shaped indentions in his skin, yet he didn't care. All he could focus on was the bluenette in front of him. Ciel, lowered his weapon for a moment and said:

"_God doesn't exist_. No matter how much someone prays, nothing will happen; not until they stand up and _make_ it. Human beings must fight for they things that they desire, because God won't simply set them in front of them on a silver platter. It's those human beings who fight for something _more_, who truly _live._ Should they fall in the process, they will have lived to the fullest, giving life everything they had." Ciel raised his weapon again and continued.

"_That _was Victor Beatie. _His_ fight was a noble one, as his intentions were pure. He only the happiness and welfare of _others_ in his heart, but is _your _fight noble? Are you fighting for _Victor, _or are you fighting for _you?_ Is this what _he _would have wanted? He told you to _escape,_ correct? He told you to _live."_

Heinrich blinked, astounded at the lad's words. He was absolutely dumbfounded by them. He stood on the roof of the Warwick gymnasium, completely open to attack, yet that wasn't on his mind at all. No, it was the care with which the boy spoke, that had his attention. Perhaps, the boy _did _understand, after all.

The German was snapped out of his daze by a voice. This voice wasn't that of the bluenette, nor was it his own. It wasn't that of his accomplice, or of the blonde boy who was currently fighting him. No, this voice was familiar. This voice was kind and playful, yet somewhat cross.

_ "Are you going to go against your orders, Heinrich?" _it asked, and finally, the man recognized it. It was the voice of his employer, _Victor Beatie._

There, before him, stood the man, just as if he were still alive. He was wearing his usual brown suit, with a blue dress-shirt and no tie, the top two buttons undone. On his right brow was his scar that he had gotten when a deal had gone bad. His face looked slightly scolding, yet still held it's usual, somewhat playful nature, but in his hand, he held the bluenette's gun, and it was still aimed straight at Heinrich.

"_Boss..." _was all the German could choke out. "_Why_... Why did you _leave _us? We could've _helped_... _We could've_..."

"No, you _couldn't." _Victor said, with a gentle smile. "If you continued to fight, you would've all _died, _and I didn't want that._ I didn't want any more people I care about to die_."

"But it's our _duty _to _protect_ you! _You're_ not supposed to protect _us!"_

"I know. But I don't _care._ I protected you because I _wanted_ to. Do you think you can forgive me for being so _selfish?"_

_ "It wasn't selfish! There's nothing to forgive!" _Heinrich said, nearly in tears. His voice began to crack as he spoke, and he looked down at the ground again. _"_If I can't protect you... or be by your side... what am I supposed to do?" The weapons dealer raised his eyebrows in surprise at the statement, before relaxing them again and smiling.

"_You figure it out_. You have to shape your _own _path now, Heinrich." he said. "You have to continue _fighting, _no matter what happens. Do the one thing that I _couldn't _do."

"But boss-!" began the German, looking up. Only, his employer was no longer there. In his place, was a bluenette boy, wearing an eye-patch.

_ "What will you do, 'War-Dog'?" _asked the boy, his weapon still aimed. "_What. Will. You. Do?"_

Heinrich hesitated before hesitating, as though he had to think about it. He raised an arm, and wiped the tears that threatened to fall before letting it rest again at his side. Suddenly, he clenched his fists and looked the bluenette in the eye, more determined than ever, and he assumed a fighting stance.

_ "I'm going to fight_." he said, causing the bluenette to smile slightly.

"Very well, then." said Ciel. "_Give it everything you have."_

With that, the German blindly charged forward, making a beeline for the bluenette as if ignoring the fact that the boy had a gun, and Ciel simply let him. He waited for him to get at a certain distance before pulling the trigger, wounding the man in his leg. Heinrich only winced at the sharp pain, yet continued on at a somewhat slower pace than he would have liked. He was going to charge until the bitter end, hole in his leg or not.

A gunshot sounded, and it was then that he felt similar pain in his other leg, causing him to fall forward onto the unyielding rooftop, hands cushioning the fall somewhat, and face scraping against it. He looked up, glaring at the boy who stood only a few feet away, snarling at the fact that he was being looked down upon. Ciel simply turned away from him, focusing his attention elsewhere.

"_You're a bloody fool_." he said, finally. "You get offered the chance to_ live_, and then you_ throw it right back_. You're such a _fool."_

"I may be a fool, _'Guard-Dog'," _Heinrich said. "But at least I can say that I _'lived'."_

"Why in the_ past tense? _You're_ still alive_, aren't you? _Keep it that way."_ Ciel said, focusing his attention on his own associate, feeling somewhat less worried, knowing how he is faring, but still so as he saw the condition the boy was in.

Alois had blood coming out of his nose, and the corner of his mouth, smeared slightly across his face from the boy making an attempt to wipe it off, and stains on his suit. He appeared to have taken quite a few hits, yet he was healing quite quickly, which was reassuring. Yet at the same time, the bluenette couldn't help but worry about the fact that the boy was refusing to change into his demonic form in order to defeat his adversary, choosing to instead remain as his "human" self, making the fight last longer. The expression on the boy's face was also alarming, as it wasn't one that Ciel was entirely familiar with. It was an odd mix of determination and anger that graced the blonde's features, as Alois was starting to figure something out.

He was swinging too wide when he attacked, leaving him open to counter-attack. He simply needed to attack _faster_, hitting with more _frequency_ than_ power _in order to wear his opponent down. He needed to remain calm and think about his attacks, rather than swinging blindly. Alois didn't need to change his _form _to win, but his _strategy._

The blonde wouldn't be able to explain it when asked, but he didn't _want_ to change forms. In his mind, this was a "_human_" problem of his, therefore he needed to be _"human_" to expel it. It was as simple as that. He didn't feel like he would gain any kind of closure, if he didn't. So he needed to do it this way, for his own "_human" pride_.

Feeling as though it would only get in the way, the blonde removed his suit jacket and tossed it to the side, not giving the slightest care as to where it landed. He was simply focused on his opponent. Alois rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, and assumed a stance similar to that of the man he was fighting against, seemingly mimicking a boxing stance.

With a deep breath, he began to calm down, clearing his head of any thought that wouldn't contribute to any sort of victory. Then, he forced his legs forward; forward to the source of his anger and his uneasy feelings about himself. Alois knew full-well that this was not _really _the man he knew, yet he still wanted this. He wanted to crush him with all of his might, and he wanted no one to interfere; and they wouldn't.

Ciel was far too perplexed by the boy's abnormal seriousness in order to help. No, he knew that he _shouldn't_ help. He knew that for Alois, this was somehow a matter of _pride, _and therefore, he would _wait. _

So far, the blonde's change in thinking was working, as he was now able to land several consecutive hits on the burly man, causing large bruises to appear on his skin. Occasionally, his opponent would swing, but with the change of stance, Alois was now able to block with ease. Unfortunately, however, blocking didn't do much good with the man's weapons, as they still dealt some damage, leaving those ugly, dark brown and purple marks on the blonde's skin, now fully visible for the world to see with the rolling up of his sleeves. At the same time, this also made the blonde's healing process apparent, the markings shrinking, and then finally disappearing without a single trace.

Floyd stopped momentarily to gawk at this. He had never seen anything like that before, and he had seen some pretty strange things. No wonder this boy wouldn't collapse from his blows. No wonder this boy wouldn't _die._ Any normal human being would have died long ago, or have suffered permanent damage at the very least from the brutal assault.

This young boy in front of him was obviously abnormal. His injuries healed almost instantaneously, and he wouldn't die. Despite his much smaller frame and stature, he was knocking the wind out of the fully-grown, battle-hardened man. Floyd was actually starting to become frightened by the boy, and it showed in his eyes, much to the lad's twisted amusement.

Alois cocked his arm back one last time, hitting his opponent square in the jaw. The man in the Hawaiian shirt stumbled backwards before landing on the rooftop with a thud. He didn't get back up. He was out cold, but even then, the demon was not satisfied with that. _For Alois to feel content, the man must die._

_ "Floyd!"_ called Heinrich from his own location, ignoring the painful sensations in his legs for a moment to call to his friend. "_Floyd! Get up!"_

There was no answer. There wasn't even a weak groan, or a small twitch. Floyd was out. With a twisted grin, the blonde's eyes glowed crimson, and he stood over his unconscious adversary, arm cocked back upon high, aimed directly at the man's head. The impact would crack the cement, and send droplets of red in varying sizes flying outward. It was obvious to everyone there that Floyd wasn't going to wake up ever again.

Yet, the demon prepared to hit the man again, raising his fist back up. Right when he was about to bring it crashing down again, however, he was stopped by a hand gripping his wrist, bringing his attack to a screeching halt. The blonde furrowed his brow and turned to confront the hindrance, only to find the bluenette standing there with a somewhat surprised expression on his face.

"_Alois?" _he called, yet the blonde didn't answer. With his free hand, Ciel held the blonde's head in place in order to make the boy look at him. "Come on. Calm down. You're alright." The crimson of the blonde's irises faded, being replaced with their usual icy-blue colour, and his expression relaxed, his angry visage being replaced with a guilty one, as though he were ashamed of his display.

Paramedics and police arrived discreetly, as not to alert the students who were still enjoying the festivities of their presence. They were all blissfully unaware of the violence that had taken place only moments ago, and it was preferred that it remained that way. The only students who would know of this, were the sensational seven, as they would be informed later.

The ambulance that carried one of the assailants, a mister Heinrich Strumer, zipped through the city on it's way to the hospital. The man had bullet wounds in both legs, and would need surgery in order to remove the projectiles. This, along with the fact that he was wanted by the Scotland Yard for being an underling of the international weapons dealer, Victor Beatie, it was doubtful that anyone from Warwick would be seeing the German any time soon.

He reflected on the days events, nearly speechless as to what to say, and confused as to how to feel. His vision of Victor, the sight of his only surviving coworker killed right in front of him, it was all so surreal. He knew one thing, though. He wanted to keep fighting.

"_You just wait, 'Guard-Dog'."_ he thought, grinding his teeth. _"Next time, I won't let my emotions get in my way. I'll kill you and your blonde minion in cold blood. You'll see. I'll fight you until the bitter end..."_

Meanwhile, still at Warwick, the demonic duo waited for their ride to pick them up, as they couldn't go back into the dance with their current blood-covered appearances. After the gunfire had died down, they could still hear the pounding of music coming from the dance-hall, muffled due to the barriers and distance between them. The December air was cold, so Alois put his coat back on, while he attempted to act as though nothing had happened, but in reality, he felt quite _odd_.

He didn't know whether he was happy that he "proved himself", or ashamed of killing that man with such brutality. He didn't know what he was feeling. Externally, he was quite cold, but internally, he didn't know, _and it felt odd._ Suddenly, he was pulled out of his thoughts by a warm hand resting on top of his own. Looking over to the bluenette, he saw a concerned expression across the boy's face.

"Are you _sure_ you're alright?" Ciel asked, referring to Alois' previous actions, and to the dazed look he was giving off. The blonde blinked a few times before answering.

"Yeah..." he said. "...Pretty sure."

"But is that sure _enough?"_

"I dunno..." With that response, they sat in silence for a while, Ciel unsure whether or not to press on the matter any further, and Alois unsure of what else to say. That is, until he suddenly did.

"Hey, Ciel?" he asked, getting the other boy's attention.

"Yes?" the bluenette replied, turning to Alois.

"...Nevermind_... It was stupid..." _the blonde said, shaking his head.

"_Who cares? Go ahead."_ Ciel leaned in closer, in order to hear the other lad as he muttered.

"W-well... I was just wondering..." Alois began, somewhat bashfully. He muttered and looked away as he spoke. "I-if you could... Say _my name_... You know... My _real_ one?" The bluenette had to admit, he was a bit taken aback at the odd request from the blonde, especially since he knew that the name bothered the boy immensely. Yet, he was willing to comply regardless, opening his mouth to speak.

_ "Jim." _he said, plan and simple.

It was just a word; a short, and somewhat plain one. It still seemed to make the blonde react somehow, causing the blonde to whip his head around and face the bluenette. His face was flushed, and twitched as though he was either trying not to smile, cry, or both.

"_Jim Macken."_ the bluenette said again in order to see what sort of reaction he would get. This time, the blonde quickly looked away.

"I..." he began, hesitating to speak again. "...I-I guess it... _doesn't sound so bad after all..."_

"What? _'Jim'?"_ Ciel asked with a smile, simply toying with the sorts of responses he would receive for repeating the word. He leaned in to whisper in the blonde's ear. "I thought you didn't like it?"

"I _don't." _Alois said. "It sounds _alright_ coming from _you_, though..."

_"'Jim Macken', _you mean?" the bluenette asked, causing the blonde to shiver, slightly.

"On second thought, _stop that_." he said, hunching his shoulders defensively. "_It's embarrassing..."_

"I like it though." replied Ciel. "Especially if it makes you act so _cute."_

"_Shut up..."_ said the blonde.

"But why, _Jim?"_ the Phantomhive boy teased.

"I'm _warning _you-!"

"What is it, _Jim?"_

_ "Shut up!"_ Alois said, covering his ears with his hands. The bluenette simply grabbed his wrists, however, and removed them.

"Care to talk about it, _Jim?"_

"_You're such an ass!"_

_"I love you too, Jimmy_."


	191. Trust Me, I'm The Doctor

Alois was currently panicking. He had never gone to the doctor's office before, and hadn't even the faintest idea as to what was going to happen to him. It didn't help at all that the doctor was with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. either. The very idea that he was going to be examined was terrifying, but in addition to the fact that the person examining him worked with _monster-killing fiends _was even _worse._

No matter how many times the bluenette had insisted that he would be fine, Alois simply couldn't help but think otherwise. He was required to have a check-up every so often, and this would be his first one. H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. required all of the demons to have one every so often, just to be fully aware of their physical state and abilities. Should the demons ever go rogue, it would be best to have all of the information possible on how to terminate them. It was perfectly reasonable to the eyes of both sides, really. While it was unlikely that the trio we know would do this, the state could never be so sure, and thus it was somewhat of a way of reaffirming their loyalty. The blonde, however, couldn't see it that way at the moment, as he was too busily focused on the strange environment around him.

The room was plain, too plain. It was almost completely absent of colour, aside from the few charts on the wall and some of the various containers on the counter up against the wall. He stared at the charts for awhile, tilting his head at the illustration of the innards of a human being. He couldn't help but marvel at diagrams like those, as he had never seen them before arriving in this time period. His attention moved to the various containers on the counter, wondering what on earth could their contents be for.

He could somewhat understand the use of cotton-balls, but the purpose of things like wooden Popsicle sticks and these small, black, _odd_, disposable-looking plastic cones were a complete mystery. Other items somewhat frightened him, like the box of syringes, and the plastic bin next to the counter with a large, orange sticker with the "toxic" symbol on it. He had no idea what went in there, but it couldn't be anything good.

Every time he moved, the flimsy, disposable paper on the table he was told to sit on '_crackled'_, which he found extremely annoying. Alois was somewhat afraid that he would rip it, so he did his best to remain still, unaware that there were no consequences for doing so. It _'crackled' _again, though, when Alois moved his head in order to look at the Phantomhive boy, somehow causing a small shift of his weight on the table.

Ciel sat in a chair up against the wall in the room, as Alois didn't want to be left alone in this strange environment, absent-mindedly fiddling with his mobile. He was checking his own appointments for that week while the blonde looked around the room. He looked up, however, when he heard the noise of the paper in the otherwise disturbingly quiet room.

"You're going to be _fine_." said the bluenette, reading the blonde's expression. "Do you want _me _to go first?"

"If you don't mind..." replied the other boy. "...I don't even know how this is going to work..."

"She's just going to run a few tests. There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of."

"What _kind_ of _'tests'?"_ the blonde asked, nearly jumping out of his skin when he heard the door behind him open. He whipped his head around to see a kind-looking bespectacled woman looking at him with a confused face, one that was simply a response to the boy's sudden movements.

She wore a white coat that had the Hellsing family crest on it, and a pink turtleneck paired with a grey skirt. Her almost shoulder-length hair was greying, evidence of her age, and her face was slightly wrinkled, by had a warmness about it that was disarming. She didn't look like she belonged in a place like H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. in the slightest. She instead looked like she would be running the local library. She walked in and closed the door behind her before taking a seat on a small, rolling stool in the room and grabbing the clipboard on the counter.

"Good morning." she said pleasantly, earning only a nod from the boys as a response. "Now, what are you here for again? Just a check-up?"

"Yes, we're both here for one, Doctor Ackerman." the bluenette replied. He gestured over to the blonde menace. "This is Alois Trancy, he's the main reason we're here, actually. It's his first check-up."

_"'Alois Trancy'..." _the woman said, as though she were trying to place the name. "Oh, yes! Silly me! He's written in as _'Jim Macken', _but I heard that he preferred to be called _'Alois'._ Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Doctor Ackerman smiled again, and looked at the blonde. "So, are you going first, then?" Alois quickly shook his head from side to side without even the slightest bit of hesitation. "A bit _nervous_, are we?"

"I'll go first." said the bluenette with a sigh. With that, the doctor put on her stethoscope, inserting the earpieces and holding up the sensor.

"Alright, I'll start by checking your heartbeat." she said, placing the sensor on the lad's chest. "Take a deep breath, now." Ciel complied, and the woman closed her eyes and furrowed her brow as though she were concentrating really intensely. Finally, she removed the sensor from the bluenette's chest and set the stethoscope aside, picking up her clipboard instead.

"_Barely audible_, like _always_." she said, making a note.

The doctors of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. specialized in both human, and supernatural physiology, even though they knew little about the latter. They learned all they could about supernatural anatomy through researching the corpses left over from hunts, and they were able to scavenge the little knowledge that they did have. They're specialty was vampires, and after that, ghouls. Then they knew some about werewolves, but next to nothing about Grim Reapers or Angels. Fortunately, they had a little knowledge of demons, though. It wasn't much, but they knew what they needed to look for. While that primarily consisted of gauging a demons' "strengths and weaknesses", it was still _something_.

Next, the woman opened a drawer, and pulled out a stopwatch and a scapel, the latter of the items causing the blonde's face to go pale. Yet, Ciel simply rolled up his sleeve, knowing what the woman was going to ask him to do next. She gave him a comforting smile, mixed with a little bit of a guilty expression.

"I'm sorry. This is my _least favourite _part, too." she said, scalpel in one hand, positioned above the bluenette's outstretched arm and and stopwatch in the other.

"It's fine. It doesn't really hurt." the bluenette replied, looking at the blonde, who was currently panicking.

With that, the doctor made a small insission in the boy's skin, simultaneously hitting the "start" button on the watch. The cut bled slightly before starting to close right before everyone's eyes. When it did, Doctor Ackerman pressed "stop", and read off the amount of time it took for the injury to heal.

"_Two point eight seconds." _she said, recording the time. From that, they would be able to calculate the exact healing time for most other injuries. "Alright, on my mark, please_ change your shape._ Ready?" Ciel simply nodded in response. "_Three, two, one, go!"_

She hit the button and black flames quickly enveloped the boy, shockingly not catching fire to anything else, including the chair that Ciel was seated in. Just as quickly as they appeared, however, they died down, revealing the boy's demonic form; from his pointed ears and black military-style coat, to his crimson eyes, black claws, horns, and his tail. The woman pushed the "stop" button and announced the time.

"_Three point six seconds." _she said before marking it. After that, they went through a series of other tests that involved things like measuring his horns and having him try and lift a weight with his tail. Alois wasn't sure at all how that could give the monster-killers any useful information at all, but all the same, when the woman announced that the bluenette was done, he jumped, dreading his own series of trials.

"Don't worry, I won't bite." Doctor Ackerman said. "If it makes you feel any better, we don't have to measure your _healing time _today, if you don't want to."

Admittedly, that did make him feel better, and thus they went through the process of testing him, first checking his heart-rate as well as other things. They discovered that his transformation time was slower than the bluenette's by about _two point three seconds_, and Alois made a face at the other boy when they discovered that his horns were smaller by several inches; a fact that the bluenette was oddly somewhat proud of. The blonde, however, was less clumsy with his tail.

It seemed like hours had passed when the appointment was finally over. They said their farewells to the doctor, and met up with Sebastian in the lobby. Alois had apparently felt embarrassed with the idea of possibly being in his demon form in front of the man. It wasn't as though he disliked the butler; in fact, they got along quite well. It was just that the blonde felt somewhat awkward around the man for being the one responsible for his eternal imprisonment, and for the fact that he was currently romantically involved with the man's master. The fact that Sebastian's form was that of an adult male didn't help either, but Alois was far less intimidated by him in comparison to the majority, which was slowly starting to fade as well.

"Now, was that _really_ as _bad_ as you thought it would be?" asked the Phantomhive boy after they had all gotten into their car. Alois looked away from the passing scenery on the other side of the window to look at the other boy.

"Nope. It was okay, actually." he said. "I was afraid I was going to get shot, or something..."

"You mean _'__**a**__ shot'?"_ corrected the bluenette

"No... I mean_ 'shot'..._"

* * *

**A/N: Yeah... I got nothin'...  
**

**I had no idea what to write, and this popped in my head, SO I WENT WITH IT.**

**Ah... I have no idea what to do for the next chapterrrrr! *cries***

**I could've gotten started on it tonight... But I don't know what to do...**

**I'M SUCH A DISGRACE!**

**So, uuuh... Can one of you guys shoot me an idea, or something? I hate asking, but... I'm a DISGRACE.**

**Hmm? Question time~!**

**"why do u not include sex scenes between the demonic duo" by otakuichigo**

**The answer is simple: I'M A COWARD.  
**

**I just don't have any confidence in it. **

**I also know there's a few readers who just aren't comfortable with smut, and I want them to still be able to enjoy the story too, y'know? **

**BUT MOSTLY, IT'S 'CAUSE I'M A COWARD.I did jokingly say to my friends that if the demand got too high, I might have to make a separate fic that's like "_DLTD: The 'Missing' Scenes"_ or something.  
**

**_Oh, God_, now that I said that, I'm going to get requests to actually go for it, aren't I?  
**

**I'M A COWARD. DON'T HATE.**

**I also think I'd rather spend time working on _DLTD_, rather than _DLTD_ _porno spinoffs,_ if you don't mind...**

**k thx.**

** Uh, l'see... what's next?**

**"I was wondering, if the seven were dwarves from snow white, which one would they be?" by chestnutghost**

**Oh, hey, chestnut... How'd you like the last question?  
**

**Anyway...**

**Ciel would be Grumpy, Alois would be Happy, Kristopherson would be Bashful , Audrey would be Doc, Daniel would be Dopey, Preston would be Sneezy and Travis would be Sleepy.**

**...I think...**

**...I haven't actually seen that shit...**

**DON'T HATE.**

**Laters, Duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET/NIGHTMARE FUEL FOR DANIEL  
**_

_Question: **"To Daniel: What would you do if you started dating a girl, and fall in love with her only to find out months later that 'she' was a cross-dressing gay guy?"** by IggyLikeToExplode  
_

_Daniel's Answer: "Why do you **hate** me, God? Why?"_

_oooooOOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"****Ciel what would you do if one day you had cat ears and a tail, and you started acting like a cat!? Alois and Sebastian what are you guys thought of a little neko Ciel? And what are you reaction be seeing Ciel like that?"** by singergirl01_

_Ciel's Answer: "Oh, GOD... I would have to hide from EVERYONE. Sebastian would go all freaky on me, and Amelie would probably try and tear me apart! Alois... It's obvious what he would try to do..."_

_Alois' Answer: "OH MY GEE GOLLY GOSH THAT IMAGE IS AMAZING. It would probably take every ounce of willpower that I posses in order to attempt to not pet his ears and pull his tail... I'd wanna make him **purr**... Wait, does me dating him count as bestiality?!"_

_Sebastian's Answer: ***Tries to contain himself in response to that image***_

ooooOOOOooooo

_Question: **"Question for sebby how would u react if u saw ciel and alois doing it?"** by otakuichigo_

_Sebastian's Reaction:***Opens door* *Freezes*** "Oh... My apologies..."** *Bows* *Casually walks out, shutting door and locking it***_

_oooooOOOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"I want the seven sins to read and watch...Sensitive pornography. LET DANIEL'S TORTURE BEGIN!"** by TheMoonAndStarsLove_

_Ciel's Reaction:_ "Oh... Well... I... Uh..." ***feels awkward***

_Alois' Reaction: "Oh my~!"_

_Kristopherson's Reaction: "Oh, come on! Really?! What kind of question is that?! Do you honestly think none of these guys have already seen it?"_

_Daniel's Reaction: "HAH! Joke's on you! I found STRAIGHT porn!"_

_Audrey's Reaction: "Whatevs'."_

_Preston's Reaction: "Uh... I really dunno what to say about that... C-can I go home now?" ***feels awkward***_

_Travis' Reaction: ***feels awkward***_


	192. That Lord, A Grinch

The date was December twenty-fifth, and it seemed like all of London had shut-down almost, a phenomena that seemed to be taking place all over the world as shops were closed; restaurants too, and people stayed indoors and socialized with family and friends. Nobody seemed to be walking the streets on that day because of this, but this seemed to happen every year as the holiday came around. As you ventured away from the city, you would begin to see that it's outskirts seemed to be even more barren. While Phantomhive manor was always somewhat desolate, it seemed even more so today, oddly.

A strange atmosphere came over the household as it was the first time in almost a century that Christmas was being celebrated again. After much begging from the servants of the manor, and by a certain blonde menace, the head of Phantomhive house reluctantly agreed to allow a celebration. While the exterior of the manor was destitute, the interior was quite lively as the trio of servants made their final preparations. At last, Sebastian sent one of the girls to go and fetch the young master, particularly Charlotte, because he knew that the wolf-girl would most likely do something silly to make the bluenette angry.

The vampiress climbed the stairs to the second floor, carefully trying not to get the tails of her coat tangled in her legs again. (In her eyes, the uniforms biggest design flaw.) Down the vast, empty hallways she trekked, making an attempt to remember which door lead to the master bedroom. It was quite confusing, when there were so many doors that lead to many different rooms, all mostly looking exactly the same. Charlotte finally arrived at the one which she believed to be correct, and gently knocked on it, hearing slight rustling on the other side.

"My lord?" she called, pausing before continuing. She didn't dare try and open the door, as instructed by Sebastian. Though, the stories of what Amelie had walked in on were enough to keep her at bay on their own. "It's time to get up. Everyone is downstairs waiting."

With a grunt, the Phantomhive boy sat up and wiped the sleep out of his eyes, taking a moment to wake up a bit more before speaking. "Alright." he said, acknowledging that he heard the maid. "I'll be down in a moment."

"Alright then." Charlotte replied, and with that, she simply turned around and left, having completed her task.

After listening to the sounds of the footsteps in the hallway grow further away for a moment before looking over at the blonde next to him. Alois was curled up in a ball, having lost his "_meat pillow_", as he would call it (a term the bluenette finds _disturbing_), after the other boy had sat up. Ciel reached over and lightly shook the blonde, as the boy did his best to pretend he was still asleep.

"I know you're awake, Alois." the bluenette said, knowing his attempt to wake the fair-haired demon wasn't in vain. "Get up."

"_Nnnnnn... Don't wanna_..." the other lad whined as a reply. He wasn't quite ready to leave the warmth of the bed just yet.

But, then, his eyes shot open and he sat up abruptly, startling the Phantomhive boy a bit. He leaned over and began to shake the other boy's shoulder, playfully rocking him back and forth with a smile.

"Holy shit! It's _Christmas!" _the blonde declared, letting go of the bluenette and jumping out of bed. He walked over to the dresser and pulled out the spare set of clothes he kept in the other boy's room and began changing out of his sleepwear. Ciel simply rolled his eyes at the blonde's silliness.

"You shouldn't swear like that, Alois." he said, jokingly. "_You'll make Jesus cry."_ Alois simply laughed at the comment and said:

"_Christmas _isn't about_ Jesus_, silly goose!" Ciel simply gave him a look that made it appear that the bluenette was questioning the other lad's intelligence, as well as his own hearing.

"Alright..." he said, getting up and walking over to his closet. "Then what _is_ it about, pray tell?" He was answered by a long pause.

_ "I haven't decided yet."_ the blonde said finally, smiling when he heard the bluenette snort while trying not to laugh.

Once they were decent enough for the public eye, the demonic duo trekked downstairs in order to meet with the others. Ciel had completely forgotten the date. He was even more surprised when they discovered the massive tree in the middle of the foyer. It wasn't there when he went to bed the night before, after all.

_ "That is the biggest goddamn tree I have ever seen in my fucking life..."_ spoke the blonde menace, his eyes as big as saucers, staring up at the decorated plant. He didn't notice the look that the others gave him for his language, that look quickly shifting from a disapproving one to that of amusement at the bewildered expression on the boy's face.

He was snapped out of his stupor, the attention of the others in the room shifting as well, when a certain wolf-girl stepped forward, stomping her feet as she walked. She was dressed as father Christmas himself, with a red coat trimmed with white, and a hat to match. Amelie even had on a false-beard, and stood stroking it like some mystical kung-fu master like one would see on television.

"_Ho, ho, ho..."_ she said, her expression the same as always. While Alois and Charlotte were incredibly amused by the rather short Santa's antics, Ciel and Sebastian simply wore questioning expressions on their faces.

_ "Where did you get that?"_ the bluenette asked, obviously referring to the werewolf's attire.

In response, she stroked her "beard" again and said:_ "I found it_." thus ending the conversation.

Moments later, the posse of supernatural apparitions were going through the items underneath the tree, reading the labels on the packages and dispensing them to their appropriate owners. Now this is were problems started to arise. Obviously, no one really took any of this seriously.

"It would appear that you both have received gifts from _Sir Hellsing_, my lord." spoke the butler, handing the boys each a wrapped package. "_I apologize in advance_..."

"Apologize?" echoed the bluenette, curiously. "Why?"

"Just read the labels..."

Ciel looked down at the gift in his hands, furrowing his brow, his eyelid uncontrollably twitching. Written in elegant handwriting were thw words: "_To 'The Blue, Satanic Ankle-biter', From H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G."_ Immediately, the boy looked over at the package in Alois' hands, and read the label on it, only to discover that it simply said "_To Jim_" on it.

"What is it?" the blonde asked, wondering both why he was being stared at and why the bluenette looked so irate. Ciel took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He did his best to conceal the label on his own package from the other's gaze, knowing that Alois would definitely laugh until he was in stitches over it.

_"It's nothing." _the Phantomhive boy insisted between clenched teeth. He quickly tore up the decorative paper, intentionally destroying the offending label in the process. When he opened the box, however, his anger returned with amazing intensity. The Hellsing woman, in her odd way of messing with the boy, had giving him a package containing nothing but _pink, wool socks. _

It was unknown what first began this bitter rivalry between the Phantomhive boy and Sir Hellsing, but they would often pick at, and make fools of the other at every given opportunity. This was just one of many times the beastly woman had made Ciel so furious. He had struck first on many occasion, but was often thwarted with a counter-attack, much to his irritation.

"_Hell... sing..."_ he growled, his nails digging into the cardboard box as he shook with fury.

Alois was busily trying with all of his might not to laugh. The corners of his lips twitched as they threatened to morph into a smile, but he knew better. He watched as the Phantomhive boy closed the box, and shoved it into the grasp of the butler.

_ "Burn these." _the bluenette ordered, almost in a bark. The man clad in black simply bowed slightly.

"Yes, my lord." he said, finally allowing himself to smile once he was completely out of the sight of the enraged noble.

He would never reveal to the lad that he later discovered that the box also contained a lump of coal. The other servants were somewhat afraid of the evil aura that the boy was radiating. If you asked them, they would most likely claim that it was not only something that they could sense, but that it was also _visible to the naked eye._

Alois was hesitant to open his own gift. There was the possibility that a prank would be played on him, or in the worst-case scenario, there wouldn't be, causing the bluenette's anger to rise. Slowly, he peeled the wrapping off, finding a black box underneath it. It was heavy, so he could only guess what was inside. The blonde touched the lid, preparing to open it, all while feeling the glare of the Phantomhive boy causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.

Just to get it all over with, he suddenly opened the lid and laid eyes upon the object inside. There was a note on top of it in that same, nice-looking handwriting that said:

_"You are of no use without the ability to defend yourself. _

_Have Phantomhive teach you how to use this. _

_-Sir Integra F.W. Hellsing."_

It was perhaps the one of the most irresponsible items one could possibly give to the blonde, yet that was simply Sir Hellsing's preferred method of "training" employees. It was the blonde's very own _anit-freak weapon_; a pistol.

Unlike the bluenette's, it was a _revolver-style_ pistol. The gun had a guard on it's handle like one on the handle of a rapier, just like the bluenette's, but Alois' was gold-coloured as opposed to his companion's silver. The name "_Kaspar"_ was engraved on the side of the barrel in white, just like the name "_Zamiel" _was on the Phantomhive boy's weapon. It was similar in it's onyx colouring, weight, caliber, and length, however, obviously made without the intention of it ever being wielded by a human being.

Alois was completely blown away, as was Ciel. The eye-patch-wearing gentleman stood, mouth agape upon setting sight on the weapon in the blonde's hands. Finally, he spoke again.

"That's it. _She's dead_." he said, marching back upstairs.

"Ciel? Where are you going?" called the blonde menace.

_"I am going to get that beastly woman on the phone, and I am going to give her a piece of my mind."_

"Don't do it! You know she'll only find it _funny!"_

"I won't allow myself to be made a fool of any longer!"

"_Noooo! Ciel! Don't be a hero!"_

And that, is Alois' memory of his first Chirstmas in the twenty-first century...

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I totally had an amazing idea for a chapter, AND THEN FORGOT IT.  
**

**Thus, I give you some some cracktastic filler. ..**

**Why the fuck did spellcheck want to change "Christmas" to "Masochist"?**

**I think Ciel resembles the Ciel in the Kuroshitsuji parody comic, "Kurohistuji", or "Black Sheep". The entire premise of that manga is that they replaced Sebastian with a cartoon sheep... AND IT'S GODDAMN HILARIOUS. **

**Google that shit.**

**I like to swear a lot. I should probably quit that. That shit is so fucking rude.**

**I'M GONNA MAKE JESUS CRY.**

**Lately, I've had these two songs stuck in my head, and it sucks because they aren't actual songs that I can listen to. When I'm bored, I like to write and remix songs in my head, and lately, I've been trying to make a orchestral version of "Monochrome no Kiss" work. So far, in my mind, It's pretty damn epic.  
**

**I've also mentally remixed a Funk version of "Slightly Chipped Full Moon." Why? Because. It's amazing.  
**

**I do what I can because I must.**

**Oh, man, if I had and knew how to use music synthesizing software, I would make this shit happen...**

**Anyways, they're in my head, and I have absolutely no way of getting them out. Dafuq, brain?**

**Oh, and I got to thinking about your questions on "could Ciel and Alois have children", and couldn't resist drawing up a quick design. I can't quit drawing the little twerp. He doesn't have a name, and I'm not sure if I want to include him. It was a "just for fun" sort of thing.**

**Anyway, the little devil is on my deviantart, now. Can any of you think of a good name?**

**Also:**

_**"Can't you see Daniel and Kris together as a couple? :D" by IggyLikeToExplode**_

**YES. If I had to ship any of the seven other than the demonic duo, it would be Daniel and Kris, even though Daniel isn't gay.**

**I dunno if that was really a question or not, but I'm just gonna throw that out there, anyway.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**QUESTION TIME ASDGLKASDHGALSDKJHF!**_

_Question: **"Question for Alois: Has it ever occurred to you that if for some reason if Ciel were to ever leave you, you most likely couldn't provide for youself? You're very very dependant on that boy."** by Toolazytologin  
_

_Alois' Answer: "Well... I... Uh... Well that's just 'cause-! ...Uh... **Shut up.**"ooooOOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"Daniel, are you homophobic?"** by Bloody White Queen_

_Daniel's Answer:__"What? Of course not! If I was, how could I hang out with Ciel, Alois, and Kris? I respect that they like blokes, just like I respect that Preston like Star Trek. Neither of them are interests that we have in common, but they should still be able to like them anyway. They're my friends, and I want them to be happy. People in general should be able to like what they like and love who they love. Not letting people be who they are is fucked up. I just personally don't want anything to do with another man's junk. I don't wanna do it with another guy, and I don't wanna see two guys doing it. It's not my cup of tea. I just don't find men attractive in that sort of way. I like girls, you see? It's not that I don't like gays, it's that I'm just not one of them. THERE'S A DIFFERENCE."  
_

_oooooOOOOOooooo_

_Question: **"for the 7. You wake up in the morning, and find out your whole world has been gender swapped. Your reactions?"** by EmeraldPaw_

_Ciel's Rection:__" #$$%#&*&# $##%$# #%$ $#% #% #%!%$#!"_

_Alois' Reaction__: ***looks in mirror* *has hardly changed*** "Goddammit..."  
_

_Kristopherson's Reaction:__"So, I can wear women's clothes whenever I want, and like guys while it being perfectly 'normal'? ...I can live with this."  
_

_Audrey's Reaction:__"Dafuq?!"_

_Daniel's Reaction: __"...Tiiiiiiiitttttssss..."_

_Preston's Reaction:__"What the fuck? What the fuck!? WHATTHEFUCK?!"  
_

_Travis' Reaction: __"..."_

_oooooOOOOOoooo_

_Question: **"To every sin: if you had the chance to turn into a demon, would oh take it?"** by FreezinWinter_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Well, I'm told I'm 'going to hell' anyway, so I'm sure it's just a matter of time."_

_Audrey's Answer:__"So... I would be a Grim Reaper/Demon hybrid with superpowers? That sounds pretty cool, but what would I do with it, and all of that free time?" _

_Daniel's Answer:__"Hell yeah! Badass demons for the win!"_

_Preston's Answer:__"Living forever sounds kind of scary... I'm both terrified of existing eternally, and not existing at all..."  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"I don't know if I have it in me to take another person's soul... Probably not..."  
_


	193. That Blonde, Bickering

_ "What?! Why do I have to go too?!"_

Yet another school year had come to a close at Warwick Academy, bringing summer break to the rejoicing students. One, however, did _not_ rejoice. Alois felt like there was nothing to rejoice about.

As promised, the head of Phantomhive was surrendering his two new maids to the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization in order to work under new command, but first, they were required to go through some training. Now, what did this have to do with Alois? Well, the Council of Twelve thought it would be wise for the blonde menace to undergo training as well. He did not like this idea.

He did not like the idea of going to a "boot camp", of sorts. He did not like the idea of getting yelled at by scary men. He did not like the idea of having to crwl in the dirt. He did not like the idea of getting "broken" in order to obey a commander that he wasn't really loyal to. Most of all, however, he did not like the idea of leaving Ciel for a month.

The _H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Training Academy _was for children of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives and staff, as well as "younger" supernatural beings and children who are aware of the presence of said beings. It only lasted for a month, but it was said to be treacherous. Ciel Phantomhive himself was an alumni, and he knew what it was like.

They would all have to learn to stay awake during the night and sleep during the day, which wasn't entirely difficult, given his physical state. They also had to learn how to shoot to kill, by use of a certain excersise that caused most of the other children to cry. They would cry, even though they were perfectly safe from harm the entire time, specifically because it involved shooting actual ghouls, or what are commonly known as "zombies", targeting their heads and hearts as they shot down into a pit full of them. The excercise had the specific goal of getting them used to the horrible things that H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. agents would see. Ciel thought it was somewhat cruel to make otherwise "normal" children see that, but it was their choice to be there.

While the bluenette found no difficulty in either of those tasks, the verbal abuse was what really bothered him. Commanders would constantly be shouting, shouting insults, and shouting orders, as though they knew not how to speak in a lower volume at all. Ciel, being the prideful, and somewhat arrogant person he is, was constantly hearing this, as he didn't like to take orders from others. He was always the one who had to run laps, or do pushups, and because he was a demon, they would give him an ungodly amount to complete. Sometimes, he was forced to clean the bathroom with a toothbrush, in most cases, much to his humiliation. Perhaps this was just one of the many, many reasons that the Phantomhive boy detested the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization.

Alois wanted no part of it. Not at all. He didn't know how he was going to survive for that long. He wasn't very independent, and he knew this. He knew he needed Ciel in order to "function", and now he was put in a position where that was going to be an impossibility. He pleaded for the bluenette to not make him go. He pleaded with the boy from the few weeks leading up to the camp, to the few minutes in the car while they were on their way to the camp, to the several seconds that it took for them to walk up to the door. He was terrified, and it made the bluenette's heart ache to see the blonde so frightened, but their was nothing he could do. If he refused, The Council of Twelve may reconsider the blonde's status as one of their demonic "errand-boys" and revoke his special privileges, making him a "threat to the crown". That was something that they simply did _not _need to happen.

Fortunately, there would be a few familiar faces there with him. There would be Charlotte and Amelie, of course, but much to the blonde's surprise, a mister _Audrey Baines _was going to be there too. He even rode in the car with them on the way there, somewhat surprised by the usually bold and confident blonde's begging.

He did that all the way up to the door. Ciel had to literally pry the blonde off of him and push him inside. He actually required _help _from Sebastian in order to do so. Then, the two boy's were on their own. They sat in silence as they waited to receive their physicals.

Now that was a nightmare that neither of them wanted to go through ever again. The reason for this being specifically that the doctor was _male_, and had to _touch_ the blonde in order to gauge his status. Alois didn't like that one bit. He almost snapped, but fortunately, Audrey was there to help him calm down.

Then, they received their uniforms, which consisted of a grey T-shirt with the Hellsing crest on the upper left pectoral, tucked into a pair of olive-green pants with many, many, pockets, the legs of which were then tucked into black, ankle-high boots. Yes, they had to wear them precisely like that, or suffer having their ears chewed off. They knew this, yet the blonde felt compelled to "enhance" the uniform anyway.

It wasn't anything major, but it would be considered extremely disrespectful. He somehow managed to acquire a permanent marker and before putting on his shirt, he drew on it. The Hellsing crest was on the left side of the shirt, on the upper pectoral, so in the position opposite to it, he drew the crest of the _Phantomhive_ household to the best of his ability. He drew the shield and the two predatory birds on each side, drawing it right down to the motto at the bottom: "_Potentia Regere", _roughly translating into "_To Rule With Authority_". When, and only when he was satisfied with his handiwork, did he don the uniform. He didn't quite know why he did this, he just simply wanted to rebel somehow.

He met up with Audrey again and they went on to their final task before entering the camp, and it involved _getting a haircut._ No personnel in the camp were allowed to have their hair in such a way that it could potentially get in the way, and thus, they had to get it trimmed. Girls had the option of simply putting their hair back in a ponytail or a bun, but the boys could not. It had to be cut, much to the dismay of Mister Trancy and Mister Baines.

Audrey couldn't look as his hair was cut, so that his bangs were short, and wouldn't hang in his face, and the ends where cut as well, so the boy wouldn't have a mullet. He felt naked without his barrier between the world and his eyes. He couldn't hide them. Everyone would stare at his weird-looking eyes, and immediately know he wasn't entirely human, a thing that at a H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G base, put you at a disadvantage.

The blonde, however, was fussing a lot more, refusing to cooperate with the stylist. When asked to turn his head one way, he'd turn it another, when asked to stay still, he'd keep moving. Alois didn't want to be there, and he was taking it out on the poor stylist, who was only trying to do their job.

Finally, his hair was short enough to be passable. His blonde locks now no longer in his face. It looked much messier than usual, since it now lacked it's usual weight that held it in place. He got out of his chair and walked over to a mirror, horrified at what they had done to him.

_ "I look like a bloody pillock!" _he shouted to no one in particular.

"Hey, Alois..." called Audrey at his side, forcing the blonde to look away from the mirror for a brief moment.

"What?"

_Click!_

The blonde blinked for a moment, processing what had just happened. Bones began playing with his cellphone, the source of the odd 'clicking' noise. Alois put two and two together and realized what had just happened.

"_Hey! Don't take pictures!"_ he shouted, reaching for the device. The Baines lad simply moved so that his body acted as a barrier between the blonde and his mobile. "Delete it _now!"_

"Why? I bet _Ciel _would like to see..." replied Audrey with a grin. His smiling face was noticeably different with his entire face visible. It was somehow more mischievous.

"Don't you_ dare _send that to Ciel!" Alois ordered, reaching for the phone again. With his free hand, the reaper boy held him at bay.

"Aaaaand... _It's too late." _he said, pushing the "send" button.

"You ass! Wha'd you do that for?!"

"Well, for one, Ciel asked me to send him updates on how you were doing, and two: it was _funny_." Alois opened his mouth to speak, but closed his mouth as the other boy's phone went off. Bones opened the message, reading it aloud.

"_'Thank you for the new wallpaper'."_ he quoted, reading the Phantomhive boy's reply. Hearing this only made the blonde flush slightly.

"He _didn't!_ He better not have set that as his wallpaper!" he shouted, furrowing his brow and trying his best to look angry, rather than embarrassed.

Meanwhile, back home, a certain bluenette was sitting in his study, waiting for his phone to vibrate again. He didn't know why he was so anxious about the endeavor. He knew that the blonde was most likely to be fine, but still, he couldn't help but fret about how the blonde was on his own at an academy designed specifically for killing his kind.

He paused for a moment before setting down his pen and picking up the device again, pressing a button to turn on the screen. When it revealed itself again, there was the blonde making a goofy face with his even goofier hair. Ciel couldn't help but chuckle at it. He swore he could almost _hear _the blonde complaining about it.

* * *

**A/N: I had this idea for awhile, so since I couldn't think of anything else, I WENT FOR IT.  
**

**I think it's kinda silly, but hey, what can I do?**

**I'm not entirely sure how it's going to work out, since the duo will be separated, but I'm sure I can find a way.**

**I GOTS SKILLZ.**

**Hmm? I gots questions, all from _ReadAndWriteButMostlyRead_**

**_Three questions:  
1: HateWeasel why is it sometimes when people ask multiple questions you only answer one of them but you show all of the questions the person asks?  
2: When are you going to update MIAAU?  
3: Alois, Sebastian, Ciel, and HateWeasel: Audrey just said Claude is pretty cool (Since he said a Grim Reaper/Demon hybrid sounds pretty cool.) Your reaction?_**

**1. Because I forget. I mean to answer them all in one go, but I begin focusing on one, and accidentally forget the others.**

**2. When I get to it. I've seriously been meaning to do it, but every time I sit down to work on it, I immediately forget what I was going to write, or can't seem to put it into words. MIAAU is a little more tricky to write, because it follows a completely different set of in-universe rules that I have to make up the entirety of. With DLTD, I at least have a reference, and a lot of it, but MIAAU, I don't. I only have the characters personalities and back-stories as a base. I make it all up on the fly. Luckily, you can do that with comic-book logic...**

**3. I'm not really sure what that's supposed to mean... Claude isn't part Grim Reaper at all. He's just a plain ol' demon, and the information that Audrey possesses about Claude all points to the spider-butler being a major douche, so I don't think Audrey would ever knowingly say something positive about him.**

**Oh! And to SakuraNanami: Yeah. Soul Eater is AWESOME.**

**Also, 969 reviews~!**

**Oh my~!**

**Until the next chapter, my aquatic birds!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Oh, also, what would your reactions be if the Doctor suddenly appeared in the TARDIS in the middle of class?"** by EmeraldPaw  
_

_Ciel's Answer: "Why do I get the sinking feeling that I'm going to have to do something about it?" _

_Alois' Answer: "I would quickly look around for Daleks, or some freaky shit."  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer: "I would probably be freaking out. Demons, Werewolves, Vampires, and now time and space-traveling Aliens? Whats next, the goddamn TOOTH-FAIRY?"  
_

_Audrey's Answer: "I knew it was only a matter of time until he made it to our universe..."_

___Daniel's Answer: "I would probably take out my phone and take a few pictures..."_

_Preston's Answer:"Do you think he'd let be be his companion?"  
_

_Travis' Answer: "Is there anything left that isn't real?"_

**_Since There Weren't Anymore Questions As Of Posting This:_**

**_Doctor Ackerman's "Did You Know?" _**

_"Did you know that a demon's skeleton is almost completely black? The only thing that are of a different colour are the teeth." _

_-Doctor Ackerman, from chapter 191_


	194. Welcome To HELLSING

It was the first night at the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Camp, and all of the children were lined up at attention in the yard, which was brightly illuminated by a large light posts, like one would find at an outdoor sports stadium. The girls were lined up on one side, including Amelie and Charlotte, the latter of which fortunately unaffected by artificial illumination, and on the other, were the boys, including Alois and Audrey. They were the only non-human campers there, seeing that supernatural members of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. were few, for understandable reasons.

There was an aisle between the two rows for their superior to walk through, an angry man with a shaved head an a mustache. He appeared to be in his late forties, obviously doing this instead of retiring. Unlike the children, he wore a full H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. uniform, but without the coat, being replaces with a tan button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and the Hellsing family crest on the fron pocket and on his dark red beret. As he walked through the "new recruits", he immediately noticed Alois, and walked right up to him, getting uncomfortably close.

_ "You! Care to explain the state of your uniform, cadet!?"_ he barked, referring to the changes the blonde had made previously.

Alois, being the disrespectful individual that he was, thought it would be humourous to draw the _Phantomhive _family crest on his uniform shirt, for no reason other than to rebel. He didn't like the idea of uniforms. He only tolerated the ones at Warwick because students were able to select the length of their pants and the colour of their tie and the trimming on their jackets, giving them some freedom with their appearance. He just wanted to be unique.

It should also be noted, that the haircut he had been given that day hadn't stayed. Being a demon, he is able to change his appearance, and since his "default" appearance was altered, it simply fixed itself, returning to it's usual state. This was also considered being "out of uniform".

"What seems to be the problem with it, sir?" he asked innocently.

_ "What is that on your shirt?!" _the man barked again, causing him to reflexively jump slightly.

"That is the crest of the house I work for, sir. The house of Phantomhive." Alois replied flatly.

"_'Phantomhive',_ huh?" the angry man echoed. "You must be that _demon _kid I was warned about." The others immediately began whispering amongst themselves upon hearing the "_d-word". _They couldn't quite wrap their heads around the fact that he looked just like an ordinary human being. They hadn't suspected him of being supernatural in the slightest.

"_Quiet!" _the man barked, immediately rendering the children quiet. "I don't care what you are, who you are, or who you work for! You're on Hellsing property now, so you have to follow H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. rules! Now, next time I see you, I want that uniform in order and that mop trimmed, got it!?"

"I _did_ trim my hair! It _regenerated!" _the blonde argued, obviously not understanding the "no back-talking" rule.

"I don't care! Keep it out of your face!"

"How am I supposed to do that?!"

"_Ponytail." _spoke Amelie. She slipped one of the extra ponytail-holders off of her wrist, and snapped it so it went flying toward the blonde menace, smacking him in the forehead. Fortunately, the Alois' hair was just long enough to wear one.

"Lads don't wear ponytails!" shouted the man. "Don't you do it!"

_ "Don't you know who I am?!"_ the blonde shouted back, putting his hair up.

"That's it! _Ten laps around the base! _No, wait, you're a _demon... _Make it _fifty!"_

_ "FUCK!"_

_ "Do you want it to be a hundred?!"_

That morning, a certain bluenette was somewhat restless. He was confused upon waking up as to why the blonde wasn't there until he remembered. While he was working, he continuously found himself looking to the door as though he knew the boy was going to waltz through it like usual, and checking his phone for any messages from either Alois or Audrey. Ciel was simply so accustomed to the blonde being around, that it didn't feel right with him gone. The manor was simply too quiet.

He sat down at his desk again in a huff, somewhat irritated at this fact. If this was how he was reacting to them being separated, he could only imagine what the blonde was going through.

* * *

**A/N: OH FUCK WHAT AM I DOING ASDLFKASDHGALDKSFH?!**

**I had absolutely nothing. I know where I want to go, but I'm having trouble wording it. **

**Forgot to take my meds, today, so my head's all foggy and shit.**

**I apologies for this speedo-short chapter...**

**_Question for author:_**  
**_ I was just watching phineas and ferb, and dr doufen-whatever named parry the platypus STEVEN the platypus. Is that a huge coincedence, or...? by TooLazyToLogIn_**

**WHOA.**

**DAS WEIRD, YO.**

**Unless somebody who writes on the scripts for that show reads this, it's totally a coincidence. I don't watch Phineas and Ferb.**

**"A demon's skeleton is black? :o Damn, that's cool... Hey HateWeasel, do you think a demon's skeleton would look different in an x-ray?" by SisterOfScarletDevil**

**I assume it depends on the form they're in, and on whether or not x-rays pass through demon-bone differently. If they were in their demon form, they'd have horns and tailbones, but if they're in human form, it would look the same. X-rays pass through different organic matter in varying ways, for example, it doesn't pass through bone very well, and that's why it gets picked up on the image. If demon bone is more dense, it will probably show up even better than human bone. **

**MOTHER FUCKING SCIENCE ALL UP IN THIS BITCH.**

**I've noticed lately that because a few of you ask questions so often, I only have to look at your icon to know who you are, and don't even have to double-check the spelling of your usernames...**

**Laters, Duckies...**

* * *

_**Character SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Alois: if ciel walks into your room with booty shorts on, what is your reaction? Ciel: would you ever dress up for Alois if you had to and what as? Sebastian: what would you do if a woman comes to the door with a baby saying its yours and it is, what would you do (she can't look after it)"** by sebastianthedemonbutler  
_

_Alois' Reaction:__"Ciel? Wh-what are you wearing?!" ***Unsuccessfully tries not to stare at legs and ass***_

_Ciel's Answer:__"WOT? If I had to dress up for Alois, God knows what he would have me wear... probably booty-shorts or something..."  
_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"I suppose I would have to assume responsibility for it. I just don't know what the young master would think, though..."  
_

_ooooooooooOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo_

_Question: **"Ciel, what you do if another male demon came and tried to get make Alois fall for him? Not only that but kidnapped him in the process? Alois, what would your reaction be if Ciel said you could be pitcher?"** by TheMoonAndStarsLove_

_Ciel's Answer:__**"There wouldn't even be enough left of him for RAVENS to scavenge from."**  
_

_Alois' Immediate Reaction:__"Wh-wh-wha?! You... you aren't serious, are you? You're just joking! ...Wait, YOU AREN'T?! I... I-I don't know what I'm supposed to do... H-how do you pitch?" ***dies from blushing too hard***  
_

_oooooooooooOOOOooooooooooo_

_Question: _**_"_For the sensational seven (all of you, including Ciel and Sebastian). Read a CielxSebastian M rated tragedy fan fiction. Give me a complete answer. And DON'T chicken out, or you will forever be crowned, Queen of the Butterfly Chickens."** by Leliathegreat

_Ciel's Answer: "NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE" ***Turns off computer forever***  
_

_Alois' Answer:__ ***Cannot look at Sebastian for weeks***__  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"It wasn't that bad, except for the whole 'paedophilia' thing, and the fact that it was about one oof my friends... Sorry, Ciel..."_

_Audrey's Answer:__"Nope. Sorry. I can't do that. I don't care what you call me, I just can't do something like that to Ciel."  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"ASDFASDGAKLHDSLGAKHJFGLAHDLSKGHASLDKGJK**IFUCKINGHATEEVERYONE**ASDLKGHADLSKGAHDL!"_

_Preston's Answer:__"Your mom is the Queen of the Butterfly Chickens..."  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"Not cool..."_

_ooooooooOOOOOOOooooooo_

Question:** "Ok, so daniel got in a wreck and blacked out. When he came to, his whole personality changed, as well as his sexual preference. When he came back to school he started to take a fansy to kristopherson. How do the seven react to this? (Except Daniel of course.)"** by chestnutghost

_Ciel's Answer:"Daniel? Where? All I see is this weird kid." _

_Alois' Answer:"Welcome to the Gay Club. You will be receiving your membership card in the mail..."_

_Kristopherson's Answer:***Creeped out beyond belief***_

_Audrey's Answer:"Do you think hitting him over the head would work? I know we can get a cricket bat..."_

_Preston's Answer:"And I thought Kristopherson was supposed to be the 'fabulous' one..."_

_Travis' Answer: "Hopefully, it'll pass... Hopefully..."_


	195. Soilders Of Iron

_ "There's no goddamn privacy around here..."_

The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Training Programme takes place during the summer holiday, when the children are off from school. It is were the children of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G operatives go in order to learn about the job that their parents perform in order to ready them for a potential career as a member of "_Her Royal England Legions of Legitimate Supernatural and Immortal Night Guard", _or otherwise known as _"H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G."_. It was founded, and is run by the Hellsing family, of which the current family head is named Sit Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, a rival of the head of Phantomhive that made his blood boil. But that is neither here, nor there.

Because Sir Hellsing, along with the rest of the Round Table Conference, had decided that it would be wise to send their newly acquired demon errand-boy to learn how to properly obey a chain of command and carry out orders, Alois was now forced in this dark camp. Cadets were required to sleep during the day, and go through their drills and exercises at night, wear gastly uniforms, and march in time with one another. The blonde however, was discovering that the sleeping arrangements were rubbish, as he and the other lads had to sleep in the same quarters. He even had a bunk-mate, who had commandeered the top bunk of the bunk-beds they had to sleep in. Alas, it was not Audrey Baines, as he had been assigned to a different bunk, fortunately, the one right next to the blonde, though.

"You probably shouldn't say that around here." the random boy said, looking down at the blonde from his box high in the sky.

"Why not? I thought the military was _made _for _swearing."_ the blonde joked, looking back at the other lad.

He had short, reddish hair, cut in a way that showed a lot of forehead, somewhat large ears, and pale skin. Freckles dotted the boy's face, and they moved whenever his expression changed. They even did when he spoke.

"True, but it's not the _swearing _that can get you in trouble." he explained. "It's the _'taking the lord's name in vain' _thing. The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G motto says _'We are on a mission from God'_. It's even on your shirt; On the crest. They get kind of pissy about that."

"_Whoop-dee-doo."_ Alois said, still somewhat upset over the way he was treated earlier that evening. "Didn't you hear? I'm a _demon_. That shit shouldn't _apply_ to me." The other boy just laughed.

"I know, right?" he said with a smile. "My name's Nigel. _Nigel Irons,_ you?"

"I'm listed as _'Jim Macken', _but I go by '_Alois Trancy'_."

Nigel raised his eyebrows at that. He asked: "Do you happen go to Warwick? Warwick Academy?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh! You must be the one _my dad_ talks about!" the redhead said excitedly. "He teaches _world history_."

"_Your dad is mister Irons?!"_ Alois asked, sitting up in surprise. He didn't know the man had a son. Then, he concocted an afterthought. "_Mister Irons knows I'm a demon?!"_

"Yeah. He said he figured it out pretty early into your first year." said Nigel. He smiled. "He knows your _boyfriend's_ a demon too~!"

Alois' face turned red at the mentioning of the bluenette. Naturally, their teacher would notice something like that, as it wasn't a secret, but it still felt odd. It felt odd knowing that mister Irons worked for H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. at some point. Some to think of it, that could very well have been how the Council of Twelve found out about Alois' existence in the first place. He wasn't sure how well the others would take this news, so he tried to change the subject.

"Shouldn't you be like, _cowering, _or something?" asked the blonde. "I'm an evil apparition from _hell_, you know. Isn't that _weird?"_

"Kind of. You seem ordinary enough, though."

"I could steal your soul at any moment, though."

_ "Pssh." _scoffed the Irons boy. "I'm a _ginger_. I don't_ have _a soul." he joked, causing the blonde to chuckle a bit. "Just as long as you aren't_ watching me sleep_, I really don't care."

_"Shut up..." _groaned the boy in the bed next to theirs. Audrey glanced over in the general direction the sounds were coming from, the gold in his eyes reflecting the minimal amount of light in the room, giving the illusion that they were glowing. "I had to run laps... and do push ups... and jumping jacks... and other shit... I'm tired... I wanna sleep..."

"You're probably one only ones _capable_ of doing so after this kid suggested that I might be _watching people sleep." _Alois said, pointing upwards toward the top bunk.

_ "I would, _except it's _too noisy_..." Bones almost growled. He was somewhat scary when he was tired.

_ "Fine~!"_ the blonde whined. He lied down and tried to get settled, but couldn't. He tossed and he turned as he tried to get comfortable, becoming simply unable to. It was odd not having the bluenette with him. He hadn't even remembered to bring _Steven the Platypus._

"Alois..." called the ginger's voice from above.

"Yeah?" asked the blonde.

_ "You're shaking the entire bed..." _

"_That's what she said." _spoke Audrey, before beginning to nod off. Alois simply rolled his eyes.

"Sorry..." he said, now doing his best to lie still. He still had a hard time getting to sleep, a problem that a certain bluenette was having as well, elsewhere.

"Young master?" called Sebastian, peeking through the partially open door to the Phantomhive boy's office.

"Yes?" Ciel replied, not even bothering to shift his eye away from the computer screen he was working from.

"You usually aren't up this early..." the butler said absent-mindedly. The bluenette simply looked over to the clock in the corner of the screen for a moment before blinking in surprise. He hadn't intended to, but it would appear that he had stayed up all night.

"I never went to bed." he said, rubbing his tired eye. When he looked up again, he saw that the butler had a sly grin on his face.

"Your _reason_ for going to bed is _gone _now, hm?" the man asked, chuckling at the blush that began to crawl across the bluenette's visage.

_ "It's not like that!"_ the boy insisted, furrowing his brow. He made an attempt to look angry in hopes of covering his embarrassment at the man's words. _"I just had a lot of work to do and lost track of time!"_

"But master, if I remember correctly, you got done early_ yesterday, _did you not?"

_ "Shut up!"_

* * *

**A/N: Oh my...  
**

**Mr. Irons was keeping secrets, and Sebastian is still _one hell of a troll._**

**But I wonder, who's the biggest troll in DLTD? So far, I think the best are Ciel, Alois, Sebastian, Audrey, Kristopherson, and Sir Hellsing. It's probably either Sebastian...  
**

**Oh! I had another question for you all! **

** What's your favourite line from DLTD?**

**Mine happens to be Ciel's _"He may be a damaged person, but he's also my favourite person."_**

**I dunno why that popped into my head. Just curious.  
**

**Ah, this arc is hard to write... I has ideas, but they're incredibly hard to organize... **

**HOW DO I WORDS?**

**Laters, duckies.**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET:  
**_

_Question: **"IT'S A WELL KNOWN FACT THAT HE'S SEBASTIAN & WILLIAM'S LOVE CHILD THEREFORE HE is A GRIM REAPER DEMON HYBRID! WHAT NOW!? AND I WANT CIEL, SEBASTIAN, & ALOIS TO RESPOND!"** by ReadAndWriteButMostlyRead  
_

_HateWeasel's Answer (for no reason whatsoever):__"Don't yell at me. It hurts my feelings... Wait, is that why William REALLY doesn't like Sebastian?! IT'S BECAUSE HE'S REALLY WILLIAM'S EX?!""_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Sebastian. Explanation. **NOW."**_

_Alois' Answer:__"Sebastian! How could you?! I thought you were a **good guy!"**  
_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"WHAT?!"_

**_Not Many Questions Again, So Moar Doctor Ackerman For Some Reason:_**

_"The tail is an erogenous zone for demons because there are many, many nerves in the tail, in order for it to move correctly. That is also the reason for it being a weakness, however, due to the fact that it is also sensitive to pain as a result. A demon's tail is also connected to the spinal chord, so if it takes enough damage, it can temporarily hinder the nervous system until the demon is able to regenerate it's nervous cells. The fact that isn't easy to defend only increases the risk of attack."_

_-Doctor Ackerman, from chapter 191_


	196. Ciel's Slumber-Party From HELL

It was early in the morning at the Phantomhive estate, and the head of the household was not at all happy about what he had received in the mail. It was an invitation to a meeting in Cornwall-, well, less of a "meeting" and more of a "party" with some business aspects to it. It was a get together specifically for England's nobility to get together and converse their recent exploits and business endeavors while simultaneously plotting their own transactions together. Ciel didn't like it; not one bit.

Not only would he have to stay in his "adult" form for a long period of time, but he also simply didn't want to talk to the other nobles. They were no longer the way they used to be. Now, they are simply rich families, mostly. There are some like the _Hellsing familiy _and the _Midford family,_ however, who actually served a purpose.

Oh, the Midford family. They were still going strong, after all of these years, as one of Britain's trusted defenders. While they no longer fought with swords, they were all extremely high up in military rank. The current head was descended from the Phantomhive lad's cousin, _Edward Midford,_ the older brother of his former fiancee, _Elizabeth_, and was a member of the Council of Twelve, therefore he is _fully aware _of the bluenette's history.

_Rupert Midford _was the least of his concern, though. The person who he absolutely did not want to see was _Sir Integra Hellsing_. Ciel had known her for almost twenty years, meeting the woman when she really was as young as he_ looked_. He was somewhat more able to tolerate her then, but as the years went by, they had become adversaries.

He didn't want to go, but it was quite necessary that he made an appearance. If the Queen's Guard-Dog didn't show up, the lad's image in the eyes of the other nobles may suffer, yet even with that logic, it didn't make it any easier to force himself to go. He didn't want to talk to a bunch of useless aristocracy that served no purpose other than absorbing the nation's money, nor did he want to see his _nemesis_, Sir Hellsing. Moreover, the blonde menace would still be in London, and Cornwall was over two-hundred miles away. He felt silly for worrying about that last bit, but in the entirely possible event that the blonde should land himself in some sort of trouble, he wouldn't be able to help. Thinking about it again, however, Amelie, Charlotte, and Audrey would be there to assist, but pondering on it even further, he wasn't entirely sure of their competence.

Ciel shook his head, trying to stop worrying about it. Alois had only been gone for a few days, and yet he found his thoughts drifting to the boy often. The texts he would occasionally receive didn't help, either. Alois and Audrey would contact him about the silliest things, like how the blonde had gotten himself in trouble by shouting_ "Hail Satan!" _during the daily recital of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. oath, and was forced to clean the bathroom by himself with a toothbrush as punishment, or how Audrey was apparently incapable of performing more than ten push-ups at a time without falling flat on his face.

Perhaps going to that silly get-together would set his mind free for a while. It would be either that, or it would make his worry grow. Regardless the outcome, he would have to go.

Thus, he summoned Sebastian and they packed their bags to go to Cornwall. He sent the blonde a message, explaining the situation, knowing that he wouldn't be able to reply right away, seeing that the base he was on only operated at night. While he was packing, however, he came across a familiar face.

There was a platypus on his dresser. As to why, he didn't know, yet there it was. He assumed that it was Alois who was responsible for this. The blonde must have been having a hard time without the thing. Ciel took a moment to gently stroke it's soft, faux-fur as though it were a living being before returning to the task at hand.

It took over four hours to get from London to the county of Cornwall, give or take, and when they arrived, the sun was beginning to set. Ciel and his butler were making their way into the hotel that they would be staying in, and it was about then that the bluentte received a reply from the blonde. Quickly, the bluenette pulled out his phone to read it, much to the amusement of Sebastian.

_"You better send pictures!_

_-AT"_

Ciel rolled his eyes at the blonde's message and sent his own response before shoving the mobile communication device back in his pocket. So far, this whole adventure was going quite smoothly. They had arrived at a decent time, there was no complaining from the blonde about "missing out", and they received their room key without any problems. It was then, however, that things took a turn for the worse. After he and Sebastian had parted ways, the man going to his own room, and just as the bluenette was about to walk up to the door of his room, he came face to face with the absolute_ last _person he wanted to see.

_ Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing_.

The woman looked just as surprised as he did at that moment, both simply pausing to stare at each other. It was quite shocking to both of them that they would pick the exact same hotel to stay in. Finally, the bluenette furrowed his brow and spoke.

_ "Hellsing." _he greeted, just as he usually did.

_"Phantomhive_." she said back. "Fancy meeting you here..."

"Oh, no. _The pleasure is all mine." _Ciel replied sarcastically. "So, how have you been? _Bully any local children on the playground, lately?"_

"No, I've only come across_ one _today." the woman verbally jabbed at the boy. "Unfortunately, _he wasn't that great of company."_

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't quite hear you. I was a bit_ distracted_. It would appear that there's _something on your face_... Oh, my apologies! It's just a _wrinkle_."

"No offense taken!_ It must be hard to see things that are so high above your head_."

Ciel felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance at that remark. Still, he did his best to remain composed, and civil. He began to head toward the door of his room, grabbing the doorknob and pulling his key-card out of his pocket.

_ "What are you doing?" _asked the woman, causing the lad to look at her in a patronizing sort of manner.

"_Going into my room?_ I would love to stay and catch up, but I need to set down my bag." he replied. The expression on Sir Hellsing's face looked both confused and annoyed.

"_'Your'_ room? I'm afraid you must be _mistaken_." she said. "This is _my _room."

"Impossible_. I _have the key." the boy said, holding up the card. "_Room 109,_ see?" His heart dropped when the woman held up her own card.

"_Room 109..."_ she echoed, reading the number on her card. Ciel's hand slipped off of the doorknob and he turned to walk back to the lobby.

"I'm going to file a complaint. This is completely _unacceptable_." he growled, almost stomping his feet as he walked.

"So the room is _mine,_ then? _Much appreciated_." said Hellsing, reaching for the handle on the door. The bluenette immediately turned back around and stopped the woman from entering.

"Oh, _no._ It's _my_ room." he insisted. "I was simply going to tell them to supply you with your _own_."

"Why don't _you_ get _your own?"_

"Because I already _have_ a room!" he growled. They both stood in silence for a moment, simply staring at each other- that is, until Sir Hellsing simply unlocked the door and waltzed right inside.

"Hey! What did I _just_ say?!"

"I don't know._ I couldn't hear you from down there_." she replied, causing the bluenette to follow as he continued to argue.

"Liar! My _height_ has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, so you really _are _touchy about your height..."

That was the final straw for Ciel. He threw down his bags, and folded his arms. Had he a pout on his face instead of a scowl, he would've looked childish.

"I'm not letting you have the room." he said.

"What a coincidence. I feel exactly the same way." replied the woman. "What happened to being an _'English gentleman_?' Wouldn't it be the chivalrous thing to do to let the _lady _have the room?"

"I'm sorry, but you are perhaps the most _UN-effeminate _woman I have ever seen in my life." The bluenette began ignoring the infuriating other individual and unpacking his things.

Meanwhile, a certain blonde had been awake for a about an hour now, and was currently lined up with his drowsy fellow lads. He was right about it being hard for them to sleep. Because the Irons boy suggested that he could be watching them sleep so loudly, the thought silently hung in the minds of most of the children in the barracks. They all eventually managed to nod off eventually for staying up for so long. They were all nearly exhausted from raining the night before and from being awake that day, so they were all on the brink of exhaustion.

The girls weren't that well off either, seeing as though they were trapped with a vampire and a werewolf, either one likely to injure or _eat_ them. While neither Charlotte or Amelie were likely to do either of those things, the others simply didn't know that. When the captain came up to call role, he was displeased.

"What's all this, then?!" he barked. "Why're you all so tired?!"

"You'd be tired too if you were sleeping in the same room as a demon..." said one of the boys with a yawn.

"_Racists!" _shouted Amelie, shaking her fist in the air in a playful manner. The captain, known by then as Captain Hayes, frowned.

"Tough!" he shouted. "You gotta get used to it! None of you'll ever survive this camp if you don't! None of these supernaturals will dare lay a finger on any of you, knowing that as soon as they do, they'll have their heads blown in!"

"I've _already_ been shot in the head!" said Alois, raising his hand.

"Not with an _anti-freak bullet,_ you haven't!" barked Hayes.

"You've been shot in the head?" asked Audrey.

"Yeah. It sucked, _and not in a good way_." replied the blonde demon, causing a vein to protrude from the temple of their superior.

"Quiet, before I shoot you both right now!" he shouted.

"But sir, shooting Audrey will send you straight to _hell! _He's a _'divine being'."_ argued the blonde. Captain Haye turned his gaze to Bones.

"Baines! What exactly are you that makes you _'divine'?"_

"I'm half _Grim Reaper_, sir." replied Audrey, still at attention.

"A Grim Re-?! How the _hell _does that even _work!?"_

"His mum's human, sir." said Alois.

"Ain't Grim Reapers supposed to be _skeletons?!"_

"That's just a _stereotype."_

_ "Racist!"_ Amelie shouted again, earning stifled giggles and chuckles from the children. The captain's attention then shifted from bones to the wolf-girl.

"And what the _hell _are you?!" he barked.

"_Je suis un loup garou!" _Amelie barked back with a salute, her expression remaining the same as always.

"What?! Speak _English!"_

"She said, _'I'm a werewolf'." _Charlotte clarified, that being one of the only full sentences in French that she could now understand. Amelie had apparently said it so many times that she was able to pick it up.

"I didn't ask you, _vampire!"_ Hayes shouted.

"Don't talk to _my wife_ that way, _fathead!"_ Amelie snapped back.

"That's it! Both of you! Drop and give me_ five hundred_ push ups!"

Ciel smiled to himself at the text he got, conveying to him the story. He was glad Alois and the others were having fun messing with their superiors, at the very least. However, that soft smile of his faded when he looked up and noticed he was being _stared at._

_"What?"_ he snapped, furrowing his brow at the woman in the room with him.

"Nothing." replied Sir Hellsing. "It's just that I don't think I've ever seen you _smile_ like that before."

"_Problem,_ Hellsing?" the bluenette retorted.

"It's _disturbing."_

Ciel scowled at the woman as hard as he could while making his reply. "Why are you still even _here?"_

"Because it's _my_ room."

The bluenette opened his mouth in order to make some snarky comeback, but simply couldn't come up with one. Thus, he was only able to grumble a small "No it isn't" before turning his attention back to his mobile in order to send his reply.

"Who are you messaging?" the woman asked.

_ "Alois."_

_ "I see..."_ There was a pause, the only thing being audible were the soft "beeps" that the Phantomhive's phone made whenever he hit a button. It was finally broken by the Hellsing woman as she emitted a small chuckle.

"_What is it?" _the bluenette asked, his tone harsh.

"It's _funny_." said Integra. "The very idea that a _demon_ can fall in _love_. I never expected that, especially from _you,_ of all people."

"Neither did_ I..." _Ciel replied, stopping his typing for a moment. "I'm glad that I can _amuse_ you." There was another awkward pause. The atmosphere in the room was completely _sour._ Once again, it was Sir Hellsing to break the silence.

_ "So what exactly is your relationship with him?"_

_ Click!_

"What are you doing?"

"Alois told me to _'take pictures' _while I was here." said the bluenette, resuming his typing.

"Don't you_ dare _send that!" Sir Hellsing barked. "How _dare_ you take pictures of a lady in her_ pajamas?!"_ Ciel stopped typing in order to look at the woman again, his face confused. She was wearing a dress shirt and a black pair of pants.

_"'Pajamas'?" _he echoed. _"I had just thought you had simply taken off your coat._.. Wait, what are you doing in _sleepwear?!"_

"_Getting ready to go to bed,_ what did you _think?"_ the woman said flatly. "I'm now simply waiting for you to _leave_."

"You're going to be waiting _awhile, _then." the bluenette said. He wasn't going to budge. He deleted the picture of Sir Hellsing he had taken, and resumed typing. Finally, he finished his message and sent it.

"Suit yourself, then." said Hellsing. Ciel felt his eyelid twitch as she removed her own eye-patch and crawled into bed before curling up and getting comfortable. "If you do leave, _please lock the door on your way out."_

"What makes you think I'm just going to just up and _leave?!_ This is _my_ room!" shouted the bluenette.

"You're _noisy."_

"I have every _right_ to be! _Some crazy woman has just stolen my bed!_ Where the hell am _I _supposed to sleep?!"

"_Goodnight, Ciel."_

_ "Don't go to sleep, and don't call me 'Ciel'!"_

"You can sleep in _that chair_ you're sitting in. Honestly, I don't see why you're so concerned; _demons_ don't _need _to sleep..."

"I'm starting to think that _you're_ the _demon_ here!" the boy shouted, only to receive no answer. "Hellsing?" Still no answer. "_Hellsing?_ Hellsing! Don't fall asleep on me, Hellsing! Hellsing! _Integra!"_

The already irate demon became even more furious when he thought he heard _chuckling _coming from the other noble's side of the room...

* * *

**A/N: I love pissing off Ciel...**

**This idea was from _EmeraldPaw_, and I just thought it was too funny to NOT use! I'm done with it... **

**They're such assholes.**

**I don't really want this to be a crossover fic, though...**

**I'm improvising! DON'T HATE.**

**And yes, MISTER IRONS WAS WITH H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. THE ENTIRE TIME! That was planned from the beginning, actually. I**

**Question from HoneyCloud of _RiverClan:_**

**"Wait, what system do you use for answering questions? Do you just answer them when they appear, or do you have a list?"**

**I answer them as I see them on the page, mostly. I start from the last question I answered, and work my way up. I also answer questions to all of the seven sins last on the page because those answers are very long. (If you know what I mean?) Sometimes I don't answer them after they've been posted right away because I had JUST posted the chapter before refreshing the reviews page. Sometimes I just can't think of an answer, either! *cries* **

**As always, your reviews make by heart feel all sparkly and shit! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧**

**They give me powah!**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET OH GOD I'M GLAD THESE CHARACTERS CANNOT FILE SEXUAL HARASSMENT CHARGES  
**_

_Question: **"Ciel and Alois...Are either of you ever kinky or roleplay? :P I have a gutter mind when it comes to you guys! *Glomps Alois* I love you Alois! Ciel please don't kill me..."** by Seishin No Za Tsuki_

_Ciel's Answer:***facepalm* **"Not really... Usually, when Alois starts saying those kinds of things, I just try and get him to stop..."  
_

_Alois' Answer: "I don't know. We haven't tried! (yet) I do sometimes call him 'master' and tell him to 'punish me' as a joke, though. Oddly, though, it only seems to 'encourage' him..."  
_

_oooooOOOOooooooo_

_Question: **"two for my dear sebastian; 1) if it wasn't for ciel and alois' souls getting in the way, would you find yourself to be friends with Claude? 2) have you ever felt attracted, or even had feelings for ciel at some point? Alois! 1) did you have feelings for ciel when you first met him? When you were enemies?"** by Lady Fandomhive_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"Perhaps. Maybe we could have been 'friends', or even 'allies', at the very least. And no. I have never felt attraction beyond to that of his soul. Nothing romantic or sexual in the slightest. We are simply master and servant. I don't strive to be anything else."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"I can't say that I did. Sure, I thought he was cute, but loving him didn't even enter my thoughts. I didn't even know that I was interested in men... (Though, I do remember thinking he was really easy on the eyes...) Mostly, I just really wanted to crush him. I still want to crush him sometimes..."  
_

_ooooooooOOOOOOooooo_

_Question: **"Ciel, how would you react if I told you that a friend of my friend is named Ciel? And the fact that SHE is a girl?"** by HoneyCloud of RiverClan_

_Ciel's Answer: "Well, it IS a unisex name... It's only a coincidence, I'm sure."  
_

_Alois: ***SNORT***_

_Ciel: "Shut up, JIM!"_

_oooooOOOOOOoooooo_

Question: _"**Sensational Seven. Your reaction to 'Just Lose It' by: Eminem"** by LeliaTheGreat_

_Ciel's Answer:__ "W__hat's with music these days? Where's the complexity? The skill?"  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"No."  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"'Lose it' by Austra is better..."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:__"I'm not into rap... Lately, I've been listening to '999'. I'd recommend 'Homicide' or 'Emergency'." _

_Daniel's Answer:__"What's everyone talking about? This song's awesome!"  
_

_Preston's Answer:__"I'm beginning to question Daniel's taste in... everything, actually."_

_Travis' Answer:__"I'm afraid I don't understand all of the references..." _

**_*The seven then got into an hour-long agruement about music... Apparently their tastes are just different..._**


	197. Melancholy Of A Lone Platypus

Ciel's back was killing him. He had slept uncomfortably in a chair all night, thanks to an unfortunate predicament involving one of his greatest rivals. While he could have simply gone to the front desk and requested that the hotel fix their mistake, his pride wouldn't allow himself be bested by the Hellsing woman, and the same goes for her. Losing to the Phantomhive demon simply wasn't an option on her part.

The bluenette awoke, scrunching his nose in disgust at the smell that polluted the air in the room. He forced his eyes open, adjusted them to the light of day, and sat up, pinching his nose with his thumb and index finger in order to hopefully block out the foul oder. He adjusted himself in the chair, looking around the room before grabbing onto his "blanket" that had somehow materialized over the course of the night, a long, olive-coloured coat that obviously was to big for him.

"_Are you smoking!?" _he called out, knowing that wherever his "roommate" was, she would be able to hear him. Naturally, Sir Hellsing was there, fully dressed and puffing a cigar as she often did.

"And if I am?" the bespectacled woman asked. "These aren't non-smoking rooms."

"I don't care! You're going to make everything I own stink!" barked the Guard-Dog. He grabbed onto the collar of the long dress-shirt he slept in and sniffed it. "My clothes already smell like smoke..." Ciel flinched slightly when the coat in his lap was pulled off of him by the other noble before she proceeded to put it on.

"Your butler called for you already." she said. "It was over thirty minutes ago."

"What?! _Why didn't you wake me?!"_ the bluenette asked, nearly jumping out of the chair and scrambling to get his things together.

"I _tried_. You wouldn't move. Amazing, how someone who doesn't need sleep can sleep so well..." The vampire-hunter turned, and began to walk toward the door. "I'll be seeing you at the party, then?"

"If you do, it will be_ too soon_..." the bluenette grumbled, trying to locate his eye-patch.

Finally, he somehow managed to get himself ready, and met Sebastian in the lobby. The bluenette was immediately irritated by the smile on the man's face. He looked absolutely tickled by the boy's predicament.

"_Not a damn word."_ Ciel nearly growled, walking past the man toward the exit. The butler silently followed, keeping his amusement mostly to himself.

The time they had before the party was spent simply exploring the area. The two demons spent a few hours in a local art gallery, occasionally finding something that tickled their fancy, and talking about it before moving on. The bluenette could almost picture the blonde menace running around and wrecking havoc in such a place. He would have sent the lad a few photos, but there was no photography allowed in the museum. It was just as well, though, since the best part wasn't indoors.

It was simply the scenery that enraptured the bluenette. There were many cliffs that looked out over the sea, the water being a greenish blue, yet at the same time being so clear, that you could see down to the bottom in places closer to the shore. There were many green hills and flat-lands that seemed so empty, yet full of life, that the very image seemed to somehow contradict itself. Occasionally, one would come across what looked like the remains of what was once a castle, but it was really only a mill. Cornwall was the kind of place that looked as though you would find a faerie in any flowerbed, or a pixie under any pebble. Why, it was even said to be the place that the legendary King Arthur was said to have originated from. Naturally, these are the images that the bluenette sent, saving them onto his phone in order to send them later that evening when he knew the other lad would be awake.

When the hour arrived to begin to head off to the party, the bluenette found a secluded location and transformed into a more mature visage while Sebastian kept a lookout. The circle with the blue pentacle that had appeared during the previous time he changed his shape so drastically, and his somewhat exhausting adventure began.

It was about then that the children of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. summer training camp were waking up and getting ready; putting on their uniforms and getting in line for roll call. Today was a special day for the children, as today, they would be learning how to shoot. Most of the children there had held a weapon in their lives, due to the line of work that their parents were in, but that simply wouldn't cut it. Here, they needed to know the proper way to use a firearm without any tips or tricks, like their fathers or mothers had most likely taught them.

Alois, fortunately, had some experience in this area as well. He had been taught how to shoot by none other than Sebastian Michaelis after the blonde had received a firearm from Sir Hellsing for Christmas. Sebastian was not one to take shortcuts, and as such the Trancy lad had already received proper training when it came to guns. That said, he was still having fun on the firing range with the others.

It took him a few tries to get used to the feeling of firing a foreign pistol, as he was used to his own, _Kaspar_, but when he finally did, he was hitting the target with near-perfect accuracy. He wasn't as good as either of his demonic compatriots, of course, but he was certainly doing better than some of his fellow campers. They could shoot, but pulling the trigger at a stationary, inanimate target is easy. Their aim was simply horrible, hitting neither the head, or the heart almost every shot. They got close, but "close" does not result in a dead ghoul.

There were two boys in particular, who only seemed to be aiming in the general vicinity of the target, rather than directly at it, simply wasting bullets. They tried to hold their pistols one-handed, like characters in video-games and action-movies and such, only to fail miserably, as their human arms couldn't handle the recoil on their own. Alois didn't know their names, but quickly assumed that they'll learn their lesson eventually when they accidentally shoot themselves. It's like they knew nothing of proper procedure, even after having it explained to them.

Audrey and Nigel were doing well, both calmly taking their time to line up the target in order to hit it with the least amount of bullets. Bones' aim was slightly off, due to the fact that he was completely new to firing weapons. Sure, he had shot and killed the she-demon, _August,_ but that was out of pure _luck_. He had never held a gun in his life up to that point. Audrey was doing his best to not lose his cool and get frustrated, knowing full-well that doing so would only hinder his ability, yet between the frequency of missing his target, and the annoying sounds of gunfire ringing in his ears from the children around him, he was starting to become irritated. He was even wearing protective covering on his ears to block out some of the sound.

He looked to his left, watching Nigel shoot for a few moments, trying to figure out what he was doing differently. He couldn't see it, whatever it was. It was some kind of minute detail that wasn't visible to the naked eye. Audrey then looked to his right at Alois, who seemed to be having a bit too much fun. But then again, he was hitting the targets with little effort, both being a demon and having proper training prior. The boy was beginning to get fancy and shooting one-handed, as he _did_ possess the physical strength to do so.

Then, they heard it. A pained scream mixed in with the sounds of guns. The children stopped firing when they heard it and looked in the direction that the screaming was coming from, all except Alois, who had a pretty good guess at what happened, and didn't have the slightest bit of care about it. He continued to fire at his targets while the others stared at one girl who was on the ground, gripping her leg and screaming in agony.

One of the reckless boys had accidentally shot her. He was trying to twirl the gun in his hand, which wasn't a good idea to be gin with, all without even the safety turned on. He was just lucky that he didn't hit himself, or even kill somebody. It was only when the boy started desperately apologizing that the blonde allowed to let his eyes stray from his task to look at him. Immediately, Alois wrinkled his nose in disgust. It was obvious to the blonde, that the boy wasn't sincere in the slightest.

Just from his previous behaviour and the way he carried himself, Alois knew that the boy couldn't care less about the condition that the girl was in. The boy only began to apologize when the adults came over to help her. The boy wasn't apologizing because he felt empathy; it was because _he didn't want to get in trouble_. And to think that such a _sociopath _was allowed in a place like this.

The blonde menace lowered his weapon for a moment and thought about that. Wasn't he the same way, at least at some point? Yet why did he feel superior to the careless boy on the other end of the range? Was it hypocrisy, or something else? What was it that made a sociopath, again? The blonde distinctly remembered the bluenette tell him something about it when discussing dangerous criminals.

_ "A sociopath is different than a psycopath, in that sociopaths are __**made**__, while psychopaths are __**born**__." _the other demon had said. _"Psychopaths are simply born estranged, while sociopaths were made that way by their living conditions or by some sort of trauma. We are very good examples of this, Alois."_

"_I see..."_ replied the blonde. _"Is that the only difference? Surely that isn't."_

_ "No. One of the most important differences between the two, is that sociopaths __**can **__feel empathy, while psychopaths __**can't.**__ Sociopaths can feel empathy and understanding to select people of their choosing. Psychopaths can't understand anyone. They also kill in two very different ways. The psychopath will methodically plan out every fine detail in their crime, while the sociopath will most likely strike in the heat of the moment."_

_ "I don't understand..."_

_ "Meaning we can lash out. Even I recall nearly slapping Lizzie when she accidentally broke my family ring."_

_ "Oh. Yeah. I can remember doing that several times..." _the blonde said bashfully. _"But still, are we really 'crazy'?"_

_ "Legally speaking, no. If we were in court, we could claim that it was a 'crime of passion', and get off..."_

_ "No, no. I mean are we __**really **__'crazy'? I don't feel that way. In fact, I'm feeling pretty good about myself, lately."_

_ "Perhaps you're making a recovery." _the bluenette said with a small smile.

_"If so, then I blame you!"_

Alois somewhat smiled at the memory. He missed the Phantomhive boy. While he got to hang out with Audrey, and even Nigel, the boy still missed his bluenette cyclops.

The bluenette was feeling the same way as he mingled among the other nobles at the party. He didn't like most of them, feeling as though they were mostly useless or simply ignorant. Granted, Sir Hellsing was there, but he didn't really want to talk to her either, especially since she would no doubt tease him about his current sleeping arrangements. The evening wa mostly filled with faux-smiles and half-hearted attempts at small-talk.

He did, however, talk to one person with some interest; a mister_ Rupert Midford_, the current head of the Midford family. Rupert was tall, taller than Ciel in his adult form by about an inch, and had blonde, curly hair and emerald green eyes. It occurred to the bluenette how much the man looked like a certain vengeful German that he knew of, only slightly more masculine, but he kept these thoughts to himself. The head of Midford was wearing a military dress-uniform, as it was a special occasion, and he was more used to uniforms than suits, even though he was in his late thirties. As a member of the Council of Twelve, he was also aware of Ciel's history, as well as the fact that he was engaged to a Midford at one point, and that there was some Phantomhive blood in the family of knights.

_ "Ciel!" _the man shouted, waving the bluenette over and reluctantly, the Phantomhive "man" headed the invitation with a slight rolling of his visible eye.

"Hello, Rupert." he said, greeting the man with an unusual amount of respect and familiarity. "How have you been?"

"Ah, not too good. One of my sons has up and decided that he wanted to go and check out the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. summer training camp, rather than going to an actual acredited military school." the Midford replied, folding his arms.

"Well, once a teenage boy hears about zombies being real, of course they're going to want to see them." said Ciel. "Why didn't you simply tell him _'no'?"_

"He insisted relentlessly. I think they should be able to live the way they want to, but at the same time..."

_ "I wouldn't want my kid working for Hellsing, either, Rupert_."

"Oh, so you _do _understand?" asked the golden blonde. "It's nothing personal against Integra, or the Hellsing family, I just think he should have some pride as a Midford!"

"I know the feeling..." Ciel trailed off as he had received a message from a certain blonde menace. He pulled out his mobile and checked it. It was an image.

It was a picture of a target at the camp's shooting range. It was shot ever-so carefully so that the bullets would spell out the French word "_MERDE",_ meaning "shit_"_ on it. Next to it was Amelie in her uniform with her hair in a ponytail posing next to it in a silly fashion. The caption that Alois had put with it had simply said "skillz". Ciel couldn't help but smile slightly at it.

"What's so funny?" asked the "other" man, leaning over slightly in order to see the image.

"Alois sent me a picture of one of our maids being stupid." replied the bluenette, as he sent one of the images he had taken before the sun had set. It wasn't funny, or especially exciting otherwise, but still, he wasn't quite sure what else to say.

The blonde received the image, and simply sat in the barracks staring at it for a long while. He never thoguht he would ever miss sunlight, now having to be awake during the night, and sleep during the day. While it could be argued that the blonde didn't require sleep, he would most likely get in trouble for running about after curfew, especially because he's a demon.

The image that was on the small screen simply placed the blonde under aesthetic arrest. The place Ciel was in didn't seem real, almost. It was so surreal, and beautiful, that the blonde simply couldn't look away. He didn't know if he actually wanted to go there, or just look at it.

Ciel, on the other hand, had decided that two hours was enough time to mingle. While two hours might not be considered worth the four-hour drive and the night spent trapped in a room with one of his greatest rivals, he was tired of people. He didn't want to be there in the first place, and he was exhausted. Immediately upon getting in the car to leave, he unintentionally changed back into his usual form, much to the butler's amusement.

Remaining in a different form for long amounts of time was exhausting. It was easy, once learned, but tiring, unless a demon sets that shape to their "default" form, but even then, it wasn't advisable. On some level, after having discovered the fact that demons don't have a sense of self, like he somehow miraculously has, he didn't want to lose it. If he were to change his shape from that of his "human" self for a long while, would he finally lose what little amount of "humanity" that he clung to? He thought about things like this often, and has yet to figure it out, even after all of these years.

_And it scared him_. Ciel Phantomhive, the human, was a boy who had pride, and dignity, and a presence that commanded those around him, and he wasn't afraid of death, or of ceasing to exist, yet Ciel Phantomhive, the demon, after having fulfilled his initial objective, and after having been given another option, he didn't feel the same way any longer. All the Guard-Dog had for awhile was his self, his pride, his dignity, his nobility, and now in addition to that, he has the one type of power that he lacked: physical strength. He could fight for himself now, but at a price: _losing_ that self.

As he stared at the inside of his eyelids as they rode back to the hotel, he thought about these things, resting but not asleep. He didn't need to sleep. He wasn't human, after all, even if he felt like, and behaved like one. Being confronted with these things bothered him. His meeting with the current head of Midford reminds him of his lack of humanity, and that part of his life is gone. Talking to Sir Hellsing reminds him of his lack of humanity, and that he will never get it back. He will never be human again, even though he still felt like one. He will never be human again, even though he still felt like one. Thoughts like these made an odd, war with himself wage on inside his head, causing him to wonder things like what did it really mean to be "human"? If he felt like one, doesn't that make him one? "Cogito, ergo sum"; "I think, therefore I am"? Or was it something else? Was it not a concious thing at all?

Was it mental, psychological, or philosophical? Was it physical, biological, or anatomical? What makes a human being a "human being"? Even other creatures like Grim Reapers, vampires, and werewolves acted human, had feelings and identities like humans, yet they were not "human". Ciel opened his eyes, ceasing his pondering as the car began to slow down.

He and the butler arrived at the hotel, and walked inside. They parted ways and headed to their own individual rooms. Ciel was incredibly thankful for leaving the party before the horrible Hellsing woman, finally having the room to himself. The bluenette quickly took a shower and got ready for bed, stealing it before the bespectacled vampire-hunter could do so.

It was another hour after that, when the door of the room came open and someone walked in. Ciel didn't even notice. He was simply far too out of it. It was only in the morning when he actually noticed, since there was someone in the bed with him.

_ "What the bloody hell are you doing!?"_ he demanded, bolting up out of bed and glaring at the woman who was facing the wall on her own side.

"You're too loud, Phantomhive." the Hellsing woman replied. "You're English, have some _manners_."

"You think_ I _need manners?! _You're _the one crawling into other people's beds!" retorted the bluenette, not taking his eyes off the human for even a moment as she sat up and put on her own eye-patch.

"What? Did you expect _me_ to sleep in a _chair?_ I see no harm in it, with your current form. I'm not afraid of _children_."

"What?!"

"Do you have some sort of _problem?"_

"How _dare_ you treat me like a child?! I have lived nearly _four times_ as long as you have!" The woman paid no mind to the boy, and prepared to get ready for the day. "Do you hear me?!"

"I _hear _a little_ brat _who never stops_ whining _about his little _insecurities_." replied Sir Hellsing. "Why don't you spend less time focusing on what you _lack,_ and more on your _pride? Or are you simply embarrassed that you shared a bed with a woman?"_

_ "I... Hate... You..."_

"So I'm _correct, _then? I thought you were a _homosexual?"_

"_Shut up!"_

It was that exchange that made the bluenette's attitude completely sour for the rest of the day. It was so severe that the very air around him was sour and unbreathable. Fortunately, for Sebastian, demons did not require air to breathe, especially since he was trapped within an enclosed space with the boy for the four-hour drive back to London. Sebastian knew that whatever Sir Hellsing had said to him had seriously crushed his ego.

Immediately upon returning home, he shut himself in his room and unpacked his things, still somewhat fuming. That ego of his is what helped him maintain his humanity, yet that same ego caused him so much frustration whenever it had been questioned, or forced to budge, especially by a person with a similar amount of pride. It made him feel powerless, and he did not like that feeling. Not one bit.

While unpacking he looked to his dresser, and saw a familiar, furry face; the visage of _Steven the Platypus_. He had forgotten it was there, were Alois had left it. The bluenette's thoughts strayed from their origin onto the subject of the blonde menace for a moment.

Has was a human too, at some point, right? So does he ever think about his humanity as well? If he is still "human", in some aspect? Demons don't have identities, they don't function like humans do, they don't feel like humans do. They don't feel affection. They don't do that, so wasn't the fact that the bluenette felt something towards the blonde a sign of his humanity? All of these questions and thoughts made Ciel's head hurt, as well as the rest of him extremely uncomfortable.

An idea occurred to him. The bluenette quickly took his phone out of his pocket and readied the camera, aiming it at the odd plush animal that had been so carelessly abandoned in his room. He then typed in a message, and sent it.

_ "Someone misses you." _he said along with the image of the lone platypus.

He didn't expect the blonde to message him back right away, seeing that it was daytime, and H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s operations primarily take place at night. Thus, he was quite surprised when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Reading the message he got, he smiled.

_"I miss you too, Ciel_

_-AT"_

* * *

**A/N: Hulloooooooooooooooooooo  
**

**I haven't updated because I was in the middle of graduation, which was yesterday, and practice was the day before that. **

**It was boring.**

**I was forced to go to the "Senior Breakfast" thingy that they were having for whatever reason, because they claimed that we were "required to". It was just a thing to make us go to their church. Kind of rude, forcing your religion on other people, y'know? Was the whole "freedom of religion" thing we're promised wrong, or was there some sort of fine print at the bottom that said "but only if you're a Christian and go to our church"?**

**Don't get me wrong, Christianity is a fine religion with some very good teachings, just like many other religions. Some of those teachings are things that every good person lives by inadvertently. It's just that when you start suppressing people, telling them what to do, and how to think, it goes too far. The were preaching to us...**

**They told us that we're each unique and made perfect by God, so we must obey and worship and honour him at all times. But if I'm made perfect, I can do no wrong, and if I can do no wrong, it must be okay for me not to fear God, right? That "fearing God" thing sounds like a pain in the ass, anyway. If you have to "Fear" God at all times, that's not a very good God...**

**At the core of every religion around the world, is basically "be happy, and play nice with the other kids". Why sacrifice happiness in order to fear that God? Why sacrifice the happiness of others in order to spread your religion? That's not obeying the philosophy, therefore you cannot call yourself "religious". If that's the case, then you're just a control freak. Everybody does it, not just Christians, and not every member of a religion does it either, just the loudest ones.**

**Oh, and I'm not an atheist, or anything, either, by the way. I don't think there's really a way to prove or disprove that there is at least some form of higher power. It may not be the anyone's God. It may not be a "God" at all. It could be anything from a "God", a "Goddess", an "Allah", or even some other entity. It may not even be conscious, or maybe the opposite. It could be an abstract thought. Hell, it very well may be a HARUHI SUZUMIYA, for all we know. (That's agnosticism, I think...)**

**Silver lining, though: I won twenty-five bucks while there. **

**I hope it's cool, talking about religion and shit. You are reading a fic called "_Devil's_ Like To Dance", about _demons_, after all... You just never know, though... Somebody might get offended, and if you are, I sincerely apologize.  
**

**Oh, and I was thinking about actually making a doujin-version of DLTD. Tell me what you all think about that.**

**OH FUCK THERE'S A SUPER-MEGA-ASS-TON OF QUESTIONS IN THE REVIEWS RIGHT NOW ASDLFASKDHGALKDH!**

**I'll answer them all when I can...**

**How does it feel to have 1000 reviews ?**

**Meh. It feels like having reviews. I'm just glad to have reviews!  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies! I'll try to update with normal frequency!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET OH GOD YOU PEOPLE ARE PERVS WE SHOULD ALL BE ASHAMED OF OURSELVES WHAT WOULD OUR PARENTS THINK  
**_

_Question:**"For Kris: Do you want to go onto Project Runway? 'Cause you totally should"** by EmeraldPaw_

_Kristopherson's Answer: "I don't know. I'm not big on those big artsy pieces that no one can actually wear. Also, I don't really know if it'll advance my career any. I'm afraid that the people who I'm aiming to be like would simply consider me a sell-out."_

_000000000_

_Question: **"Ciel, what would you do if you found out Claude was still alive, and Alois was cheating on you with him?"** by LeilaTheGreat  
_

_Ciel's Answer: ***twitch***_

_00000_

Question: **"****Ciel, if Alois was in danger and the only way to save him was to have a one night stand with the rest of the seven, would you do it?"** by Guest

Ciel's Answer:_ "Have I ever told you all how much I hate everyone?"_

_00000000_

_Question: **"Its my birthday today :)Would it be too much to ask for the seven to say happy birthday?"** by InvaderPhantom16_

_The Sensational Seven:__"HAPPY BIRTDAY~!" (Daniel: "Even though it's a few days late~!")  
_

_00000000_

_Question: **"Sir Hellsing walks up to Ciel and uses an extremely dirty, suggestive pick up line on him (she was drunk/drugged). Ciel, Alois, and sober Hellsing, what are your reactions?"** by EmeraldPaw_

_Ciel's Answer:__"What the-?! So you're still a virgin because you're a paedophile?! I'm calling the Scotland Yard!"  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"No! I'm the only one allowed to do those things to Ciel!"  
_

_Integra's Answer:__"I am not a paedophile, and I seldom drink. As for you, Alois, do I even want to know?"  
_


	198. A Heartwarming Moment, Or Some Shit

_ "I heard that some big-shot's gonna come and inspect the camp tonight."_

_ "What?! Who?!"_

_ "I heard that he works for the government."_

_ "It's probably bullshit."_

Rumors spread about the camp as the children spoke while they performed their usual tasks of doing laps and drills and such. It was during their equivalent of "lunch" (around twelve-thirty at night), that they really started to get out of hand. They spoke of how the person was actually Sir Hellsing herself, and that she was there to give them some bizarrely cruel and unusual test.

_ "What do you think it'll be like?"_

_ "Who knows? We don't even know if it's her, if anyone is coming at all."_

"Hey, can I sit here?" asked a certain ginger cadet to a certain pair of supernatural beings. One of them was a blonde, with his hair pulled back in a tiny ponytail and the other boy had odd, multi-coloured eyes. The two simply looked at each other for a moment before speaking.

"Sure." they both said, confused at this anomaly before them.

The boy who sat down at their table, the table were all the "supernatural" kids sit, the table that no one else dared to sit at, was the son of the two lad's world history teacher, mister Irons. Nigel, although he shared his father's reddish-orange hair colour and eyes, he was nothing like the man. While mister Irons' had a mean face, Nigel had a round, childish face and he smiled a lot too. While mister Irons' presence was intimidating, Nigel's was approachable. While mister Irons was a frightening, angry man, Nigel was a friendly, happy young boy. The lad's simply couldn't believe the two were directly related.

"Aren't you scared to come over here?" asked Audrey, picking at his unappetizing, mess-hall food. He didn't eat much, but was still at least partially human, therefore required food. "We're _'evil monsters', _you know."

"Hm? You don't seem that way." replied the human boy, sitting down. "Besides, aren't Grim Reapers still 'divine' beings, anyway?"

"Yeah, but they still _kill_ people..."

"Well, you're not going to kill me, right? I don't think any of you would. At the very least, Amelie would try and _scare_ me, right?" the boy said jokingly, commenting on the time that the wolf girl had changed her appearance, giving herself a "dog-head" while chasing around some of the other children.

"_They deserved it_." the girl said, shoving food into her mouth.

_ "I apologize in advance_..." Charlotte added.

"See? I'm not worried." Nigel said, picking at his own meal. "I'm more worried about the _'test' _everyone's talking about. I don't know if it's true, but if it is, it must really be _something..."_

"It's probably _bullshit_." spoke the blonde menace, at last. "Ciel told me that there was a test that was supposed to be difficult for new recruits, but it was completely safe."

"Really? Was he talking about the test where we're supposed to shoot _ghouls?"_

"Yep. Think you can handle it?" asked Alois with a smirk. He really wanted the boy to doubt in himself for a moment.

_ "Hell_ no! An _Irons_ isn't afraid of anything." said the human boy with a determined look.

"Really?" the blonde asked, slightly amused by the boy's words. "As long as you know that playing those zombie-themed video-games aren't anything like the real thi-" The blonde stopped talking. and simply stared over the boy's shoulder, not looking at him, but at the person on the other side of the mess hall, standing in the doorway.

It was a boy, who looked about fifteen, with an eye-patch and what appeared to be a permanent scowl on his face. His eyes were a brilliant shade of sapphire, and his hair was an odd shade of blueish slate, while his suit was completely black. With him, was a tall man with a sly look on his face with garnet eyes and raven-coloured hair with a suit of a similar shade to the lad's, and there was also a rather serious-looking woman with tan skin and long, pale blonde hair, in a dark-grey suit with a red ascot. She also wore an eye-patch, but it was on the eye opposite to the boy's. With her, was another woman, another blonde with red eyes, and a dark red uniform with a short skirt and long, somewhat torn-looking stockings. Her left arm looked odd, as it simply appeared to be a black, shadowy mass. It was a rather interesting group of people. Following the blonde's eyes, Nigel looked over his shoulder and set eyes upon them as well.

"Whoa... Who're they?" he asked, unaware of the identities fo the out-of-place individuals. He looked back at the blonde when he heard the sound of the boy's chair scraping against the floor as he pushed it back and stood up. Nigel was even more confused when the blonde began charging straight at the group; at the bluenette lad in particular.

"_CIEL~!"_ he shouted, immediately alerting the lad of his presence before assaulting him, nearly knocking the bluenette over as he hugged him. The Phantomhive boy unconsciously found his arms around the blonde's waist as he tried to maintain his balance.

"Do you _have_ to attack me?" he asked, his cheeks slightly pink at the fact that the blonde was being so affectionate with him in public, especially in front of Sir Hellsing. The woman simply snorted at the display, trying not to laugh at the bluenette's embarrassment, and especially at the fact that the lad was now shooting "ice-beams" in her direction.

"Yes. Yes I do!" Alois declared, refusing to let go of the Phantomhive boy for even a second. "I haven't seen you in_ forever~!"_

"It's only been a few weeks..." the bluenette insisted.

"Ah, you say that, and yet you're here~! Was someone getting _lonely~?"_ Both of the HE.L.L.S.I.N.G. women with them now snorted, trying not to laugh at the darkening redness of the bluenette's face.

"I was _not!_ I only came to _make sure you weren't getting yourself into trouble!"_

_ "I missed you too, darling~!"_

"Shut up!" Ciel nearly jumped when he heard the clapping of the Hellsing woman's gloved hands, followed by her voice.

"As much as I'd hate to break up this '_heartwarming reunion'_, there's still business to take care of." she said, not looking phased in the slightest. "The matter of the Ghoul Test..."

"I see... Are the rules still the same?" asked the bluenette. "Participants_ must _make a hit or be pentalized?"

"Yes, and as always, supernatural beings _aren't allowed to use a scope_." the woman replied.

"No scope?!" demanded the blonde menace. "I might have good vision, but it's not _that_ good!"

"Use your _sixth sense, _then." said Sir Hellsing, lighting a cigar. "I've been informed that you've already had some practice with it, therefore you should be fine."

"Yeah, but what about Audrey? Grim Reapers can't see too good at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Grim Reapers are incredibly_ near-sighted_." explained the bluenette. "He's probably going to be needing a scope at that distance."

"And what about you, _Jim?" _the woman asked Alois, calling him by his real name. He furrowed his brow at this.

_ "I'll be fine either way. It's just a small handicap_." said the boy, who had been complaining about the condition he was to be tested under. It was amazing what power his name had over him, merely mentioning it provokes such odd responses from the boy. "When does the test start?"

"As soon as the others are finished eating." the Hellsing woman replied, smiling somewhat at the boy's change in attitude.

"Oh? Is it really wise to make them see _that_ right after eating?"

"It's better than them eating _nothing_."

Ciel simply stared at the blonde for a moment, processing all of this. He was speaking to Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, a woman who had intimidated the boy during the last time he saw her, and was getting excited over the fact that he would be killing ghouls. He seemed to have resembled his old self, the self that the bluenette had known over one hundred years ago. The Phantomhive boy's visible eye then caught a glimpse of the emblem that the blonde had drawn on the front of his uniform.

"Is that my family's crest?" he asked, obtaining the attention of the blonde. Alois blinked for a moment, trying to figure out what the other boy was talking about, but then it hit him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." he replied, grinning. "I don't work for the Hellsing family, after all."

"You moron. Don't you know that you aren't supposed to deface your uniform?"

"Yeah! They gave me lots of shit for it and told me to change it, but I didn't, so they just gave up, eventually."

"Was it really worth it?"

"Of course it was!" said the blonde menace. "I knew you'd get all possessive and stuff, if I didn't do something."

"I would _not..."_

"Yet have you noticed that you haven't let go of me this _entire time?"_ Alois smirked at the dark blush on the bluenette's face as the boy quickly tried to separate them in vain. He furrowed his brow as the blonde simply held onto him tighter as not to be forced off, giggling at the bluenette's embarrassment.

"Shut up!" the Phantomhive boy ordered. "_Let go!"_

"I can't! I haven't been able to hug you in _weeks!"_

"I don't care! _We're in public!"_

"Oh, so it's being flirted with in front of you arch-rival, that embarrasses you?"

_ "Idiot!"_

_ "I love you too, muffin~!"_

* * *

**A/N: Alois... You ass...  
**

**UGH! The amount of spelling mistakes I caught while proofreading this was OVER 9000! I was in a hurry. I've been pissing around reading manga~! But you must understand! I've been meaning to check out _Deadman Wonderland_ for a while, now. I still need to look into _Attack On Titan_ and watch the second season of _Another Crawling Chaos: Nyarko~!_**

**That last one references Black Butler in the first season. And that is how I emitted my first fangirl "Squee" It totally caught me off-guard! THAT IS A SOUND THAT SHOULD NEVER COME OUT OF MY FACE!**

**I swear to God that one of the main characters looks like a cross between _Haruhi Fujioka_ from _Ouran High School Host Club_ and Ciel Phantomhive (that little blue cyclops of sunshine). He even ACTS like it. The other shota of that show looks like a human version of _Psyduck,_ and is totally cute, but is like, a total uke. (Seriously, the kid's ghey) The rest of the main cast are lolis... Did I mention that the Psyduck shota and the two lolis are Gods from the Cthulhu Mythos? Also, they're aliens. Seriously, the show's fucked up. (Fucked up, but hilarious.)**

**Ah, it looks like my number of views has gone down from being absent... Oh well, it'll go back to normal if I keep posting, and even if it doesn't, I'll keep posting. Writing fanfics is fun. But, I've been discovering that I need to actually focus while writing.**

**HW's RULES OF WRITING (In no particular order): BE SURE TO GIVE LOTS OF FUCKS.**

**Ah... What chapter is this? 198?**

**198?!**

**OH SHIT OH FUCK OH DAMN OH CRAP WE ARE ALMOST TO 200 CHAPTERS I REALLY NEED A LIFE ASLDKGHALSDKGHALDSKGH!**

**Laters, Duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET I AM SO BEHIND ON THESE QUESTIONS I DON'T EVEN AND MOST OF THESE QUESTIONS ARE KIND OF LONG SO I CAN ONLY ANSWER ONE I'M SO SORRY NO SEXUAL HARASSMENT THIS TIME  
**_

_Question:** "For the 7: You wake up and find out you've been turned into cats! What do you look like, and what's your reaction?"** by Emeraldpaw (which I've been capitalizing the "p" in up until now for whatever reason, I've just noticed)_

_Ciel's Answer:"Oh God! Everyone! Quickly! RUN AND HIDE FROM SEBASTIAN! GODDAMMIT, ALOIS! STOP RUBBING UP AGAINST ME!"  
_

_Type of Cat: Scottish Fold_

_Alois' Answer: ***nuzzles against Ciel-cat and purrs*** "But Ciel! You're just so cute!"  
_

_Type of Cat: Tabby_

_Kristopherson's Answer: "I'm naked! Somebody get me some cat-clothes! PREFERABLY NOT SOMETHING STUPID-LOOKING!"  
_

_Type of Cat: Persian_

_Audrey's Answer: "Well, maybe this won't be so ba- Wait, I'M FUR-LESS?! That looks so weird... I look like an alien... Brrr! It's so cold in here! Could someone turn up the heat? Or can I have a blanket or something? Kristopherson! Why Are YOU complaining?! You're at least fluffy!"  
_

_Type of Cat: Sphinx_

_Daniel's Answer:"Bwa-ha-ha! Everyone looks so weird! Ciel's ears are folded, Kris' face is flat, and Bones has no fur! Wait, what are you looking at? WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DON'T HAVE A TAIL?!"  
_

_Type of Cat: Manx  
_

_Preston's Answer: "I'm actually surprised that Ciel isn't a munchkin... Wait, did I say that out loud? Ciel? Ciel?! I'M SORRY! I'M SOORY! PUT YOUR CLAWS AWAY! I'M SOOOOOORRRRYYYYYY!"_

_Type Of Cat: British Shorthair_

_Travis' Answer: "This is going to be a weird day..."_

_Type of Cat: Maine Coon_


	199. Being Human

Ciel sat with a frown on his face as he stared down at the fenced-off area below him, and at the children across from him looking down at the same area from their small towers, almost identical to his. He wasn't scowling at the seemingly twisted test that was about to take place, but at the woman seated next to him, smoking a cigar with a small smirk. He knew that she wasn't smirking at the test, as it wasn't in the woman's nature to be so sadistic. No, he knew that Sir Hellsing was smirking at his behaviour from earlier while interacting with the blonde menace, also known as "_Alois Trancy_", or _"Jim Macken_".

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" he asked, twitching an eyebrow in annoyance.

"It was too funny _not to_." replied Sir Hellsing, prompting a small giggle out of her own blonde, vampiric servant seated just to her left.

The bluenette scoffed at the woman's statement, glaring at the butler to his right for chuckling. He set his sight on the tower directly across from their own, approximately two stories up off of the ground. He couldn't help but ponder the sickness of the examiners, as he watched the children carefully load their rifles, and begin aiming at the large shipping container in the center of the small, fenced off section of the camp, located right at it's center. Even Sir Hellsing seemed slightly irked by this.

They were children, yet they were being burdened by such a task, the task of shooting a ghoul in the head. Most human beings aren't able to kill a living thing, let alone something in the shape of a human. Even hardened solders have difficulty taking a life. It is just the way that society is made. You aren't supposed to kill, no matter what. It was a very _human_ morality.

After the children were all ready, they waited, their sights set on the container, nervously anticipating it's opening. Sweat began to bead on their foreheads and some were even shaking, wondering what a ghoul really looks like. Only three of the tests participants weren't fearful, as they had seen them before. Charlotte, Amelie, and Alois. Audrey hadn't seen one, and with his little experience with the supernatural world, and with firearms, he was nervous, just like all of the others. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as one of the examiners placed in each of the towers counted down.

"Ready?" he barked, children preparing themselves mentally for what was to come. "_Begin!"_

A small explosive connected to the doors of the container went off, breaking open the lock so that no one had to be down there in order release the monsters. It was when the _bang_ stopped, and the children could hear the groaning and gurgling of the walking corpses, that they all became very, very afraid. This fear was heightened when the smoke cleared, and they became visible.

Not one single shot was fired, even though their targets were in plain sight. Some children closed their eyes to escape the sight, some threw down their weapons and hid in the back of the tower, some simply stood frozen in fear at the sight. They just couldn't bring themselves to fire.

Real, bona fide ghouls; walking corpses that feasted on human flesh. _Real _ones. It wasn't the same as playing a video-game. No video-game or horror movie in the world could have prepared them for this. No story from their family members who had seem them, no matter how vividly they described the creatures' garish appearance could have prepared them for seeing the real thing. These ugly, rotten, horrifying things were at one point, human beings, and they were expected to shoot. If they didn't, they would have to do push-ups, or scrub the bathrooms with a toothbrush, and some of the children preferred that over this. Anything but this.

_BANG!_

Suddenly, a shot went off, and a ghoul feel, it's decaying grey matter splattered all over the ground that it had stood on. The others looked to find the source of the shot, wincing as they heard the loud booming of another. It was the blonde demon-boy. Of course it was. Only a demon could be so viscous.

But then, another shot went off, and another, and another, all from different locations. The other supernatural beings had joined the frey, completing their task. They had quickly gotten over the initial shock of seeing the creatures, and began to wipe them out. Even Audrey, who was unused to such things, joined in.

He wasn't fond of killing these things. It was fun in a game, but in real life, it was difficult, in a emotionally draining sort of way. It was difficult to get over the fact that these were people at one point, but he remembered H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G philosophy that had been drilled into their heads before the test.

"These people didn't _want _to end up like this. Killing them is the _only way _to put them to_ rest_. Killing them is an act of _mercy_." he said aloud, reminding the others around him. It seemed to help them out, as they, too joined the frey.

Slowly, ghouls began to drop, although it was mostly their limbs, as they were shot off by the children's poor aim. Even _Nigel Irons,_ who did well in practice, was having trouble now, his nerves getting to him. Training was one thing, reality was another. His eye widened when he noticed something.

"_They're... getting closer_..." he muttered weakly. The ghouls were beginning to flock toward the towers, as that is were the humans were. It was a natural thing for them to do, and Nigel knew this. He also knew that they were high above the creatures, with a fence preventing them from even getting close to the towers, but it still terrified him.

Nigel stood up in order to take better aim at the approaching ghouls, firing several shots at his knew, odd angle, taking out several ghouls. Unconsciously, he leaned forward in order to aim with even greater accuracy, but then the foolish boy had lost his balance, and fell. Thank God, that the ground was soft, cushioning most of the impact, but as he tried to stand up, a horrible, piercing pain shot up through his leg. He looked down at it, to see his ankle twisted in a manner that it definitely should not be in.

This new observation terrified him, but then, he heard the groans that had chilled his blood before become oddly louder. It was at that moment, that his terror became that of such a magnitude that no child would ever have to experience. Slowly, he looked up, and realized where he was. _He was on the inside of the fence._

He couldn't run. He couldn't get up. He couldn't climb the chain-link fence to freedom. There was no escape. The Ghouls saw him, the sound of his fall alerting them of his presence, and trudged toward him. All H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. operatives grabbed a gun and began firing, preventing the creatures from getting any closer to the boy. They didn't need to wait for Sir Hellsing's order to do so. The woman stood up, horrified at what had just happened. She even reached into her coat, tightly gripping the handle of her personal pistol before beginning to open fire herself.

"Someone get that boy out of there!" she commanded.

The Phantomhive boy stood up, readying himself to get down there and rescue the human lad, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to make it in time. The ghouls were too close. Far too close. They were almost right on top of the boy, arms outstretched, ready to grab him and tear him apart.

It was over for Nigel Irons. He couldn't escape this. No one could help him. He shut his eye tightly, tears streaming down his face. Every muscle in his body tensed up as he simply waited, whimpering, ready as he ever would be to accept his fate.

But that wasn't the case. The Irons boy felt some cool, foul-smelling liquid splash on his face, and a simultaneous gasp from the people above him. The gunfire stopped for a moment, even though the sounds of the creatures groaning didn't. Time passed, and he felt nothing else and thus, he forced himself to open an eye, and see before him a blonde boy with his hair pulled back in a rather small ponytail, blood on his clenched fist, his back to the human boy. At his feet was a dead ghoul, it's head smashed. What he didn't see, however, was that the blonde lad's eyes were glowing red, with his pupils slit.

Alois looked to the tower that the bluenette was at, as though asking the boy for permission for what he was about to do next. When his silent plea was answered with a nod, he smiled, raising the rifle that was still in his free hand. He gripped the barrel of it, holding it up like a cricket bat, and swung it, striking another ghoul in the cranium with the butt of the weapon. It wasn't a close-range weapon, so he improvised.

He did this again and again until the weapon fell apart, the wood of the butt splintering, leaving him only with his fists. He continued to strike, but the creatures were still getting to close, so he did the only logical thing he could think of, and burst into flames. The black substance caught fire to several surrounding ghouls, burning them. Nigel almost couldn't bear being so close to the heat, clenching his eyes shut again and shielding his face with his arms. When he opened his eyes again, when the heat had vanished, the boy that he had been bunked with for about three weeks was gone too. In his place, was a demon.

A demon with horns sprouting from the sides of his head, bending forwards like a bull's, and a blonde tail, like that of a monkey. He had pointed ears, read eyes and sharp canines that were plainly visible with his smile. The blonde's black fingernails had grown into claws, and his uniform was replaced with a bizarre, black outfit. The demon's shirt stopped at his ribcage, revealing his abdomen, with no sleeves so that his shoulders were also bare. There was a metal plate that fastened the front shut with the word "_JUDAS" _etched into it. He wore long, fingerless gloves that reached past his elbows, and black thigh-high boots with short-shorts, revealing only a small strip of skin were they failed to meet.

So, this was a demon? This boy, who had been so kind before, and who had jumped in to rescue the Irons lad, now radiating a corrupt, spiteful aura that didn't at all match his smile? Alois held out his arms, as if he was going to embrace the creatures before him, before quickly moving them forward, seemingly dragging along with them vines that burst forth from the ground behind him on either side of the human boy leaning against the fence. The vines acted as a barrier between them and the other monsters for a moment before the blonde opened his arms once more. They moved as though they were his arms, slapping away the ghouls that so threatened to surround the two boys.

The blonde flexed his wrists slightly, willing the vines to wrap around the human boy who was trapped down there with him, before stretching his arms upward, propelling Nigel over the fence again and into the tower from whence he originated. It took a moment for the examiners to snap out of their stupor, but when they did, they immediately began tending to the injured cadet. Alois, however, let his hands drop to his sides, sweating slightly and furrowing his brow. That would be his limit on the vines. If he continued to use them, he wouldn't last long.

Much to his displeasure, the ghouls that he had forced back had begun to rise again, as he neglected to pierce either their heads or their hearts. He simply didn't have the energy or accuracy to do so. The gunfire had stopped, leaving him to fend for himself.

"_How rude..."_ he muttered. "_You save someone's life, and no one even lifts a finger to help you?"_ Still, he smiled when he looked up at the ghouls closing in. "I guess that means I can go _all out."_

Alois charged the horde before him with a roar. This was him venting all of his frustration from the past three weeks. From all of the drills, all of the screaming of orders given by some incredibly intimidating older man, which opened some old wounds. From all of the lack of privacy due to sleeping in barracks, and all of the discrimination for being a demon. From the low-quality food in the mess hall, causing him to go without eating human food, and from all of the madness brought on by the conformity forced upon all of the children by denying them both opinions and individuality by several means. From being forced away from his home, and happiness, and into this place that made him feel claustrophobic and trapped. That in itself was a punishment. With every swing, punch, and kick, he vented, taking out all of his frustrations on something that he wouldn't get in trouble for.

With a sigh, the bluenette sat back down in his seat as he observed this. He would have stopped the blonde, but Ciel knew full-well that the boy kind of needed this. Sir Hellsing, however, stood in horror as she watched the boy violently wipe out the undead masses.

_ "What...?" _was all she could say, not entirely sure what she was asking. That boy who had been so affectionate and weak-looking before was now single-handedly decimating dangerous flesh-eating monsters.

"Just leave him be." the Phantomhive boy said, snapping her from her daze and grabbing her attention. "He's alright. If things go too far, I'll stop him."

"_'Too far'?!"_ asked the woman. "What exactly qualifies as _'too far', _in your eyes?!"

_ "When he begins to lose sight of himself, he's gone too far."_ replied the other noble.

_ "Can_ you stop him, at that point?"

"Most likely. He's simply _throwing a tantrum,_ at the moment. It's probably best to let him run out of steam."

"You call this a _'tantrum'?!"_

_ "Yes, I do."_ said the boy, pausing to meet Sir Hellsing's gaze. "That's just how Alois is. He harbors a lot of pain, and a lot of loathing, for himself, mostly. It's from the past that he's had. Even if one is the _strongest_ of people, if one doesn't let out their _hidden_ emotions every so often, they'll _break."_

Sir Hellsing paused for a long while before speaking again. "Why hide them in the first place, then?"

"You know full-well that is an _impossibility_. Everyone hides their emotions at times, whether they are human, or _not."_

"But why like _this?" _asked the woman. She looked back out at the field as the others were vacating, leaving behind only H.E.L. .N.G. soldiers. "Surely, there's another way..."

"If there was, he wouldn't be lashing out like this, would he?"

"He's a _sick_ boy..."

"Yes, but he's just as _sick_ as _I_ am." the bluenette said with a slight smirk, prompting the woman's attention. It was so easy for her to forget what this petite boy really was at times, but it was at times like this when she remembered. The bluenette before her was a _human-like monster._

But then, something else dawned on the Hellsing woman. That was why. That was why the bluenette had allowed such a person to be so close to him, even thought they were obviously so fundamentally different. It was because, at their very core, they were the same, sharing that same "_sickness"._

"Are you _sure _that you can stop him?" she asked, looking back to the blonde on a bloody rampage below. "Right now, he doesn't even _resemble_ a human..."

"True..." the Phantomhive boy said, standing up and looking out at the sight below. "But even humans, at the very center, are _animals._ What makes _humans_ special?" He smirked as he waited for an answer from the woman, believing to have stumped her with the very question that had stumped himself.

_ "Our will and tenacity." _she said finally, genuinely surprising the demon-boy. Ciel simply raised his eyebrows at the statement.

"_What?" _he asked.

"_True_ humans don't kill for their own _pleasure, or satisfaction_. That's what _monsters_ do. A human will fight a monster, knowing that there is a high probability that they will die, or even knowing that they _will_ die, because it is their _duty_. A human will never give up, no matter what."

"Is that how you justify killing for her majesty?"

"No." the woman said. "I am directly responsible for my own actions. I destroy agents of evil specifically because it is_ my duty as a human_, not because I am ordered to." She fiercely glared at the boy, somehow managing to send a chill down his spine. "I'm no _dog_ like _you."_

Ciel could do nothing but let all of that sink in for a moment, blinking a few times. After it did, he felt a chuckle bubble out from his throat before erupting into laughter. This, of course, made the other noble furious.

"Just what exactly is so funny?!" she demanded. "Answer me!" The bluenette did his best to stop his laughing, managing to stifle and contain it again.

"So that's what a _'human' _is?" he asked, smiling. "_They refuse to give up even in the face of death and defeat?"_

"And? _What of it?"_

"Then_ Alois is human!"_ the boy said, chuckling again. The eyes of everyone in the tower widened at the statement, the eyes of Sebastian doign so before he smiled his signature grin. It was an incredibly interesting thing to say.

"_What..?"_ the woman asked, somewhat dumbfounded by the boy's statement. "That... thing?"

"He isn't a _'thing'. _According to _your _philosophy, he's _'human'."_ the bluenette repeated. "Alois is '_human'_, specifically because of the fact that he _refuses to die; _to simply_ give up on life._ He is _'human', _because he has escaped hell, and has the audacity to pursue _happiness_ from a life that gave up on _him."_ Sir Hellsing was made speechless by that accusation.

"Yes, but at the same time, he appears to be having_ a good time massacring ghouls _at the moment, doesn't that make him a _'monster'?"_ she asked finally, smirking a bit, herself.

"He's only _following orders,_ and _taking revenge on those who had threatened his comrade_. Relieving stress is simply a _bonus_." Ciel stopped talking for a moment in order to glance over at the one-sided battle below, watching as the blonde demon began to slow down.

Alois was covered from head to toe in blood, and was beginning to actually get somewhat tired of rampaging. No matter how many he killed, their seemed to be more. He was beginning to wonder if he could really do this on his own. He was 'running out of steam', just as the bluenette had predicted. While he wanted to finish this all on his own, he was beginning to think that this was an impossibility. Regardless, he continued to flail about, but his punches seemed to be having less of an impact as they had before, making it harder to fight.

He turned as heard heard the sound of something hitting the ground somewhere off in the distance in the arena, seeing black flames draw some of the attention away from him. When the flames disappeared, there, stood another demon. One with hair of an odd shade of blueish black, and black horns sprouting from it's head, bending backwards. This demon showed far less skin than the blonde did, being in a more military-style get-up of a similar shade. While he was happy to see the bluenette, and receive help, the blonde was also a little disappointed that he wouldn't be able to handle this himself.

Ciel simply waited for the ghouls to get closer. He waited for them to step on his shadow, which was to his advantage, duplicated on four sides by the angles of the harsh lights that illuminated the camp at night. As soon as the walking corpses got close enough, the bluenette smirked. He had learned new magic, and was glad to have a chance to use it.

The shadows impaled the ghouls, sprouting up from their places on the ground in multiple directions, piercing the bodies in many different locations, "killing" them. He grabbed his gun off of his belt, aiming it while repeating his attacks with his shadow. Alois was awe-stricken by this power.

Even here, after all of the training he had gone through, after growing so much stronger, he was still no match for the bluenette. He knew this. He knew it well. Yet, even so, he stood back up and began to fight again, refusing to be out-done. He did this, because on some level, somewhere beneath his demonic exterior, and past his warped mind, he was still very "_human". _

Sir Hellsing simply watched from above as the demonic duo fought along side one another, trying to best each other in their own ways. She watched as she dwelled on what the bluenette had said about them being "_human"._ The more she watched, the more she began to wonder whether or not he was _right,_ as much as she hated to admit it. Were they human-like monsters, or monster-like humans?

At long last, the final ghoul fell at the hands of the boy-demons. Alois simply fell to his knees, sitting on his legs awkwardly while trying to regain some energy. He was tired, covered in filth, and his image with the children was completely destroyed, them probably being terrified of him by now if they already weren't. Worst of all, Ciel seemed further away now than ever, with that new ability. He sat there, simply feeling hopeless while the other boy crouched down in front of him.

"You alright?" the bot asked, the blonde only answering right away with a sigh.

"_I guess_..." Alois said, scratching his head. "My _ego's_ a bit bruised, though."

"Why's that?" Ciel asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Why do you have to get a new power?" the blonde whined slightly. "It's hard enough keeping up with you as it is..."

"You're _still_ on about that? You're fine as you are, already. Get that through your head."

"That's easy for_ you _to say..."

"I only learned it to keep up with _you_, moron." Alois nearly jumped at the statement, looking up to gaze at the face of the other boy in order to determine whether or not he was serious. Ciel simply furrowed his brow and continued.

"You learned that plant ability of yours in no time, so of course I wanted to develop an ability of my own..." he said, blushing slightly. The blonde simply continued to stare at him, dumbfounded by all of this.

"_You... _wanted to keep up... with _me?"_

"_Yes._ Now cut it out with all of this _whining_ about looking weak." Ciel scolded, lightly flicking the other boy's forehead. "Open your eyes and see how _strong_ you are, already._ It's annoying."_

"I-I can't help it! You're _Ciel Phantomhive_, and I'm just..." the blonde hesitated before saying it, as though he would it would bring the dead ghouls around them back to their un-life. "I'm just... _Jim Macken_..." The bluenette bopped the boy on the head for saying that, startling Alois.

"Idiot. Is _that_ what this has been about? That's so_ stupid_." the Phantomhive boy said, furrowing his brow. "I don't care if you're _Alois Trancy_, or _Jim Macken_. I don't care about your past, either. I love you, don't I? Just how many times do I have to tell you that you're more than good enough?!" He stared at the blonde, who simply stared back with a shocked expression on his face. "It's the first time we've seen each other in a few weeks, and it has to end up like_ this_, again... damn..."

The bluenette immediately stopped talking when he saw tears streaming down the blonde's cheeks. Alois was crying, his lip quivering and his eyes red and watery. The blonde looked at the ground when he noticed.

"...I'm just... _scared..." _he said softly, his voice cracking. He didn't trust it to go any louder. "...I'm scared... I'm scared you'll... leave... I need to be as good as you... so I can stay by your side... What if you change your mind? What if you get bored with me? I'm scared..._ I don't want to be alone-"_ He was cut off when he was grabbed and pulled into the arms of the bluenette.

"_Stop it." _the other boy ordered.

"Ciel? What are you doing?!" the blonde asked, trying to wiggle his way to freedom. "I'm all gross and stuff! You'll get dirty..."

"_I don't care."_

"But Sir Hellsing will see-" he was cut off again by the other boy's lips.

_ "You're more important. I won't let you be like this."_ the bluenette said when they parted again, maintaining his iron-grip on the blonde.

"But-"

"I won't let you _argue _about it, either." The blonde simply pouted.

"Then what _will _you let me do?"

_ "I'll let you stay by my side, right where I want you to be." _the bluenette said, with one of the softest expressions he's ever made. "I don't _joke _about stuff like this. You know that."

"But won't you be pissed when Hellsing teases you about this, later?" Alois asked.

"Probably, but that doesn't really matter. Just smile like you always do, and everything will be fine. Stop being _scared_."

"...Why do you always know exactly what to say?"

"I don't know... I think I sound like a _rambling mess..."_

* * *

**A/N: I'M TIRED.**

**THIS SHIT'S OVER FOUR-THOUSAND WORDS LONG.**

**NO QUESTIONS TODAY.**

**OH SHIT I'M SO FUCKING FAR BEHIND ON QUESTIONS, THOUGH...**

**OH SHIT OH FUCK OH DAMN OH CRAP...**

**CAN I PLEASE JUST GO TO BED?**

**PLEASE?**

**I DUNNO IF I CAN CATCH UP AND ANSWER THEM ALL, ANYWAY...**

**I'M SCARED THAT IF I DON'T ANSWER THEM, THOUGH, YOU'LL GET MAD, WHICH MAKES ME SAD. IT'S NOT RAD, IT'S BAD. **

**WHAT THE FUCK AM I EVEN DOING?**

**I'M REALLY TIRED AND ALSO KIND OF THIRSTY.**

**LATERS, DUCKIESSSSSSSSSSSSSSZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...**


	200. A Cadet In Trouble

"That little shit!" shouted a certain blonde cadet to no one in particular. "How dare he say all of those things to be and then just _leave?!"_

"You're _still _on about that?" Bones asked, lacing his boots. "That was almost a _week ago_, Alois..."

"I don't care! I'm gonna show him what for next time I see him! That stupid _midget!"_

_ "Hey,_ from the looks of him_, I'm around the same height _as Sir Phantomhive." Nigel chimed in, grabbing his crutches. His ankle was broken, and thus he had to forfeit the top bunk and sleep on the bottom so he could get in and out of bed by himself.

"_'Sir'?" _Alois echoed in a questioning tone. "Since when is he a _'Sir'?"_

"My dad said that he was knighted after the war... _You didn't know?"_ The blonde menace furrowed his brow and pouted at the new information.

_"How dare he not tell me these things?! I'm gonna rape him for his insolence when I get home!" _he shouted a bit too loudly. The other boys who were straggling behind in getting ready were definitely in a hurry to escape now.

"_Too much information_, mate..." said Audrey, trying to figure out how to put on his beret.

Today would be the lads' last day at the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Training Camp, and today, they would be taking part of a ceremony in order to commemorate the occasion, a sort of "graduation" event of sorts. For this, their usual uniforms were replaced with a more ceremonial version. No longer did they wear their scummy white T-shirts that had turned an ugly light shade of brown, the shade that specifically came from a mixture of sweat, dirt, and dust. Now they wore dark grey, suit-like uniforms, trimmed in dark red, with a choker-collar and a strip of leather reaching over their shoulder, connecting to it's matching belt. Looped around that same shoulder was a piece of coloured rope, indicating their "ranks", which was more appropriately their "species". _White_ was for _humans, red_ was for _vampires, blue_ was for werewolves, _silver_ was for _reapers_, and finally, _black_ was for _demon_s. Additional chords were added when they moved up from "cadet" to "private" later when they entered real basic training. On their heads were berets of a deep crimson hue, with the Hellsing family crest on them, the same crest that decorated the back of their white gloves. It was much too hot outside to be wearing such an outfit, but thankfully, everyone was still on their usual "night-schedule", so they wouldn't overheat.

The trio of lads met up with their female friends, Charlotte and Amelie out near the stage before taking their seats. Amelie complained that the suits that they wore were too difficult to move around in, as she preferred looser clothing. The female suit wasn't all that different, the only changes being that the coat had a women's cut, and that their hair had to be pulled back in a bun, yet another thing that the wolf-girl detested.

"It's _stupid_." she said, sticking our her tongue.

"You'll only have to wear it for a few hours." said Charlotte, completely comfortable in her new wardrobe. "You'll live."

"_Pointless."_

"I said _'you'll live'..."_

"So what are you going to do after this?" asked Audrey. "Are you going to join H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.?"

"Probably. It's easier to get food, here." said Charlotte, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "That way Amelie doesn't have to nearly pass out from _anemia."_

"At least _someone _enjoyed the food, here..." Bones joked. He looked at the smaller girl with the silver hair, noticing her expression twitch a bit. Finally, it changed from is usual expressionless state to a sort of cute, childish one. She ran up and hugged the blonde menace, startling him.

"I want to play with _blondie_ more!" she said. "No one else plays _'kung-fu warriors'!"_

"Calm yourself, _grasshopper_. Let us not waste the essence of friendship with tears." Alois said back. It was hard to tell if he was joking, or if he was serious. "You have my phone-number. You may summon me whenever you wish to battle once more!"

_"Blondie!"_

_ "Poochie!"_

"What the _hell _is going on, here?" asked the Irons lad, unaware of the true extent of the pairs oddity.

"Who knows? Those two are _weird_..." replied Bones. "Oh, I almost forgot. You should give us your number too, Nigel, so we can keep in touch."

"Okay!" the boy said, giving the other a childish smile that contrasted greatly with the image of his father. The thought sent chills down the spines of the demon and the reaper. Regardless, they all exchanged numbers. Perhaps the upcoming school year would be easier, being friends with the son of the strictest teacher in the school. They still wondered what they were going to do with the knowledge that Mister Irons was a former member of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.

Speaking of which, the area was now starting to fill with such people, some active members, and some retired. The parents of the cadets all filed in, sitting in the rows of chairs lined up along the sides of the rectangular space that the stage and the cadets took up. Some of them looked quite ordinary, while others had scars and other disfigurements from combat. Mister Irons sat in the first row, as he had gotten their early, wearing a somewhat nicer suit than he usually did. Seated next to him was a familiar face, the "black butler", Sebastian Michealis, with his young master seated next to him. Ciel was simply relieved that Sir Hellsing didn't make an appearance, as she had a meeting to get to, leaving him to simply be able to gawk at the blonde in his uniform.

Soon, the children took their own seats, seated in alphabetical order. Audrey was in the front row, close to the _"A's_" as his surname was "_Baines_", and Charlotte was seated next to him, as her name was "_Bellamy_", a fact that had remained unknown to any of the others until then. Amelie sat off on her own, away from her friends due to the fact that her _alias_ was "_Garou", _and none of the others were "_G's_", leaving her alone to pout and make faces at her slightly intimidated neighbours. Nigel was on his own as well, being the only _"I", _as was Alois.

The blonde menace was placed under _"M", _much to his annoyance. He would be called as "_Jim Macken_". Oh, how that name peeved him. He didn't like the way it sounded. It was just so _plain_, and _boring_ to the lad. Alois folded his arms and scoffed, making the others around him jump slightly. They were still afraid of him for the incident with the ghouls from the previous week. The blonde, of course, ignored this, as he ignored the staring of one boy in particular. That boy had been staring at him ever since Ciel had visited him, for whatever reason. He looked as though he wanted to ask something, but didn't have the courage to do so. HE was in the _"M"_ section as well, it would seem.

At last, the ceremony started, and row, by row, the children received their certificates and their patches of the Hellsing crest. Audrey was the first of our group to receive his, proudly accepting them with a smile. When he sat back down, he took a peek at the small shield, separated into fourths. The upper-right corner was a solid black, as was the lower-left. The two remaining corners were red with designs in them. There was what appeared to be a white rook in the bottom right corner. Why a _chess-piece_ was on the shield, was beyond him, but then he looked in the upper-left corner, reading the motto that was embroidered into the small patch_. _

_ "We Are On A Mission From God" _it said, causing the boy to smile somewhat. Since creatures that were considered "_evil"_ would be receiving them too, did that mean that they are now agents of the divine? He wondered if the person running the ceremony had thought about that, or not, but then he doubted it.

Soon the others went up on stage and received their own certificates and patches, Charlotte right after Audrey, and Amelie after a gap filled with other children. Nigel struggled somewhat, getting on and offstage, the latter of which hindered even more so by the fact that he had to carry his prize while still using his crutches. He was offered assistance, but politely declined the offer, claiming that _"an Irons doesn't need help with something so small_".

Alois went up on stage as well, reluctantly answering to the name "_Jim Macken_" just this once. Just as a little revenge, he made his eyes glow while shaking the hands of his captain for the sole purpose of frightening him. smiling the entire time. He giggled as he walked back to his seat, almost able to _feel _the bluenette rolling his visible eye at his actions.

His opened the folder he had received that contained his patch and his certificate, scrambling to grab the unknown object that fell out upon doing so. He flipped it over in his palm, realizing from it's texture that it was a patch, but oddly, it wasn't a H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. patch, but one of the _Phantomhive_ crest for some odd reason. He opened the folder again, this time making sure that nothing else fell out, looking over it's contents. Both the certificate and the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G patch were in there, indicating that he was now done with training, but in addition, a note.

_"I respect your loyalty, Macken. Don't ever betray it._

_-Sir Integra"_

He couldn't help but smile at this. He kept smiling throughout the ceremony, until it's end, all while still playing with the small patches that he had received. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do with them, but he knew he wanted to keep them safe. When the last childen walked up and received their items, they ended the ceremony by having all of the cadets rise and salute.

_ "In the name of God, all impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen."_ they recited, their young voices almost sounding like chirps. They were then dismissed to find their guardians.

Alois went in search of the bluenette, trying to navigate his way through the crowd of people without getting shot by a disgruntled retiree. Fortunately, it was hard for people to tell that he was a demon, as most people are unfamiliar with the meaning of the colouring of his rope. Audrey and Amelie escaped as well, but they were mostly occupying themselves by guarding Charlotte, as everyone there could tell that she was one of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s number one targets. At last, he found his bluenette companion, charging up to him like he had done previously, and assaulting the slightly shorter boy with a hug.

"Do you _have_ to do this _every_ time?" asked the Phantomhive boy with a sigh.

"Yes. I just can't help it!" the blonde replied with a grin. "You're just so _cuddly!"_

Sebastian accidentally let out a chuckle at the fact that his sour young lord was just called "_cuddly". _When most people looked at the boy, "_cuddly_" was probably not among the first things to come to mind. The butler continued to smile, even after the bluenette began glaring daggers at him, trying in vain to freeze the older demon with his famous "ice-beam".

Before he could even open his mouth again to dismiss the claim, the blonde's lips were already covering the bluenette's, rendering him completely incapable of speech. Alois pulled away again, grinning as he took in the bluenette's blushing face. The bluenette didn't like it when he was so intimate in public, especially in front of certain people. Sebastian was one of those people that Ciel never wanted to see him show any sort of affection. He didn't have a real reason for this at all, other than his pride. He cleared his throat before making an attempt to speak, trying to calm himself down a bit.

"Whatever." he said plainly, while he tried to think of a way to change the subject. "Is their anything else that you need to do before leaving?"

"Not that I can think of-" Alois was cut off by the sound of someone getting slapped. Quickly, they turned their heads in order to discover the source, just as many other people did.

There, they saw Audrey, touching his pained cheek in order to soothe it somewhat, standing in front of an angry-looking woman. She looked familiar, somewhat, but none of the demons could place a name to her face. She stood there, glaring at the reaper-boy for a moment, pausing before speaking again.

_ "Audrey Gareth Baines!"_ she shouted, voice scolding and harsh. "How could you do this to me!? I _told_ you I didn't want you anywhere near_ this _world!"

The boy put his hands up in response, as if guarding himself from another attack. The look on his face was absolutely guilt-ridden. He didn't look scared, or angry, even though he had just been struck across the face.

"Please, calm down..." he pleaded, hunching his back slightly as if he were defended himself. What he said next made things so much clearer to the demonic duo.

"Just let me explain, _Mum..."_

* * *

**A/N: Oh shit...  
**

**Cliffhanger because I'm an asshole! HAH!**

**Just kidding. It's cause that's a rather nice place to end the chapter, don't you think? Yeah, please don't hurt me...**

**'Tis the debut of Audrey's MOM! But more importantly: HIS MIDDLE NAME HAS BEEN REVEALED ASDLGKAHSDLGKAJSDGLAKHSDG!  
**

**Yeah, I dunno if I'll give the rest of the character middle names...**

**Even MORE importantly: SWEET MERCIFUL MOTHER MARY OF JESUS CHRIST ON A STICK! CHAPTER 200! I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD BE HAPPY OR CONSIDER FINDING ANOTHER HOBBY.**

**I bought manga today~! I finally bought volume four of Black Butler! Last time I tried to buy it, I accidentally grabbed volume five and bought it instead. Sad thing is, I was looking RIGHT AT THE RIGHT VOLUME when I did.**

** I feel reluctant to buy manga sometimes, because you can read it online, but it's just so super-important to support the official release, you know? How will manga authors be able to write manga if they can't afford to buy pens and paper or pay for rent?!**

**Speaking of which, I found something super-weird in the volume I bought. It's in a panel on page 109 of volume 4. (I have it right next to me while I'm typing. Like I know that shit off the top of my head...) In it, there's like, a flashback or something to a photo of the Phantomhive family before the fire, with "young" Ciel, his parents, Madame Red, and the family dog, Sebastian. **

**That dog weirds me the fuck out. It's so freaky-lookin'. Yana Toboso is an artist that I am constantly in awe of, whenever I look at her work, but that image makes me ask:**

**Does Yana Toboso have trouble drawing dogs? **

**Think about it. Have you seen another dog in the manga? The only one I can recall is Sebastian, and he looks like he's secretly part chupacabra or some shit. It frightens me. So much, in fact, that it distracted be from the adorableness of tiny Ciel. Seriously, that dog looks like it's up to no good.**

**HOLY SHIT! MAYBE IT WAS THE DOG WHO STARTED THE FIRE?! **

**Oh, I should probably answer questions, huh?**

**"Anyway, can you make a hangover arc about the whole 7 including Sebastian? Ya know, Like da movie the hangover? Because dat would be awesome. Another question for hate weasel! Can u also make an arc mainly about Sebastian? We need to give Bassy some love man!" by Sushi trancy**

**NOPE. I haven't seen it. I never had any interest in seeing it, either. It's just not my sense of humour...  
**

**Thus, I have no idea what that even means. Didn't I answer this question before? It feels like it... Deja vu...  
**

**As For Sebastian, I would love to give him some more parts, but my problem with Sebastian is that he's just so hard to write for! I mean, how exactly do you portray a practically-perfect in every way demon-butler? He doesn't seem to be anything _beyond_ that, which makes him tricky. He's a full demon, and I just can't wrap my head around what makes him "tick". I don't want to re-write his entire character. I'm trying to stay true to the original. **

**He's just one _hell_ of a butler...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ET**_

_Question: **"For the seven: I have in my phone a rare picture of a blonde maid taken during the Halloween Festival. This maid is actually Alois. Reactions? To Ciel: *casually sends you a copy of the pic*"** by rasu  
_

_Ciel's Answer:***Casually saves picture***_

_Alois' Answer:"Why were people taking my picture?! That's so creepy!"_

_Kristopherson's Answer:***Relieved that it wasn't actually a picture of him*  
**_

_Audrey's Answer: "Blondie's ability to look like a girl is almost frightening... Did he use magic?"  
_

_Daniel's Answer:"What the-?! No way! Nope! There is no way that that's not a girl! Nope, nope, nope! What kind of guy has curves like that?!"  
_

_Preston's Answer:"That's ALOIS?! I can't believe I almost found him attractive!"  
_

_Travis' Answer:"What an odd hobby..."  
_

_00000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Question for Kristopherson : You would totally snogg Cameron wouldn't you!"** by .0o Guest_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Wh-what I do in my spare time is none of your business!"  
_

_000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Question for Audrey: How many pixie sticks do you usually consume per day? Do you like any other sweets like cake or chocolate? Aaaaannnndddd how do you get by without the sugar during camp?"** by rasu_

_Audrey's Answer:__"As many as I can get! I love candy, pixie sticks are just my favourite. We're allowed to go into town on the weekends, if we can find any place open, so I can still get canfy while at camp. I've actually been smuggling all sorts of things in for the others as well. (I even get paid for shipping.) Nothing bad, though. Just candy and comic-books, mostly. Anyone asking for cigarettes or the like gets reported."  
_


	201. Frustration And Embarrassment

"Just let me explain, Mum..." Bones had said. That made the situation much clearer.

"There's nothing to explain!" the woman barked back. "You told me that you and your friends were going to space camp,_ bloody space camp! _Then, I receive an invitation in the mail telling me that you've been _here_ the entire time?! What were you thinking?! I told you that I didn't want you to associate with the supernatural!"

"But mum, I _am_ supernatural!" the boy argued, furrowing his brow and protesting.

"No you are not! Not a _full-one!" _the woman answered, curling her fingers into fists. "I said _'no',_ Audrey, and that is final!"

"Why aren't I allowed to even look into this?! Don't you know how amazing this world really is?! All of these things that humanity has forgotten are_ real! _I can't just _forget _about that!"

"You're just a child who doesn't understand!"

"Understand _what?! _That you can't stand any of it because of whatever my _real_ dad did?!" Audrey asked, losing his usual calm. It was all just so frustrating to the boy.

This was the only way that he could get all of his questions answered; questions that kept him up at night. That woman wouldn't let him slip into that realm of the night, where he could learn more about himself, and be more at peace with himself. It was frustrating, not quite knowing what he was. He knew bits and pieces, but that simply wasn't enough. He had to know it all, and he wasn't going to let some woman's past grievances get in the way of this, even if it was his own mother.

"If you hate the supernatural world so much, then why don't you hate _me _too?!" The reaper-boy stopped, awaiting the woman's reaction. That anger and frustration he felt was immediately quelled, and replaced by that sharp pang of guilt he had felt before, but _worse_. He had made his mother _cry_.

Mrs. Baines sat down in one of the many chairs that lined the area, fighting her tears, and ignoring the stares of the many people around them who had watched the display. She ignored the many whispers about what an awful parent she was, but couldn't quite dampen the ache of hearing her son being called a "_monster"_ by others. She tried not to look Audrey in the eyes when he walked up to her. She wasn't used to Audrey being so rebellious. Her sweet, laid-back son had never behaved this way before.

_ "Mum... Mum... I'm... I'm sorry... Please don't cry_..." the boy pleaded. He didn't want to give up, but he also didn't want to see his mother cry. No child does. No adult does, either. "_I'm sorry..."_

_ "Audrey Gareth Baines..." _she said, startling the boy by pulling him into a hug. _"You just don't understand... That world is so scary... It's scary and it's dark... I just don't want my baby boy to get hurt... Why do you want to go so badly?"_

"Because I want to know more about what I am..." the boy said softly, hugging the woman back. "I can't live my life in ignorance... I want to know... I _have _to know..."

"Why can't you just live like a _human?" _Mrs. Baines asked. "Surely, it must be so much _easier..."_

"I'm _not _human, though. Now that I know that, I can't go back to being 'human' ever again..."

Ciel and Alois began clearing away the spectators along with Charlotte and Amelie, giving the Baines family some dignity. This was a really rough moment, and the soldier's comments about how it was weird for there to be a child that is part anything supernatural, and part human. They also simply detested the fact that they were calling Bones "despicable" and such, for simply feeling duty to himself. He didn't mean to make his mother cry, and he was currently trying to console her, yet they had the audacity to claim that he was a "monster"? Were they blind, or simply _stupid?_

"Go away, you _fiends!" _shouted the blonde. "Let them have their moment with _dignity_ and shit like that!"

_ "Evil disperse! Evil disperse!"_ chanted Amelie, shooing away the masses.

"Please be respectful of other people's private affairs." said Charlotte politely.

Ciel simply sighed at the sudden turn of events. So _that _was why Audrey wanted to hitch a ride on the way up there. The bluenette had also found it suspicious that Bones was "allowed" to participate in such a camp by his mother, who seemingly had some grudge against the supernatural world. He hadn't expected Audrey to be lying to his gaurdians, as that wasn't something that Audrey would ordinarily do. Yet, he could also understand the complexities of moral duties one must perform, so he couldn't say that he was "mad", exactly.

"Are we done here?" he asked finally, tired of all of these shenanigans. "I want to go home..."

"Does this place remind you too much of Sir Integra?" Alois teasingly asked.

"Yes, it does, actually- Wait, _'Sir Integra'?! _Since when do you call her that?" the bluenette demanded.

"What? That's what she signs her notes with."

"_'Notes'? _Are you _pen-pals_ or something?"

"Oh no! Blondie's a _spy!" _Amelie shouted excitedly.

"Relax, mate. I'm not _'working with the enemy' _or anything." the blonde insisted.

"How do I know you weren't _brainwashed?"_ the Phantomhive boy asked jokingly. He blinked a few time in surprise when an object was held up in front of his face. It was a patch.

"Because, I have _your_ crest." the blonde said with a grin. "I was given hers too, but _this _one's more important." Once again, the bluenette found himself assaulted with a massive hug from the blonde. "There's no way I could ever betray my _darling little cyclops!"_

"Your pet-names are horrible..." Ciel uttered in response, simply letting the other boy embrace him.

"You know you love them~!"

"Cyclops! Look out!" declared the wolf-girl, forcing her way back into the conversation. _"He said he was going to rape you next time he saw you!"_

The demonic duo froze at the comment, their cheeks turning pink. Alois had completely forgotten he had said that. Moreover, he wondered how Amelie was able to hear that, since he was in the boys' barracks when he said it. He laughed nervously, and looked at the bluenette.

"What? No way! I _never_ said that!" he lied; unsuccessfully, at that. The look on the bluenette's face told him just how unsuccessful he was.

"Okay, so I _might _have said it! I was only _joking,_ though!" Alois corrected himself.

"_We're leaving." _Ciel said coldly, gesturing for the other two demons to follow.

Charlotte and Amelie would be taken to their new residence that evening, and it was assumed that Audrey would be going home with his mother. Thus, it was the trio of demons left once again in Phantomhive manor. They said there farewells, promising to contact the two girls every once and a while, and Alois promised to still play "_kung-fu" _with the wolf-girl when he or they visited.

The car ride home was nearly silent. Alois simply sat and twiddled his thumbs as he waited for the bluenette to scold him, but the boy never did. He was afraid that the bluenette was really angry at him for saying such a rude thing about him. He couldn't read the boy's expression, so he had no way of even guessing. The car began to slow down, lulling itself to a complete stop in the driveway.

Oh, how Alois had missed this place. Even though it was in the wee hours of the morning, the dimly lit building still seemed welcoming to him. He briskly ran inside and just took it all in. Who knew that being away from home for a month could make the place seem so wonderful when you returned? Yet, this feeling was overpowered when the bluenette silently walked in, and began to walk up the stairs to his room. Alois followed him, silently asking him if he was angry, which went ignored. Finally, he summoned the courage to ask.

"Ciel? Are you mad at me Ciel?" the blonde asked, with a somewhat worried expression. "I didn't mean to offend you, I was only joking..."

"_Of course_ you were joking." the Phantomhive boy said finally. "_You,_ rape _me?_ What a laughable concept."

"So... You're not mad, then?" Alois asked again in order to clarify the other boy's response.

"No, I'm not _mad_ at your _obscene remarks_." the bluenette replied. He turned to look at the blonde with a smirk. With his thumb and his index finger, he held the chin of the blonde menace in place so he would look the bluenette in the eye as he listened."However, I _will_ have to _punish_ you for your insolence." Alois' face immediately turned a dark shade of red.

"W-wait, you don't mean..."

"You know _precisely_ what I mean." said Ciel, grabbing the blonde's wrist with his free hand, and dragging him down the hallway. "That suit looks good on you, by the way."

"Don't tell me you have a_ uniform fetish_..." the blonde remarked, trying to embarrass the other boy and gain the upperhand.

_ "If you keep saying things like that, I might just have to double your punishment."_

"_Wh-wh-what?! You're really a bigger pervert than I am, aren't you?! Horn-dog!"_

_ "Triple?"_

"_Pervert! This _is what you want to do first thing when I get back?!"

"Luckily, demons _don't need to sleep..."_

* * *

**A/N: Rule of Writing Fanfics: When you don't know how to end a chapter, write a dirty joke.  
**

**YOU'RE , you're such an uke...**

**Questions?**

**"Will Nigel come back? I kinda want him and Lawrence to be part of Ciel's posse." by ReadAndWriteButMostlyRead"**

**Yup. He'll be back. I like characters like those too much to just let them fade away. Other characters will be reappearing before the end as well. Don't think you've seen the last of Nigel, Lawrence, Heinrich, Amelie, Charlotte, Mister Irons, and et cetra!  
**

**"Question for HateWeasel Are you going to post more furring the summer? Because you know...I have no life and spend my time role playing and checking for updates on here..." by . .ciel**

**Psh, hell yeah, I will. I have no life, either...  
**

**"****For HateWeasel, are you ever gonna tell us who is Audrey's dad? is it an oc or a real character from the manga?" by White Bloody Queen**

**Dunno. I haven't decided yet~! I don't even know who it is, right now~! Even if I did, I wouldn't tell ya! No spoilerrrrrrrrsssss~!  
**

**Y U GAIZ gotta ask like, five questions all at once? Ah, most of them are for the seven, too... Those take up a lot of space... Ah, what to do... What to do...  
**

**Oh, and by the way, Doctor Ackerman will be answering a question, and the "rules of becoming a ghoul or vampire" are going by_ Hellsing_ rules. That's just how it works in _Hellsing,_ and I just added onto it. Just thought I'd throw that out there.**

**Laters, duckies...**

**I meant to go to bed at a decent time tonight, but alas, it was not to be...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET SWEET JESUS HAVE MERCY  
**_

_Question: **"Hellsing, what do you really think of Ciel and Alois?"** by TheMoonAndStarLove  
_

_Integra's Answer:"I find it **odd**, if nothing else. I've known Phantomhive for many years, but this was certainly a surprise. Still, we're learning more about how demons work from this, and that **dog** seems less viscous than he used to be. Now, we also know he now has a** weakness.**" _

_000000000000000_

_Question: **"What would you do if Claude , Hannah , the triplets , and Luka showed up at the Phantomhive manor ?"** by Guest_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I suppose we'd have to let Luka stay, and if we let him stay, I'm sure Hannah will have as well, along with those triplets. I'm not letting Claude in. They had better work, and not freeload like a certain blonde.  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"Luka stays. Hannah can stay, too. What the hell, let the triplets in too! Claude can piss off. I don't want him anywhere near me."  
_

_Sebastian's Answer:_**_*annoyed twitch*_**

_000000000000000_

_Question: "**question and the Sensational Seven must answer. What would your reaction be to Daniel and Audrey going out and falling in love? Don't worry Daniel, you're on top."** by That Girl Mallie_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Well, I didn't see that one coming..."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"Huh... But Daniel always struck me as more of a bottom..."  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"I... I agree with Alois, actually..."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:_**_"NO."_**

_Daniel's Answer:__"For the love of-! I don't care if I'm the 'man' in the relationship! I don't want to screw a guy or be screwed by one! I HAVE A 'ONE-DICK LIMIT' IN MY BEDROOM."  
_

_Preston's Answer:__"Is homosexuality contagious now, or something?"  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"Oh, well..."_

_000000000000000_

_Question: **"So, are the ghouls contagious? Just wonderin'**" by HoneyCloud of RiverClan_

_Answer by Doctor Ackerman:__Ghouls are the result of either someome having their blood drained by a vampire of the same gender, or of someone having their blood sucked and not being a virgin. It is unclear as to why these are factors, as of now. There are still many things unclear about supernatural beings, but to answer your question: YES._

_Ghouls are very contagious. Ghouls aren't like vampires, and as such, being bitten by one will automatically spread the infection regardless of the two factors of becoming one via vampire bite. The infected will get up- if there is still enough left of them to do so, that is._

_We theorize that there is a chemical response of some sort to one loosing their virginity, just as their are certain chemicals within the vampire's body indicating it's gender. Those chemicals may respond "positively" when the conditions are met, resulting in vampirism, or negatively, resulting in a ghoul when the right chemicals aren't mixed. Those "negative" chemicals will spread to other bodies when contact is made between bodily fluids, such as a bite, were the ghouls saliva mixes with the human's blood when the skin is broken. Again, this is simplya theory..."  
_


	202. Poor Nessie

"Gentlemen, I welcome you to _paradise!" _shouted an overly excited Daniel, waving his arms in the air.

Approximately one month had passed since Alois and the others had returned home from the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. camp. The blonde somehow found himself missing the two odd maids that had lived with them for so long, but fortunately for him, the pair would visit on occasion, much to the annoyance of a certain bluenette and his butler. Sebastian didn't find the vampire an irritant in the slightest. In fact, Charlotte was one of the Phantomhive household's more competent workers in a long while. It was Amelie that annoyed him so, as the man's hatred of dogs runs deep.

In that time, Audrey had patched things up with his mother, keeping the entire affair a secret from his step-father, of course. It took a while, but once they sat down and talked it out, they seemed to reach some sort of understanding. Mrs. Baines accepted that the lad's pursuit of the supernatural was simply something he had to do, and Audrey accepted that his mother simply wanted him to be careful and not get hurt. It was amazing what good communication could solve.

Speaking of which, Audrey also had been keeping in touch with _Nigel Irons_. They would sometimes come over to each other's houses and play video games, like Audrey often did with Preston. Thus, the Indian boy had become acquaintances with the Irons boy as well.

Now, it was decided that before summer ended, that the sensational seven would have to take their annual trip to the beach, declared "_annual"_ by a certain politician's son, of course. This time, they wouldn't be at Preston's beach house, as it wasn't big enough to accommodate the amount of people on their expedition this time. Now, they ventured to the Miles family's property, as it was the only one both big enough, and the only one that was permitted, as Daniel's father said "no" to his silly request.

"Shut up, and stop acting like you own the place." said Kristopherson, twirling the key around his finger as they walked up to the door. "Just promise me you won't _break_ anything..."

"I solemnly swear!" replied the Westley lad with a salute. The other boy simply rolled his eyes as he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Immediately, the others gawked at the interior.

"It's so... _stylish..." _Preston said aloud, gazing around the room. It was similar to the faux-blonde's house in it's modern-style interior, only slightly less open. Kristopherson almost seemed to light up at the comment, forgetting the tiredness from an excruciatingly long car-ride.

"Of course! Did you expect anything_ less?" _he asked, almost glowing.

_ "Oh my God!" _Alois shouted suddenly, startling the others, making some of them jump. He raised his arm to point at their host, making the pink-loving boy somewhat wary.

"_What?" _Kristopherson snapped. He was about to go on a full-out speech about modern-style interior decorating before the outburst of the blonde menace inturrupted him. The others were thankful for this, but at the same time, were quite confused.

"I just noticed..." the blonde began, his tone serious. This made the others somewhat nervous, including Kristopherson, for whatever reason. "Did anyone else notice it?"

"What are you talking about?" Bones asked, looked at the faux-blonde as he tried to figure out what on earth the fair-haired demon was on about this time.

"I just noticed... _Kristopherson got his ears pierced." _

There was a long silence after that. It was as though no one was sure exactly how to respond to that. They weren't sure if they should ask the Miles boy about his piercings, or the Trancy boy as to why he was so downright _odd._ There was one person, however, who did respond. Now, it could be debated as to whether or not his response was appropriate, of course, simply due to the fact that the one who spoke first was none other than _Daniel Westley._

"Bwa-ha-ha-ha! _You pierced your ears?_ Haha!" he said with outstanding volume. "I swear, Kris, you just keep getting gayer and gayer!"

He stopped talking when he felt a sudden chill down his spine. Slowly, he turned around to see a certain bluenette glaring at him with his "ice-beam". It was then that Daniel noticed for the very first time, that the Phantomhive boy too, _wore earrings_.

"Oh, well... Uh..." Daniel quickly began to scramble for a way to save his skin, becoming only able to speak in small fragments and thinking noises.

_ "It's how you wear them!" _he said suddenly, yet the chill didn't subside. He had to fix this soon, or he would most likely get frostbite. "Kris always dresses really girly, and you _don't,_ Ciel! On you, it only makes you look _mysterious!_"

"Now, being the son of a politician, Daniel, I would expect you to be much better at _bullshitting._" the bluenette remarked. It was taking every fiber of his being to be intimidating while ignoring the blonde who was currently pinching his earlobes for no other purpose than to annoy the bluenette.

"Alois, how are you not _dead_ yet?" Preston asked, cowering from the Phantomhive boy's frightening aura like most of the people in the room.

"Oh, _I am." _the blonde said flatly, causing the others stomachs to drop. Preston was already suspicious of the true nature of the demonic duo. What if Alois had just alerted him of their secret.

"How on earth does _that_ work?" the Indian boy asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Because I'm secretly a _timelord_." Alois joked, causing a sigh of relief to escape the lips of the other lads. _Of course_ he was only joking around.

"Okay, but what happens when you_ run out of times you can regenerate?" _Preston inquired, playing along. "How many times have you already?"

"Turn to page _three-hundred and ninety four_." the fair-haired demon replied, finally having his hands swatted away by the bluenette, bringing his pestering to a halt.

"What? _That doesn't make sense!"_

"Your _face _doesn't make sense!"

"Preston, just don't question it." Ciel finally intervened. Who knows were that conversation could have gone if he hadn't?

"Alois is _as mad as a bag full of ferrets." _said Audrey. The others simply nodded in response.

"I am not! I am _perfectly _coherent. " argued the blonde."You all simply lack the_ capacity _to understand my _genius!"_

"_What 'genius'?" _asked Kristopherson, taking a seat on the couch. He looked up at the lad with a smirk, amused by the blonde's pout. "Anyway, what's the plan, now? Do we assign rooms, or piss around a bit longer?"

"I bet Daniel would like us to tell scary stories again!" joked Preston.

"Sod off! _No scary stories!" _the brown-haired teen declared. "Anyone who starts telling scary stories will face my wrath!"

"So, this one time, I was out and about looking for ghosts, like I used to..." Audrey began, completely ignoring the other boy's threats. "I heard about this one abandoned house in the city that was said to be inhabited by _several_ ghosts, so of course I had to check it out. _I'll never go back." _

"It was terrifying." he continued after a short pause to gauge his audience's reactions. "I walked around for a few minutes, and was about to give up, but then I started to hear barking. It sounded like dogs. At first, I just figured that somebody living nearby had dogs, but it just kept getting _louder."_

"I kept looking around, but the barking got louder! It got so loud that it felt like my ears were going to fall off! Then I started to hear other noises too. I heard footsteps, like someone was following me, but every time I turned around, there was no one there. In addition to that, I started hearing a crying baby, and little kids laughing. Every noise that I heard just kept getting louder as I went upstairs. By that point I had to cover my ears. I still don't know why I didn't just leave at that point, but he more I walked in a certain direction, the louder the sounds would get. I knew better, but I just had to find out what was at the end."

"I rounded a corner, and it all just stopped. All of it. I could only hear the ringing of my ears. That wasn't the major thing I noticed, though. When I looked down the hallway, there was a door cracked open slightly, with a light peeking out. I was terrified, but I still forced myself to go check it out." Bones was starting to go pale as he continued the story. He stopped for a moment to gather himself before resuming it.

"I walked up to the door, and peeked through the crack. I got my camera ready just in case, but I wouldn't get to use it. I was too distracted by that woman standing there, looking out the window. She was just there, she wasn't doing anything. Just standing. I guess I moved my foot or something, because the floorboard creaked, and she started to turn around._ Her face... It was hardly there... It was all mangled... _Now, I think that she must've been attacked by a dog, but then, all I could do was stare."

"Then she screamed and ran at me! I high-tailed it out of there! I slammed the door in her face and nearly fell down the stairs as I ran!" the boy claimed. Ordinarily, one would think that such a tale was made up, but the fact that Bones seemed actually _frightened_ by his own story made it semi-convincing.

"You're... Your're making that up, right?" asked Daniel. He swallowed when the boy shook his head.

"I dropped my camera on the way out. I can show you the address and you can go get it, if you don't believe me." the boy in the skull beanie replied. The Westley boy quickly shook his head back and forth, indicating his response. There was no way that he was going to get that camera.

"So you used to go to haunted houses a lot, then?" asked Alois, tilting his head. "Have you seen other stuff too?"

"Yeah, but nothing that actually tried to _attack_ me!" Audrey replied, scratching his neck. "Usually I just hear a noise or two, or see little_ glimpses _of something, if I see them at all. Sometimes they'll look at me, too, which is really freaky, but until then, I've never heard a bunch of scary noises and was attacked by one!"

"Have you ever tried to find the _Loch Ness Monster?" _asked Preston, the only one sort of doubting Audrey's credentials.

"Don't be silly. The Loch Ness Monster _isn't real_."

And thus began the second annual summer beach getaway of the Sensational Seven.

* * *

**A/N: Ain't nobody got time for no Loch Ness Monster! Loch Ness Monster owes me_ tree-fiddy!_  
**

**Happy Birthday to Audrey~! June 4th~! Whee~! **

**I wouldn't had noticed if _InvaderPhantom16 _hadn't pointed it out in the reviews! I totally forgot when I wrote that their birthdays were! Kudos to you~!**

**We missed Kristopherson's and Cameron's. Sorry, boys...**

**Oh, and I totally made up Audrey's story on the fly. Did ya notice?**

**Ah, I'm a little later than usual today. I was stumped on what to do, so I started drawing to help me think of something. Then I got really into drawing and forgot. The results of that should end up on my Deviantart by tomorrow~!**

**I hate that this is filler. Repetitive filler, too. Maybe I can add some character development in and "_un-fillerfy_" it. Who knows? I'm stalling until I've got the next actual arc. Ideas?**

**It makes me smile when somebody else talks about me in their author's notes. I've been stumbling across that lately, and it makes me feel all tingly inside~!**

**SPARKLES IN MY HEART. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧**

**Ah, I should review stuff more often, but I can never think of anything to say! I don't wanna just say "good job" or some generic shit, and I don't want to got grammar-nazi or point out mistakes, or give an English lesson, which I'm really bad to do. Just ask my school's anime club. (I'm not even sorry. You're in high-school. Write like a goddamn high-schooler, ya punks. Ya puuuuuuunks!) I wanna point out the stuff I really, really like, but just can't seem to find the words! There's actually a few fics that I read, and it makes me feel like a douchebag for not reviewing! UGH.**

**Questions?**

**"Ms. HateWeasel! *Whips out microphone* how do you feel about your amazing story being OVER 200 CHAPTERS?!" by FreezinWinter**

**It makes me feel like I need a better hobby, or like I should go outside more! My mom keeps telling me to come out of my room and be "social" sometime, anyway... I just wanna surf the internet, write fanfiction, and listen to my weird-ass music that I know everyone at my house will hate!  
**

**It's alright, I guess. It's not really different from having any other amount of chapters. It just shows that I have way too much time for this shit. I'm not entirely sure why this thing is so popular in the first place, really. Aren't there a lot of "Kuroshitsuji III" fics out there? It's not at all that unique in concept.**

** Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: "**for the seven...If you had to sleep with one of the seven, which one would you sleep with?"** by TheMoonAndStarsLove_

_Ciel's Answer:"Alois?"_

_Alois' Answer: "Ciel~!"_

_Kristopherson's Answer: "Ugh! Under what circumstances would that ever happen? Quite frankly, I don't want to sleep with any of them. I'm not a whore, you know. I have standards!"  
_

_Audrey's Answer:"Oh God... Seriously? Why? I have no idea how to answer that. In all scenarios, it would be extremely awkward and unsettling, if not** traumatizing.** Which ever one will cause the least amount of emotional and phsysical scarring, along with the least reputational damage, I guess. I'd rather not, though. I like girls..." _

_Daniel's Answer:"GODDAMMIT! WHY YOU DO DIS?! I don't wanna screw a man! I don't want to get screwed by a man, either! Especially people I'll have to deal with later!"  
_

_Preston's Answer:"Oh, yes, I would definitely diddle one of my friends, and then turn around and say: 'Well, that was extremely unpleasant and traumatizing for the both of us. I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow! Take care!' HELL NO. That would be stupid, not to mention pointless, as **no one** gains anything from that. I certainly don't."  
_

_Travis' Answer:***shudders***  
_

_0000000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: "**Okay I have question for the sensational 7. What would you do or what are your reactions if you walked in on ciel and alois taking people's souls?"** by Guest_

_Kristopherson's Reaction:"Oh... Well... This it... Extremely awkward... Oh wait, they're dead?! You ate their soul?! What the fuck!? That's fucked up! Murder! Right in front of me! And what the bloody hell are you going to do with the body?! _

_Audrey's Reaction:"Oh... Wait, what? Oh, you ate their soul? Blimey... Who was that, anyway? You didn't just... Kill them **randomly**, right? Oh, a contract? That's... **better**, I guess... What are you going to do? There's a body in the middle of the floor!"  
_

_Daniel's Reaction:"ARE YOU CHEATING?! Oh, you just took their soul, huh? Well, I guess that's- Wait, THAT'S NOT OKAY! That's some serious shit! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?! Wait, wait, wait, YOU AREN'T GOING TO EAT MINE, ARE YOU?! Oh... Okay... Good... You nearly made my piss myself for a second there..."  
_

_Preston's Reaction:"Oh God! What?! WHAT?! Are they DEAD?! Whoa! WHOA! NECROPHILIA?! I'm calling the yard, you freak!" _

_Travis' Reaction: "Their soul? They signed a contract, right? They asked for this, right? I don't think that quite justifies it, but at the same time, as long as they aren't suffering anymore, I guess that's fine... "  
_

_000000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"ciel and alois what would you do if sebastian came up and said ciel I AM YOUR FATHER ! And alois how would you feel if ciel was your relative?"** by Wooimmafox1305_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I would slap him for even **joking** like that."  
_

_Alois' Answer:_**_*shudders*_**_ "Ugh, that idea is so **gross**..."  
_

_Sebastian's Answer (for no reason):__"I suppose I do slightly resemble the previous Earl of Phantomhive in appearance. A demon can change their shape into that which their master needs most at that moment on a subconscious level. Perhaps, since my lord had just lost his parents at the time, that is what he needed me to be. Just a thought. I hadn't really thought about it before..."  
_

_0000000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Alois, I command you to look up 'Megurine Luka', preferably on Google. Your reaction?"** by HoneyCloud of RiverClan_

_Alois' Answer:__"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! Anyways, I kinda like it. I wish I could understand what they were saying though. I guess she looks kinda like Luka, a little bit around the eyes, and in the shape of her face..." ***sigh* **_


	203. The Sun, The Sea, And The Seven

Somewhere along the coast of the United Kingdom, there is a beach house. There, the Sensational Seven stay while they frolic along the shore and play to their heart's content while under the watchful eye of a certain butler. Now as a member of the seven, Audrey joins ni the fun as well.

It actually took the others a moment to recognize Bones while in his swimwear. He wasn't wearing his beanie, and his hair hadn't grown back to it's usual length, making his eyes visible. Kristopherson almost thought he was a trespasser, and almost accidentally asked him to leave.

"Alright, Bones, listen up. There's another tradition that we must perform while on holiday, and you have to join in, too." said Daniel, in an unusually serious tone. Everyone simply knew that he was going to mess it up by saying something absurd, though.

"And that would be...?" Audrey braced himself for whatever nonsense that the brown-haired teen was about to lay down. Slowly, Daniel swung his arm in a different direction, pointing at a certain bluenette.

"Tossing Phantomhive into the water!" he declared enthusiastically. Immediately, Ciel tried to escape, but alas, it wasn't to be as the blonde menace grabbed him, holding him in place while the others helped him drag to boy over to the water.

_ "I will destroy all of you!" _the irate bluenette demon-boy warned, struggling every step of the way. He could have perhaps escaped the lads' grasp, but he didn't want to hurt the boys with his superior strength. Holding back, however, was a mistake on his part, as the others also had Alois and Audrey on their side, both having above human-level brute force. "_Let me go at once!"_

"Alright, lads! You heard him!" Alois shouted, smiling as he gripped his designated portion of the bluenette's mass. "Ready? _Eins, zwei, drei!"_

Ceil hated this ritual, and cursed the group as he soared through the air and into the cool water below. Fortunately, his swimming ability had improved some, thanks to the preivious times they had done this to him, and he didn't sink like a rock like usual. The other lads laughed, and joined him by diving into the water as well while he swore practically every foul word that he knew at the top of his lungs.

They all took turns trying to shove each other underwater and splashing the less-than-sanitary, salty sea-water into each other's faces, stinging their eyes slightly. It was all fun and games until they found seaweed, and then they took turns slapping each other with it for some reason unknown. It would appear that "going swimming" was simply an excuse for the boys to try and kill each other, but, this is simply how they "play".

Soon, things escalated when Alois hatched a devious idea, one that was risky to execute. While his lower half was concealed by the water, he partially transformed into his demonic self, gaining access to his tail. No one was any wiser, so he wrapped the appendage around Daniel's ankle and gave it a swift yank, pulling the boy under the waves with a yelp before letting him go. Poor Daniel hadn't the faintest clue as to what was attacking him, and frantically slashed about and shouted, convinced that there was a snake or something assaulting him.

_ "Holy shit! What the fuck was that!?"_ the boy exclaimed, his frightened voice cracking a bit_. "A s-s-snake?! It felt like a snake! But snakes don't pull you underwater! What the fuck was that?!"_

While the others were searching around for the mysterious serpent-like assailant, the blonde menace simply laughed, and laughed, and laughed at the scared lads, being the only one aware of it's true identity. Well, _one of the only ones_. Naturally, the Phantomhive boy caught on right away, knowing full-well that the blonde menace was obviously the culprit. With a smirk, the bluenette reached into the water, and grabbed hold of the offending tail, causing the blonde to squeak in surprise, his face immediately turning red at the contact.

He turned to look at the smirking boy, knowing full-well what the bluenette was planning on doing next. He rapidly shook his head back and forth, but his denial was ignored, and with a swift yank, he too, ended up beneath the water's surface. When the blonde came back up again, he had reverted to his ordinary, tailless form after having learned his lesson.

"_That hurt!"_ he exclaimed, not at all keen on the rough handling of the temporary extention of his spinal chord.

"Then keep your appendages to yourself!" the bluenette scolded. "In case you don't already know, not everyone here is _'aware', _remember?"

"Nobody _saw._ It's all good." Alois replied.

_ "I_ _saw._ Now, please _don't _try that again."

"What makes you think I should obey that request?"

"I said _'please',_ didn't I?"

"_Fair enough."_

"Hey! _Mister and Missus Phantomhive!" _called Daniel, waving his arms at them. "Quit bickering! It's time to go!" The demonic duo paused to glance back at each other for a second before the blonde was shoved back into the water one last time and then, with much reluctance, they began to make their way back to shore. Even then, however, the conversation wasn't over.

"I still don't see why I'm _'Missus Phantomhive'_." Alois said as they all walked back to the house. The others simply gave him an odd look before continuing to silently walk again. "What!? What kind of reaction was that?"

"We all know _what you did,_ Alois." spoke Audrey, trying to get some of the water out of his ears.

"_What did I do?!"_

"Absolutely nothing. It was _Phantomhive _who did _you_." joked Daniel, earned punches from practically all of the others for that image.

"We don't want to know about that!" said Preston.

"How do you even _know_ these details, Dan?" asked Kristopherson. "On second thought, maybe _I don't _want to know..."

"Too far, Daniel. _Too far_." said Travis.

"What? Just _look _at them! It's so _obvious _who the '_man'_ is!" Daniel argued. His legs collapsed and he fell when the blonde kicked the back of his knee for that remark. Alois looked down at him for a moment before walking onward.

"Sod off!" he said. His cheeks red and his ego bruised. "That's for Ciel and me to know, and for you lot to never find out!"

"Good. We don't wanna." said Audrey. The sun was setting on the first day of their trip, but the evening still held quite a few surprises.

* * *

**A/N: Goddammit, Daniel... This is why the readers are so vicious to you in the questions...  
**

**I totally could have gotten this done sooner, but I was drawing again. I haven't simply sat down and drawn my little heart out in a while, so it's nice.**

**Feels good, man.**

**I'll post that shit on deviantart later... So far, the weirdest image of the day has to be either Demon!Kristopherson, or Schoolgirl!Kristopherson. Oh god, I should be ashamed of myself... (And I totally am.) Drawing Kris in girly clothes is just so fun, though...**

**Oh, you guys~! Tellin' me to stop being negative about my shit. **

**IT'S WHAT I DO.**

**I dunno. Maybe I am a little bit hard on myself. I just really can't believe this thing that I made on a whim got so popular... How did this happen?**

**Question for Moi: "what type of chocolate is your favorite?" by HoneyCloud of RiverClan**

**Just Milk Chocolate. Dark chocolate is too bitter, and white chocolate isn't REALLY "chocolate". Ooh! Ooh! You know what else is good? Hazelnut chocolate. That shit's fucking delicious. It's basically nutella, only, if you get the more expensive kind, it's even tastier.  
**

**I don't care if it wasn't relevant. It was still interesting to answer.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~! Hopefully something will actually happen~! (It totally will)**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET RUN, SHOTAS! RUN!  
**_

_Question: **"A question for the 7: okay, yes, you have to sleep with one of the other 7. But, for that one fun night, the person you choose is turned into a girl. Who would It be?"** by Emeraldpaw  
_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Scary thing is, with Alois, that actually might be possible..." _

_Alois'__ Answer:_**_*Nosebleeds*_**

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Ugh. No. Just no. Girls are **pretty** and all, but I just can't... Nope. I just can't. Nope, nope, nope! The idea of being with a **girl** is just... **Ew.** Is this how the others feel when asked these questions?" _

_Audrey's Answer:__"As 'fun' as that all sounds, I have stuff to do; Stuff that involves not worrying about getting my friends pregnant..."  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"I wonder which one would be the hottest... Alois? Maybe Kris? I wonder what Ciel and Audrey would look like... Wait, they'll turn back into a guy the next morning! I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THAT! I'd have to awkwardly interact with them and stuff, and in the end, I STILL don't get a girlfriend!"  
_

_Preston's Answer:__"Aren't you only supposed to do 'that' with someone you really like? If I don't like them as guys, why would I like them as girls? I don't even know if I could see any of them in a sexual way, knowing that they're actually guys..."  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"That still sounds terrifyingly awkward..."  
_

_00000000000000_

_Question: **"Hey Audrey, if you were to ever become a full shinigami, would you go for a classic scythe as a weapon or would you go for something else?"** by SisterOfScarletDevil_

_Audrey's Answer:__"That would be so wicked... Yeah, I think I'd probably go with the classic scythe. Problem is though, where would I put it? I can't just go walking down the street with a scythe in my hands. Someone would call the police on me!"  
_

_00000000000000_

_Question: "**Question for Ciel: What would you do if Alois suddenly started singing i'm not wearing underwear today by avenue q?"** by sebastianthedemonbutler_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Actually, that's pretty normal for him to do. That's just an average Saturday at our house..."  
_


	204. Nigel And?

"Ugh, _sea water is so bad for my hair_..." said Kristopherson, as all of the lads simply sat in the living room after a long day of playing.

"So is _bleaching the absolute shit out of it." _Audrey replied. He was back in his signature hat, but still looked somewhat odd, as his bangs still lacked their usual length. As of that moment, he had the remote to the television after the boys spent an hour or so fighting over it. Because of this, the channel they ended up on was _Sci-Fi,_ and they were currently watching _Face-Off. _Kristopherson couldn't really argue with the choice, since the show was about Hollywood monster make-up, making it at least slightly interesting.

"I bet when Kris get's older, he's going to go _bald_." said Preston, earning the laughter of the others aside from the pink-loving faux-blonde.

"I am _not_ going to go _bald!"_

"You could always just shave it off." Alois suggested, making a motion above his head as though he were pretending that his hand was an electric razor.

"I can't even imagine Kris as a _skinhead_." said Audrey.

"Leave me alone!"

"Hey, Bones, do you know when _Nigel _is supposed to get here?" asked Preston. The Irons boy was invited on the trip as well, but couldn't come with them on the first day, as he had a doctor's appointment, so he was going to arrive late on the second day.

"I dunno. Shouldn't be too much longer, though." the boy in the skull beanie replied, looking at the clock on the wall. It was somewhat hard to read because of it's overly "stylish" design. Everything in that house was that way. It was almost uncomfortable due to the fact that it looked as though they were in the future, or something to that extent.

"Is his dad bringing him? That would suck." Alois chimed in. He was perhaps the most familiar with the teacher, as Mister Irons had sent him to detention and to the headmaster's office countless times. He, like the others, wasn't to keen on the idea of having to spend time with the grouchy man, especially when they were supposed to be on vacation. Fortunately, the man wouldn't be able to give him detention for acting up.

"Yeah. I think so. I think the plan was that he's going to stay for the night, and drive home in the morning. Nigel's going ride with us on the way back."

"Just the night?" the blonde asked. "That's not so bad, then."

An hour or so passed after that, and a war for the remote control broke out once more, the only ones wisely staying out of it being Travis, Ciel, and shockingly, Alois, who apparently preferred snuggling up against the bluenette and embarrassing him, over fighting. When it seemed like someone finally had it, someone else would take it away, and those two would sling insults while a third party swiped the device while the first two were distracted, only to repeat the process again. Yes, this happened for almost an entire hour. It would seem that this is going to occur whenever it was time to switch "turns" in order to select a show. The others simply watched as this occurred, including Sebastian, of all people, who found the endeavor to be especially amusing. It was as though he would never cease to be amazed by the silliness of human beings.

The butler's attention shifted elsewhere, as he heard the sound of a car pulling up to the beach-house. He got up out of his seat and straightened himself before walking over to the door, opening it, precisely as Mister Irons was about to knock. The other man simply stood there for a moment, as though he needed to process how he did that, but, remembering the butler's true identity, it didn't take him long.

"Ah, Mister Irons! So glad you could make it. Please, do come in." Sebastian said, going through the usual script he would perform in order to greet guests with hospitality.

"Don't mind if I do." the teacher replied, taking up the other man's offer, his son following suit. "That drive seems much longer than it really is. Probably even longer for you, though, right?"

"Yes, it can get a little on the tedious side with _children yelling in the backseat_." It was at that moment when Sebastian realized that his job was making him behave more and more like a _parent, _rather than a _demon_.

While the adults conversed, Nigel quietly made his way over to the other boys. His prescence brought the "remote-wars" to a temporary cease-fire, as they all stopped to look at him. He shyly smiled at them, only knowing three out of the seven. The rest were strangers, really. Still, that could be fixed, and it was, as Daniel was the first to introduce himself.

"Hullo! I'm Daniel. I'm the guy in charge around here." he said with a smile, walking up to the boy.

"You _wish!" _shouted Kristopherson. "It's _my_ house, you pillock."

"Hey, you should _watch out _for that guy, mate. He's a _major homo." _Daniel not-so-quietly whispered to the Irons boy.

"Just ignore him, Nigel. He's an idiot." said Audrey, silently offering the boy a seat on the couch. "Kristopherson won't hurt you. The most he'll do is_ criticize your fashion-sense."_

"Oh, okay?" Nigel said nervously, still unsure about the new environment and acquaintances.

"That over there is Travis." the boy in the skull beanie continued, gesturing to the boy. "He doesn't talk much, but he's a nice guy. The one in pink is Kristopherson. He owns the place, so don't piss him off. The one that Alois is hanging all over is Ciel, and Daniel already introduced himself, so he's not worth mentioning..."

"_Hey!"_

"Oh. He's kind of _whiney_, though..."

Nigel simply smiled at each boy as they were introduced, unsure of what to say. It was odd; the boy was usually more outspoken than this. Now, it was as though he was acting_ like a totally different person._ Before the "remote-war" could break out again, Alois quickly picked up the remote and handed it to the ginger.

"Here, pick something." he said, not wanting to sit through another hour of the others bickering and fighting over the small device. He held it out to the boy for a moment longer before Nigel took it, eying the buttons. What he said next truly shocked the blonde.

_ "Yes, your highness."_

Alois' eyes went wide at the words. The words themselves, the expression on the boy's face when he said it, the and his tone; everything about the way Nigel had said that completely shocked the blonde. He sat there frozen for a moment, staring at the boy who was just sitting there smiling at him. The moment only ended when the Irons lad felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see his father standing behind the sofa, looking at him with a rather serious expression.

"Can I have a word with you for a moment, _'Nigel'?" _the man asked. The lad's smiled wavered for a moment, but he complied.

"Okay." he said, his voice sounding somewhat nervous. He stood up and followed his father to the kitchen, where they hoped to converse in private. Naturally, this made the others curious.

"What was _that_ about?" asked Daniel, being the one to break the silence first.

"Who knows?" Kristopherson replied. He turned his head to face the demonic duo. "Hey, can you _hear_ anything?"

"If you all will shut up for a moment, maybe." answered the bluenette. The room got deathly silent, save for the mumbling sound of the people on the television. The duo listened carefully, trying to pick up the conversation currently going on in the kitchen.

"Why did you come out?" asked the teacher, putting his hands on his hips and looking at the boy with a stern expression.

"I dunno! I can't _control _when I come out._ It just happens!" _the boy replied, slightly more animated than usual.

_ "You need to give Nigel back his body." _Mister Irons said.

"I _would, _but _I don't know how!"_

_ "What the fuck?" _mouthed Alois back in the living room. The others looked at the duo, silently asking what it was they were hearing. All they could do was simply shrug in response, as they hadn't the faintest clue as to what the pair were talking about.

Mister Irons sighed, and rubbed his temples. They had gone through this discussion many, many times in the past, and it never got any easier. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak again.

"Alright, just... Just do your best to _act like Nigel _when you're around the others, okay?"

"I'm _tryin'! _It's really hard!" the lad replied. "I dunno how long I can do that until Nigel _comes back!" _

"I know. I know you're doing you're best, but you can't go around acting like an _eight-year-old _inside of a _fifteen-year-old's body_."

"Why not? _My big brother's_ here, so it should be _fine_, right?" Mister Irons simply crouched down and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. He shook his head with a sad expression before speaking again.

"_But Luka, he doesn't know it's you."_

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, DUUUUUN!  
**

**Cliffhanger~!**

**Don't worry. It'll make sense, I promise~!**

**Oh, I had a question from _chestnutghost_ from forever ago, that I meant to answer because it was a really good one, but didn't...**

**"I was thinking about the last couple of chapters, and maybe the reason Integra is so mean to Ciel is because she secretly liked him, cause you said she knew him since she was young like he looks, and she is so bitter because she grew up and he didn't. So that's why she snuck into bed when he was asleep. What do you think of this hateweasel?"**

**I really like this idea, because it just makes so much sense, BUT, at the same time, I really like the idea that Sir Hellsing is this extremely strong-willed individual who doesn't require the input of others in order to function. She's extremely dutiful, and I think that even if she did at one point have a little "crush" on Ciel, she wouldn't allow that to effect her judgement, or behaviour. **

**Instead, I think she teases him because they are both so similar, in that they are both intelligent, dutiful, patriotic, strong-willed, and most of all, prideful, with an overbearing presence of authority. I don't think she quite knows what to do with that, because she is so used to being on top of everything and being in control all of the time, and here comes a person who also has to be in control, and won't yield to her. That probably slightly intimidates her, because she isn't quite sure how to respond to that. He's also a demon on top of all of that, and is one of the creatures that is an enemy of her organization.**

**He's too similar to herself, and is a demon, but they're also supposed to be on the same side, so instead of simply duking it out, she pesters him in order to show him that she is in charge. I believe that the situation is similar on Ciel's end as well.**

**She crawled into bed while he was asleep because she's too big to sleep in the chair, and is too prideful to resort to sleeping on the floor. In addition, he's in the shape of a CHILD, so I doubt she's concerned about being "attacked" or anything.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET I WANNA GO TO BED NAO PLZ  
**_

_Question: **"**_**Ciel... don't kill me for this... When you dressed up as a girl for a party... you enjoyed a bit of it... didn't you... you adored putting on the corset too! _ sorry man, just had to, alois... you know what to do"** by Tree Hugger

Ciel's Answer:"No, I did NOT! That has to be one of the lowest points in my one-hundred and twenty-eight years of life! NEVER AGAIN!"

Alois' Answer:"I'll be here to help him take it off~! (If you know what I mean~!)"

000000000000000

_Question: **"ciel what would you do if you had to go undercover as girl for a case would you do it? Alois: your thoughts on ciel as a cute girl?"** by singergirl01  
_

_Ciel's Answer:"Why would I wear a dress against my will when I can get Alois to do it willingly?" _

_Alois' Answer: ***nosebleeds***_

_Ciel: "What the hell? Do you have some weird fantasy about me being a girl, or something?"  
_

Alois: "Oh. No, it's not that... It's just the image of that combined with the image of you being on bottom... It's kind of... Y'know..." ***blushes***

Ciel: "..."


	205. Little Brother Is Watching You

The demonic duo simply sat there in silence for a moment. Alois' eyes were wide, and his jaw had dropped at what he had just heard. Could it be possible? How? How could Luka, is beloved little brother who he would do absolutely anything for, be alive after all of these years, and in the body of another person?

A wave of emotion crashed over the blonde at that moment. Feelings such as sorrow and regret, as well as fear; fear that it was all a lie. Yet underneath all of that, he felt unrequited joy. He was so happy that his brother was here, rather than in some form of purgatory, even if he wasn't quite himself. Alois didn't care if he was in a different body. Luka was Luka, and Luka was here, alive and well. That's all that mattered.

Immediately he tried to bolt up and run to the kitchen just to confirm this, but was held back by the bluenette. He yelled and shouted but the boy wouldn't let him go. He wouldn't let him go see Luka.

"Calm down! You don't even know if that's true!" Ciel said, trying to get a grip on the blonde and keep him seated. He was actually having a bit of difficulty with this, as the other boy was putting up a genuine fight.

"Let go of me! Let go!" Alois shouted, trying to escape the bluenette iron grip. His voice was starting to crack as he spoke. "I have to see him! _Just once!"_

"Whoa, what's with Trancy?!" asked Daniel, standing up. The other lads stood at attention as well, curious as to what had made the boy lash out like this.

"I'll tell you later! Sebastian! Help he hold him down!" the Phantomhive boy ordered. As such, the butler complied, grabbing the blonde's shoulders and holding him in a seated position on the sofa.

"No! No! Let go of me!" Alois was screaming at this point. Mister Irons and the boy believed to be the blonde's brother entered the room just to see what was the matter.

"Let go! Please! _Please!_ I need to see him!" Since simple barking out the command didn't do him any good, the blonde resorted to_ begging_. Yes, he begged for freedom. "Luka! _Luka!"_

_ "Jim!" _the Irons boy shouted back, trying to make his way over to the struggling blonde, only to be stopped by Mister Irons himself. "Leggo! Leggo of me!"

"Mister Irons, just let him go!" the bluenette called, and with a confused face, the man did just that. "Sebastian, let go of Alois, too!" Thus, Alois was free as well.

The two brothers collided with each other and fell backwards onto the floor from the impact. The two quickly recovered, as they were on a mission, and scrambled over to one another. Alois put his hands on the sides of the other boy's face, and simply stared at him for a moment.

"_Luka?_ Is... Is that _really...?" _He spoke softly, as opposed to his screaming from earlier. He couldn't even finish his sentence, and his vision was beginning to blur from the water threatening to pour out of his eyes.

"Yup! It's me!" the other boy said with a smile. He was doing his best not to cry either, but failed when the blonde pulled him into a tight hug.

"Luka... Luka... I can't believe it... _You're alright... You're really alright..."_

"_More or less,_ yeah..." he said, hugging the blonde back. "I missed you, _big brother_."

"Whoa! What? _'Big Brother'?!_ They're _related?!"_ asked Daniel, completely ruining the moment for the other bystanders. The Macken boys didn't even notice his outburst.

"No, Alois and Nigel _aren't,_ but Alois considers _Luka _to be his _'little brother'."_ Ciel said, making an attempt to clarify.

"I'm lost." said Kristopherson. "_'Luka'_ was Alois' little brother's name, right? How is he...?"

"Who's Luka?" asked Preston, immediately snapping the others in the room to attention. They had completely forgotten that the Indian boy wasn't aware of the true nature of the demonic duo. Audrey simply put his hand on the boy's shoulder and said.

"_It's a long story._ We'll probably tell you later. In short, Luka is Alois' _dead little brother."_

"He's dead!?"

"It would appear that Luka's _soul _is _seeking refuge in Nigel's body_, resulting in _multiple personality syndrome." _said Sebastian, folding his arms. "_Does that sound about right, Mister Irons?"_ He smiled at the new-found excitement, much to the other man's exasperation. With a sigh, the teacher made his reply.

_ "That's about what the doctors at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. said."_

"When did this start?" asked the bluenette, taking his eye off the two brothers for a moment.

"About _two years ago_, in the fall." replied the teacher, rubbing his temples. "Nigel went out for a run, and didn't come back for a whole day. I went to look for him, and ran across him by chance. He was in an alley, completely out of it. _He didn't know who I was_, and was_ terrified of cars _and stuff."

"Probably due to the time-gap." said Sebastian. "Alois had the same problem."

"Wait, _'two years ago, in the fall'... That's when Alois was resurrected_." Ciel said, thinking aloud. "Do you think that when we _separated his soul from Hannah's_, that _Luka's soul might have come loose as well?"_

"I suppose it's _possible..."_

"Wait, wait, wait... _'Resurrected'? 'Separating souls'?_ What the bloody hell are you talking about?!" asked Preston, being the only one in the dark about all of this.

His already suspicious nature was starting to make him really , the Phantomhive house was involved in some weird, special police-work, then, they were on the scene of that 'ghost ship' that appeared on the Thames river full of dead bodies and weapons, and now, they were talking about some bizarre occult-like stuff. Who exactly were these people? Why are they involved with these things? Is he even safe with them? He looked around the room, and noticed that no one else was bothered by any of this in the slightest. In fact, they all seemed to vaguely _understand _it.

"Ciel, _should we tell him_?" asked Audrey, looking to the bluenette.

"_Tell me what?"_

"Go ahead." the Phantomhive boy replied. "I've told that story far too many times for my taste."

"Alright, then. Preston, here's the _abridged version _of what's happening..." began the boy in the skull beanie. The Indian boy simply stared at him with a confused face.

"Basically, Ciel, Alois, and Sebastian, are all demons. _Real-life demons_." Bones said bluntly. "Luka is Alois' little brother from when he was _alive_, and Alois' name isn't really _'Alois'. _It's _'Jim'._ He got his fake name through _a series of unfortunate events _that I really don't want to talk about right now."

"Ciel and Alois were sworn enemies when they were 'alive', but then through an extremely complicated series of other events, Alois died, and Ciel ended up becoming a demon and for reasons only understood by Ciel, he decided to resurrect Alois using alchemy and black-magic two years ago, accidentally making him a demon. _Sound about right, Ciel_?"

"_That's about right." _the bluenette said, folding his arms. "You can choose to believe it, or not, Preston. I probably wouldn't either, in your position."

The image of the red eye appeared in the forefront of the Indian boy's mind at the explanation. It sounded ridiculous, outlandish, and like a complete joke, but with that eye, it somehow made sense. He was afraid. He was _very_ afraid at the idea. He looked around the room at the people in it, wide-eyed at what they could possibly be as well.

"Don't worry. _We're _all _humans_." said Krisotpherson, knowing the first logical question on the boy's mind. "We all just found out on our own."

"Audrey's only _half_ human, though." Travis pointed out.

"Oh, yeah. Audrey is _half Grim Reaper_." the faux-blonde added. Audrey offered Preston an apologetic smile, feeling somewhat guilty for not telling him. All Preston could do was simply gawk.

"That's... That's _insane!_ All of it! That's _fucking insane!"_ he shouted. "How can you all just _accept_ that!? _That's not normal!"_

_ "_What are you talking about? It's _perfectly normal!" _argued the blonde menace.

"It's normal! _It's normal!" _Luka echoed with a big grin.

"No, it's not!" argued Preston. "_'Normal' _people aren't friends with demons! _'Normal' _people don't know about all of this stuff!"

"So, are you saying that you would rather be _ignorant?"_ asked the Phantomhive boy suddenly, snapping Preston back to reality. "You would rather ignore facts? Go ahead, but that _'normalcy'_ that you're talking about _doesn't really exist_."

"But... How am I supposed to accept all of that?" asked the other boy. "It's just so out there..."

"Because they're our friends!" said Daniel. "They may be demons, and Audrey may not be entirely human, but they're still our friends. They're still the same."

"Yeah. Only a _racist _would shun them for being what they are." joked Kristopherson.

"They're still our friends. If nothing else, it only makes them more interesting." said Travis.

"Hey, Preston! I still wanna be able to play 'video-games' with you and Audrey!" said Luka, his childishness oddly surfacing from the older-looking body. Preston stopped to stare at each person as they spoke.

"So, _are we good?" _asked Audrey, holding out his hand. The Indian boy simply eyed it for a moment, and hesitantly, he shook it.

"Fine." he said. "But I better not be going to _Hell _for this."

"It's okay, you're friends with _Satan_, so even if you do, you'll be fine." Alois joked.

"Why am I _'Satan', _again?" asked the bluenette.

"I believe _having control over several demons_ might have something to do with it." said Kristopherson.

"Oh, so Ciel's _the devil?!" _asked Luka with a serious face.

"No, it's just a nickname..." clarified Audrey. "Oh, and you've been playing games with us this whole time, Luka?" The ginger nodded.

"Yup!" he said proudly. "You didn't notice?"

"Not at all. You're really good at pretending to be Nigel."

"Really?! It's really hard, though!" Luka said. "_I've never met Nigel,_ so I don't really know what he's like."

"What do you mean, you've _'never met him'?" _asked Kristopherson. "You're in his body, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but _he's always asleep when I'm awake." _the mentally younger boy said. "I hear he's nice, though."

"That's a sad thing, mate..." said Daniel.

"Wagh! Big brother! You're squeezing me too tight!" Luka said suddenly in response to the blonde's doting. "_I can't breathe!"_

"I can't help it! I don't want you to leave!" Alois replied, loosening his grip slightly. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too!"

_ "Luka!"_

_ "Jim!"_

"Hey, Trancy, I think you might wanna take it a little easy..." said Daniel, breaking up the brother's moment. "I think your _boyfriend's_ getting _jealous."_

"I am _not."_ the bluenette replied, crossing his arms over his chest indignantly. While he knew it was only _Luka_, seeing the blonde hanging all over someone else did in fact, slightly get on his nerves. The mentally younger boy blinked for a moment or so, letting that sink in.

"Oh, yeah! Big brother _like boys_, doesn't he?" he said finally. The other lads erupted into laughter at the statement. All of the seven aside form the demonic duo, who's cheeks turned red almost instantaneously. Even Sebastian let out a small chuckle at the statement.

"I don't like _boys_." the blonde argued, letting go of the other boy for a moment in order to look at him. "I just like _Ciel!"_

"But _Ciel is a boy_, isn't he?" Luka pointed out.

"That's not the point! I would like him if he's a boy, _or _a girl."

"Alois, _just stop talking." _the bluenette said, ignoring the snickering of the rest of the seven. _"We don't need to go there." _The younger Macken furrowed his brow at the bluenette's words.

"_You better be good to my big brother, or else I won't forgive you, got it?" _he threatened cutely. The seven were doing their very best to contain their laughter, some of them releasing a few snorts as they began to fail at doing so. Ciel was actually at a loss of words for how to respond to that. Had it been anyone other than Luka, he probably would have replied by saying that the blonde should "stop being an idiot, then". With a sigh, he said:

"_Don't worry, I will_." That's all he could say. He shot his famous "ice-beam" at the others on full blast when they erupted into laughter. Luka simply smiled.

"Good! So Ciel likes boys too?" he asked. "Do you like, _hold hands and stuff?"_

"Luka!" Alois warned.

"What? _Do you?"_

"Oh, they do_ a lot more than that!" _joked Daniel, nudging the boy's arm.

"Like _what?"_

"God dammit, Daniel!_ Shut up!" _Alois shouted.

"You mean like _hugging?"_

"_Can we please drop the subject?" _asked the bluenette.

"_What's going on?"_

* * *

**A/N: Oh, Luka... **

**This entire idea hit me when I read a review by _rasu,_ pointing out that Nigel acts similar to Luka, so I can't take all of the credit for that. When I read that, I saw it too, and just decided to roll with it. Hopefully this will work! I wanted to bring the kid in here, anyway. He's just so adorable~! **

**I'm glad you guys were excited about that. I wish I could have put more feels in here, and I'll hopefully do more of that later. I just got distracted by Preston's cynicalness. **

**Questions?**

**"hate weasel what cons do you actully go to and if so are you going to any this year?"**

**Ah, I mostly only go to _A2F_ (The _Arkansas Anime Festival_), because it's really close. Lately I've only gone in the spring, because of my school anime club's trip there, but now since I've graduated, I'll probably go to the one in autumn instead. I just like that one better. It feels like there's more stuff, and it isn't as hot. Seriously, I was cooking in my cosplay, this year. I was cosplaying as America this year, and the jacket I found that looked the closest to his was made out of actual leather, because I wasn't thinking. By the time I was like: "Hey, it's fucking hot in here!" I couldn't even take it off, because my sweat was making it stick to me. **

**Good times... _Good times..._I've also been thinking about going to _Konsplosion,_ but I dunno if I can afford it.  
**

**But, I'm definitely going to A2F, like always. Dunno if it'll be the spring one or the fall one yet, though. I haven't decided. I'll probably post something about it when the time comes.**

**Laters, duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEET  
**_

_Question:** "doctor ackerman...do you have a life?" **by Wooimmafox1305_

_Doctor Ackerman's Answer: "Hahaha. It's just my job to know these things, but I can see what you mean!"  
_

_0000000000000000_

_Question: **"Question for the demonic duo: Has Sebastian ever walked in on you when you were getting busy (if you know what i mean) other than that time with the towel incident, also the almost kiss?"** by sebastianthedemonbutler  
_

_Ciel's Answer:"I don't want to talk about it..."  
_

_Alois' Answer:"Yes... We were like, right in the middle of it... We didn't even have the covers over us... I've never been so embarrassed in my life..."  
_

_00000000000000000_

_Question: **"if Ciel turned into a girl, wouldn't those twintails get in the way?"** by HonelyCloud of RiverClan_

_Alois' Answer:__"Maybe, but I bet they'd also be pretty fun to pull."__  
_

_Ciel:__"Oh my God, Alois! NO. STOP TALKING."  
_

_Alois: "What? I mean in a** flirtatious** kind of way!"_

_0000000000000000_

_Question: **"Alois: ciel has turned into a house that can talk the reaction?"** by Wooimmafoz1305_

_Alois' Answer:__"What the actual fuck!?"_


	206. It's Normal

The very next day, the lads were out and about going through their usual routine of going to the beach and trying to drown each other while Mister Irons said goodbye to Nigel and took his leave, entrusting his conflicted child in the hands of Mister Michealis. He was certain of the butler's competence, and knew that the man would most likely be able to handle both Nigel and Luka, should he decide to come out. The whole predicament was still a bit confusing to the others, though.

"Wait, are you _Nigel_, or _Luka_ right now?" asked Daniel, arching an eyebrow at the ginger. The Irons lad simply sighed.

"I'm _Nigel..." _he said. He had the sinking suspicion that he's going to be asked that question plenty of times before going home. "Luka's asleep."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I'm just making sure." the politician's son replied somewhat bashfully. "I'm not even sure if _Alois_ can tell the difference."

"_I can._ It's really easy." the blonde chimed in. "The obvious sign is when he starts acting like a little kid, he's Luka. Nigel also _talks _differently."

"But you didn't notice while we were at camp together." Audrey pointed out.

"I wasn't _looking_ for Luka at camp." replied Alois.

"_Poor kid._ He must've felt _awful _that his own brother didn't even notice him- _hey!" _ Daniel stopped talking when the blonde menace spashed water in his face.

_ "Silence, infidel!"_ Alois commanded. "Another word out of you, and _I'll club you like a baby seal!"_

_ "Jesus_, Alois! _You can't just talk about clubbing baby seals!" _shouted Preston.

"I just _did!"_

"Is it just me, or are Alois' boundaries getting smaller and smaller?" asked a certain pink-loving lad.

"Actually, they're _improving." _said Ciel. "A hundred years ago, he might have _gouged Daniel's eye out."_

"That was _one _time!" the blonde objected. "That was common practice back in the day!"

"It was still _twisted_." the bluenette replied.

"Your _knickers_ are twisted!"

_ "Is that what happened to your eye, Ciel?" _Preston asked with a shudder. He looked frightened that the bluenette might say "yes". If he did, Preston may never look at Alois the same way again.

_ "No." _the boy replied instead. "It's where the mark of my Faustian contract with Sebastian is." He had forgotten to mention that when filling the Indian boy in on some of the other important details of his and the Trancy boy's pasts.

"_Can we see it?"_ Nigel asked excitedly. The manner with which he asked it in confused some of the others, as they wondered whether or not his excitability was simply Luka surfacing. With a sigh, the bluenette removed his swimming goggles with the one tinted lens and blinked.

"There. _Satisfied?" _the others simply gawked at the glowing purple pentacle. Even the others, who had seen it at least once before, couldn't help but do so. It was just so bizarre in the way it glowed.

"Does it _hurt?" _asked Kristopherson, not letting his eyes leave that one.

"It did when I got it. I had a pentacle _carved into my eye_, after all." the bluenette replied. "Now, it only tingles a bit whenever I give Sebastian an order."

"Bloody hell... That's crazy..." said Daniel, not even trying to be subtle in his gaping. "So, since it's carved in there, you can't really see out of it, can you?"

"I can see _movement,_ but nothing else. I can't even make out _shapes_."

"So _that's _what's under the eye-patch..." Preston said aloud. Next, you're gonna tell us that you wear a shirt while swimming to hide something else!" He knew he was joking, the others did too, but when the demonic duo didn't respond, he got nervous. "Wait... You don't, _do you?"_

"_I'm not taking my shirt off." _the bluenette said forcefully, crossing his arms across his chest. His outburst only made the others more curious.

"_What's he hiding, Alois?_" Daniel asked the blonde menace. "We _know _you've seen it." Alois glanced over at the Phantomhive boy for a moment, taking his time to answer.

"He's hiding the place were his _bat wings _come out." he lied. The others simply stared at the bluenette with frightened expressions, all but Audrey, who knew that was a fib.

_"He made that up! I don't have wings!"_ Ciel said insistently. He shuddered when the blonde placed his hand over the brand just beneath his left pectoral, disguising it as one of the usual semi-intimate touches he gives when he hangs on the bluenette. Ciel gave the boy a menacing look, as he knew Alois was only trying to mess with him.

_ "It's some really dark shit."_ the blonde said, his tone serious. The other lads simply took this as a sign to drop the subject.

"S-so... Uh..." Daniel began, looking for a way to change the subject. "Hey, Nigel, what's wrong?"

The boy was hunched over slightly, making an attempt to cover his torso with his hands and arms by hugging himself. His face was somewhat flushed, and a frown was firmly plastered across it. It took him a moment to realise that he was being spoken to.

"_N-Nigel's asleep..."_ the boy stuttered out. "I'm Luka."

"That's so confusing, but I can kind of see what Alois was talking about on how to spot the difference." said Audrey. "You okay?" The ginger shook his head slightly, hesitating before answering.

"_Why ain't I wearin' a shirt?"_ he asked, talking about his swimwear.

Nigel had come out to swim with just the standard pair of swim trunks that most other boy's wore. Luka wasn't used to being outside in such a state, being from the Victorian era, a time when swimsuits were extremely modest, even for men. Partial public nudity was not a "_thing"_ at that time_, _even for Luka, a boy from one of the lowest of low social classes. He crouched down, allowing himself to sink into the waist-deep waves in order to better cover himself.

"That's just the way people wear swimsuits nowadays, Luka." Alois said, wading over to the boy.

"That's _weird!"_ replied the younger Macken.

"If you want, Alois will probably take you back inside and you can put on a shirt." suggested Bones.

"But isn't that a waste of clothes?" asked Kristopherson.

"Only _you _would think of it that way, Kris." Daniel replied, jokingly. Luka, however, wouldn't budge, and instead started to blow bubbles in the water.

"One of us could go inside and bring him one." suggested Preston.

"Or, _Ciel _could just give him _his_." said Daniel, still curious about what the bluenette was hiding.

_"I said __**'no'."**_the Phantomhive boy replied, giving the Westley lad an icy glare.

"You seem a bit _too _interested in what's in the cyclops's shirt, Dan" joked Audrey.

"Don't even _joke_ like that, Bones." the politician's son replied. "I'm not a homo!"

"Then why do you want Ciel to _strip_ so badly?" Kristopherson teasingly asked. "That's pretty _gay."_

"You shut up, you _airy-fairy!"_ Daniel snapped. "You all wanna see what he's hiding too, right?"

"Yeah, but apparently not as badly as _you_." said Travis.

"I'm not gay! _I like girls!"_

Alois simply rolled his eyes and looked back to the ginger. "Can you wait here while I go and get you a shirt?" he asked.

"_Okay..." _Luka replied in an embarrassed manner.

"Do you know where Nigel's suitcase is?"

"No, sorry. I dunno where he put it..." Alios sighed in response.

"I'm sure I can find it." he said, turning his attention back to the others. "I'll be back in a sec. Make sure Daniel doesn't _corrupt _my brother, alright?"

"_Alright_." the others replied back, save for Daniel.

"I won't _corrupt_ him!" the Westley boy protested. "Wait, Ciel, what are you doing!?"

"What's it look like? _I'm giving him my shirt_." the bluenette replied plainly, his cheeks slightly pink. He lifted the somewhat damp piece of fabric over his head, and held it out to the younger Macken boy.

It wasn't soaked, since he had only gone into waist-deep waters, but it wasn't dry, either, since the others thought it would be funny to splash him. Luka hesitantly took it, standing back up and turning around with his back to the others in order to put it on. Fortunately, Nigel was almost the same size as the bluenette, so it fit pretty well. Ciel stood with his arms folded across his chest in an attempt to casually cover himself, and his brand-mark. He was somewhat embarrassed by not wearing a shirt as well.

"Thanks..." Luka said, extremely relieved. The others simply stood and grinned at the bluenette boy.

"_Ciel's a stripper!"_ Daniel declared, trying to replicate the music in such a club. "_Unz, unz, unz!"_

"I am _not!"_ the Phantomhive boy said, his face turning red.

_ "Shut up and take my money!" _Alois shouted, joining in.

"Alois, _you're not helping!"_

"Kristopherson's checking you out, Phantomhive!" Daniel loudly shotued.

"I am _not!" _argued the faux-blonde. "I was just trying to see what it was that he was _hiding!"_

"Good, 'cause _I'm _the only one allowed to check him out!" declared the blonde menace.

"Shut up!" Ciel ordered, trying to shake Alois off of him. He moved his arms from their shielding position to grab the other boy's wrists and try to keep him from hugging him in his current state.

"Is... Is it _that?" _asked Preston, pointing at the symbol embedded in the bluenette's skin. The others lost the colour in their faces when they too, set eyes on it._ The mark of Asclepius._ Alois was right. That was _dark_.

"Yeah..." the bluenette said, letting go of the blonde's arms as the boy stopped attacking him. "It's from when I was imprisoned."

"You don't have to give us all the details, if you don't want to." said Travis, understanding why the boy might not want to talk about it.

"Yeah, we get it_. It's totally cool, _mate." said Audrey.

_ "Thanks..." _Ciel replied, giving a faint smile. He was somewhat relieved that he didn't have to give an explanation.

"_I _still think you're _fit." _said the blonde, taking the opportunity to wrap his arms around the Phantomhive boy's neck, pecking him on the lips before he could fight back.

"Alois, stop! You're going to traumatize Luka!" shouted Daniel, causing the duo to whip their heads around in order to look at the boy in question. There, Luka was, eyes wide and face completely red. In response, the demonic duo quickly separated.

"Big brother, that's _dirty!" _the younger Macken declared.

"N-n-o i-it's _not!_ I-it-it's perfectly... _normal! It's normal!" _the blonde said quickly, struggling to find his words in his current embarrassed state.

"_Liar! _No, it's _not!"_

_ "Listen to your big brother! It's normal for boyfriends to kiss!"_

_ "_But you're both_ boys!"_

_ "_That's why Ciel's my _boyfriend!_ Boyfriends _kiss!"_

"You _kiss_ your _friends!?"_

"No! Just _Ciel! _He's my _boyfriend!_ The others are just _friends who are boys!"_

"We should probably stop them before this gets out of hand..." suggested Audrey.

"No, no. _Not yet."_ Daniel replied. "This is _hilarious_."

* * *

**A/N: Luka doesn't seem to quite understand what 'liking boys' means...**

**Eh... I can't really think of anything to say at the moment... Uh... Did ya'll hear about them making a Kuroshitsuji movie? I heard it's set a hundred years in the future, too. I dunno if it's continuing from the anime, or what. I'm afraid some scriptwriter will take it and write it, and mess it up. I was afraid of that when season two came out, but at least it's the same staff, so that convinced me to watch it (and here we are). Movies are really bad about that shit, though. I dunno if it's the same in Japan, but movies are bad about writing a script, without actually being fans of the series themselves, so you get a half-assed product. **

**Dunno if it's true, or not. I heard that people saw it on Toboso's blog, but I can't confirm it. (It's in Japanese, and Google Translate does NOT tranlate japanese into English worth a damn. I just look at it for the exclusive artwork she posts~!)**

**For all conveniences, though, this fic is just going to follow the tail end the anime's second season. It'll save me some angst for becoming "wrong" about things. I like the ambiguity of the ending. Gives fanfic writers lots of elbow-room to work with.**

**Anyways, Questions~!**

**"(I don't really care who answers) so when Sebastian killed Claude and Hannah got Alois' soul. She also got Claude's. So when Ciel revived Alois, Luka came away from Hannah too, does this mean Claude's coming back? If so...kill him..." by The Queens Guard Dog ciel (who's actual user-name refuses to show up for whatever reason so I have to add spaces I'm sorry!)  
**

**My understanding was that a soul pierced by the Lævateinn, the sword that was used to kill Claude, would "come to a complete end", as in "cease to exist", and under that logic, Claude's soul is just gone. That's just my thought process. It's been awhile since I saw the last episode, so I could very well be wrong. For this story, though, he's not coming back. Hope that's not a major spoiler for anybody.  
**

**Also, congrats to _SisterOfScarletDevil_ for getting the 1,069th review. *suggestive eyebrow wiggle***

**IT'S TOTALLY AN IMPORTANT THING TO WRITE IN THE AUTHOR'S NOTES.**

**Laters, duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET OVER 9000  
**_

_**The Remaining Questions Have Been Buried, And I Don't Wanna Dig Them Out, So It's CHARACTER BIO TIME**  
_

_Luka Macken_

_Age: 8  
_

_Height: It's not my body, so I dunno..._

_Birthday: April 4th_

_Favourite Song: The one about the girl on fire!_

_Favourite Show: Pokemon_

_Nigel Irons_

_Age: 15  
_

_Height: 5'1''  
_

_Birthday: September 9th  
_

_Favourite Song: "Punk Rock n' Roll" by Street Dogs  
_

___F____avourite Show: The Walking Dead_

___Gabriel Bailey (Detective Bailey)_

_Age: 47  
_

_Height: 6'0''  
_

_Birthday: May 25th  
_

_Favourite Song: "Town Called Malice" by The Jam  
_

_____Favourite Show: A Touch Of Frost_


	207. Save The Rich

"Why is Nigel sulking?" asked a certain pink-loving lad, and the owner of the beach-house that the Sensational Seven were currently staying in.

"I don't know. I think it's because he didn't get to play much since Luka was awake." suggested Audrey.

"That must really suck..." said Preston.

"I can still _hear_ you, you know..." the Irons lad grouchily called out. "I don't need a _pity-party."_

"Oh, C'mon, Nigel! We're pitying you, we're just feelin' for ya!" spoke Daniel, patting the boy on the back.

"I can _feel _for myself!" Nigel argued. "Besides, that's _not entirely it..." _The other boys simply looked at him confusedly, asking him what he meant by that.

"I just _know _Luka did or said something_ weird _in my body..." clarified the ginger. The others tried their best not to snicker, but failed miserably. "I knew it! Just what did he do?!"

"Don't worry, we're laughing more at _Alois_, than at you." said Audrey.

"I've never seen him so embarrassed." added Preston.

"It looks like we finally found Alois' weakness." snickered Kristopherson.

"Shut up!" barked the blonde menace, overhearing the conversation. "I'd like to see _you_ try and explain _that stuff _to a little kid!"

"Problem, Trancy?" asked the son of a politician. "You and Ciel are the _most knowledgeable_ about that stuff, though!" he teased.

"_I will destroy you!"_ Alois shouted, putting his foot up on the arm of the couch to look at the brown-haired menace before feeling a slight tug on the collar of his shirt, and falling backwards with his back landing in the bluenette's lap.

"Calm down. _Don't stoop to his level_." Ciel said plainly. He arched an eyebrow when the blonde immediately sat back up, his cheeks slightly pink.

"Stop that. What if Luka spontaneously shows up?" he asked, ignoring that snickering of the other boys. "I don't wanna have to explain anymore things to him!"

"He's _your_ brother, and he's going to learn about it _eventually_." the bluenette replied, folding his arms. "Would you rather have _Daniel _do it for you?"

_ "Hell no!_ He'll destroy what innocence he has left!"

"I would _not!"_ the politician's son replied.

_"I don't believe you!"_

"We should also probably call into question the long-term effects of Nigel's _'condition'_, too_._ I can only imagine what _going to school _is like..." said Audrey.

"It's _awful." _Nigel said with a sigh. "The first couple of weeks, I'd wake up and there would be all sorts of nasty rumors about me, and I'd have bruises from_ bullies that I didn't fight_."

"Those bastards! _They hit Luka?!" _the blonde demanded, digging his fingers into the couch cushion.

"Where do you go to school, Nigel?" asked Preston.

"I _used_ to go to _Tamworth_."

"_Of course _it's _Tamworth_..." Preston replied.

"Kris! Have your lazy-ass boyfriend do something!" shouted Daniel.

"Yeah, like I can just call him up and say: _'hey, Cameron, there's this guy with the soul of a dead child inside him, and I need you to protect him'!"_ the faux-blonde replied, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"You and Cameron are going out?" asked Travis.

"Yeah, but I didn't think it was especially important, so I didn't bring it up."

_ "Gay~!"_ teased a certain brown-haired, politician's son. "So it leads to a few awkward situations, big deal! You don't have to tell him all of that, anyway. All you have to do is tell him that he has multiple personalities!"

"Under ordinary circumstances_, I wouldn't buy that_." said Preston. "The whole concept is just so _far-fetched."_

"How can you _not believe in multiple personalities?!" _asked Daniel. "There's a ginger with them sitting _right in front of you_!"

"I said_, 'under ordinary circumstances'!" _argued the Indian boy. "I can see it in this situation because there's _literally two people _inside _one_ body, but as a_ psychological phenomena, _I have to call _'bullshit'."_

"Your _face_ is _bullshit!"_

"If I may interrupt, I think I might know some possible long-term effects of his _'condition', _sirs." spoke Sebastian with a slight bow, calling the attention of the quarreling lads after a moment of thinking about the matter.

"_Go on." _said the bluenette, gesturing for the man to do so.

"Being _somewhat of knowledgeable of souls, myself_, it is my understanding that this is made possible due to the fact that Nigel's soul is _human,_ and lacks the capability of simply absorbing Luka's." the butler explained, looking at the faces of the lads in order to gauge their levels of understanding. Everyone seemed to follow, except for Daniel, of course, so he continued.

"Because he can't absorb it, thus gaining _dominance _over the other soul and _'digesting'_ it, the two souls in his body will most likely fight for control of the vessel"

"So what happens when one of them _wins?" _asked Alois, somewhat nervously. The butler simply paused, and because of this, the blonde only knew it wasn't going to be anything good.

"Well, I may not be correct on judging this, having never quite seen this type of _possession_ before..." the man began, "...but most likely, what will happen is that one of them will inevitably be _destroyed_ _in the process."_

The lads simply gaped at the statement, especially Nigel and Alois, who the situation concerned the most. One of them could loose their body, as well as their _very existence, and _one of them would lose one of the only people they've ever cared about a second time. On either end, that was simply _unacceptable._

Nigel simply put his head in his hands, somewhat despairing over what was going to happen. Either he would lose his body, and cease to exist, or he would be responsible for the obliteration of the only brother and "living" relative one of his friends. That was a lot of pressure to put on one boy. Killing ghouls was perfectly fine and acceptable, as they didn't want to be ghouls, and it could be considered an act of mercy. Exterminating rogue vampires who preyed on innocent lives civilians was all fine and dandy, as that was simply protecting the weak. Killing an innocent child, however, was not. Luka hadn't done anything wrong. Even if his brother was a demon, even if he wasn't technically considered a "human" any longer, Luka was alive, and hadn't done a thing wrong, in this case. Whatever sins he may have committed in his past life were just that; in the past. They didn't quite matter anymore, did they? He had already paid the price, hadn't he? Right, now, he was alive, and that was what mattered to both Nigel, and Alois.

Yet, the ginger feared for himself as well. He was human, after all, and the drive to survive against all odds was one of the most noble traits his kind possessed, even if it was an instinct shared by many other animals. Thinking for one's own sake was a given. Finding a person so noble as to sacrifice oneself for others was a rare find, indeed, and this was an extreme case. _This was ceasing to exist_, a fate far worse than death, after all. That is a thought that could strike fear in the hearts of many, whether they be human, or demon, whether they be satanic, divine, or in the grey area. The promise of an afterlife was far more comforting than nothing at all. Nothingness was a terrifying thought.

"Wh-what... _What am I going to do?" _the boy asked of no one in particular. His voice trembled as his spoke. Alois simply looked to Sebastian, and then to the bluenette, eyes silently asking if either of them had any ideas. The two older demons thought for a while, before the oldest chuckled, his mouth morphing into a small smirk.

"What is it?" asked the bluenette, looking at the butler.

"You recall a _certain ceremony _that tied a _certain someone's _soul to a fabricated body?" the man asked, earning a dirty look from the bluenette. It was uncertain whether this was because of what that entailed, or whether it was because Sebastian thought of it first.

"That would take about a month to prepare for, and not only that, but I'm only vaguely aware of what Luka even _looks like_." Ciel frowned, and expression that only deepened, the more he thought about the subject.

"Not only that, I would have to discuss it with _her_." he continued, spitting out the word like it was poison. He didn't like the idea of informing Sir Hellsing of the operation, but should they go through with it, they would have to receive her approval as to not get in any sort of trouble with the Round Table Conference. The bluenette felt a tugging at his arm, and looked over to see the blonde menace making the most pitiful of expressions.

"Do you think it's _possible_, Sebastian?" Ciel asked with a sigh, giving in somewhat much to the blonde's delight.

"It's _possible_. That is, with some minor alterations to the procedure, of course." the man replied with a smile. "As for Luka's _appearance_, we could possibly leave that to _Alois_, as I'm sure he remembers what his own brother looks like."

"O-of course! _I'll do it!_ Whatever it takes!_" _the blonde declared eagerly. Ciel couldn't help but feel a small twinge of jealousy for whatever reason at those words. He felt silly for it, knowing full-well that he couldn't monopolize all of the blonde's attention, but it was still there.

"You seriously want _Alois _to synthesize _the_ _body, _Sebastian? asked the bluenette, questioning the blonde' s competence in learning new magic.

"But of course. I'm sure with enough practice, he could get the hang of it." the butler replied. Ciel sighed, rubbing his temples. He looked to Nigel, and then looked to the blonde.

"_Remind me to call Hellsing in the morning..." _he said begrudgingly. Alois literally jumped for joy, before wrapping his arms around the bluenette in a tight hug.

"_You're the best~! The absolute best~!"_ he said, kissing the other boy's forehead. _"Long live the Demon King~!"_

"What happened to_ avoiding awkward explanations?" _the bluenette asked. "I _better_ be _'the best'_ for this, for what this will cost me."

"Cost?" the blonde echoed. "How much?"

"Just for the_ ingredients to make the body _alone will run me about at_ over a thousand quid."_ Ciel replied.

"Over a thousand?! For real?!" the blonde asked, shocked at the price.

"Yes, there's over twenty-five elements in the human body in total, and a lot of them aren't that easy to get your hands on." the bluenette said flatly. "Though, since Luka is younger than you, he should also be smaller than you, which should cut down the price quite a bit."

"A-are you serious?! You spent that much money to make a body for a person that you didn't even_ like _that much in the first place?!" Alois asked, referring to himself.

"It was worth it, wasn't it? _Spending money on frivolities every once and a while is an alright thing to do."_

"You call _that_ a _'frivolity'? _Just_ how much _money do you _have?"_

"Well, _Funtom_ alone has a net worth of _several billion_, and I hardly ever spend it..." the bluenette said, trailing off as he begun to think. "...I've gotten pretty good at investing, too..."

"You really are a _demon!"_ the blonde shouted. "There's children starving out in the world and shit! _You're just sittin' on a pile of money!"_

"I donate to charity, occasionally. It's not as bad as you're thinking. The value of the pound has gone down since the 1800s, you know..."

"Seriously, Alois. Give it a rest." said Preston. "My families company is worth more the Funtom, last time I checked, being in the _technology _business."

"Mine too." said Audrey, the son of the CEO of a major medical and pharmaceutical company.

"Mine's about the same as _Funtom_, actually." said Kristopherson, the son of a famous actor and a well-renowned fashion designer.

"Oh, the _iniquity!_ The lower class should rise and kick your _asses!"_

"Don't worry, Alois! _My _family is only worth a few_ million!" _joked Daniel.

"I didn't even know Alois _knew _the word _'iniquity'..." _said Preston.

"Well, _pardon me for _not being as _well-educated _like those born with _silver-spoons shoved up their asses!"_

_ "Do you want your brother to have a body, or what?"_ asked the bluenette. _"And stop talking about asses..."_

* * *

**A/N: Wot?  
**

**Ugh, I was siiiiiiiiiick earlier today, so no double-post. I took a nap and ate a popsicle and felt better, so I sat down to type, and was like "FUCK NOE BRAIN Y U FAIL MEEEEEEEEEEEE?!"**

**But then I read your wonderful reviews and was like "I BEEEEEEELLLLLLLIIIIIIIEEEEEEVVVVEEE IN MAAAAAAAAGGGGIIIIIICCCC!"**

**Yeah... I dunno what the fuck is wrong with me, either...**

**Point is, you guys make me feel like I can be competent enough to write this, and for that, I THANK YOU.**

**The Chapter title is the title of a song by Garfunkel and Oates. Just sayin'. I think I've mentioned them in the author's notes before actually. I think I was talking about one of their other songs, "Fuck You"...  
**

**They're weird. **

**Funny, but weird. **

**Also, they can be considered "offensive", to some.**

**(Alois would love them.)**

**I noticed something freaky when looking up random pages on the Kuoshitsuji wiki today. Daniel looks a lot like this minor character named "Ryan Stoker". The name probably doesn't sound familiar, but he's the doctor from the secret club in the "Titanic" arc in the manga. Y'know, the club that does the "Phoenix" thing?**

**"The complete flame in our chests shall not be extinguished by anyone. We are THE PHOENIX!"**

**That shit. The doctor guy looks like Daniel. I forgot about that guy, since he wasn't all that important...**

** or memorable...**

**Ah, that reminds me, I posted more shit on DA. I'm debating on whether or not the weirdest thing I posted was Demon!Kristopherson, CrossDressing!Kristopherson...**

**I drew Fem!Daniel and Fem!Preston, but forgot to post them... Whatevs...**

**Oh God, I'm so awful to these characters...**

**Oh, and Happy Birthday to _Ciel Fandomhive,_ who has one of the most delightfully punniest usernames ever.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN THE LUKA-NATION ATTACKED  
**_

_Question: "**To Luka: What exactly do you think of your big brother's interaction with Ciel? Dirty? Cute?"** by SailorVegeta13  
_

_Luka's Answer:"Hmmm... I dunno if it's 'cute', but big brother seems really happy with it, so it's okay. It's really kinda weird, though. I didn't know boys could kiss and stuff... In public, too! Kissin's kinda gross, don'cha think? Jim says I'll get it when I'm older, though, but I dunno if I will..."  
_

_00000000000000_

_Question: **"Now have Luka look up Megurine Luka... please?"** by HoneyCloud of RiverClan_

_Luka's Answer:__"She's really pretty, and her voice sounds nice too! I wish I knew what she was singin' about, though. Does she really look like that? I know that the picture is just a cartoon, but I mean in real life?"  
_

_0000000000000000_

_Question:** "Question for the seven and Luka/Nigel, If you were to play a prank on the demons (ciel, alois, sebastian) or emmbarrass them, what would you do and you have to prank all of them and face ciels wrath, demons you can comment on this too."** by sebastianthedemonbutler_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Horrible, traumatizing things..."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:__"Replace all of the pictures in the mansion with paintings of Jesus, and hide bible quotes in their belongings." _

_Daniel's Answer:__"Wait until they walk around the corner, and hit them in the bollocks with something stupid."  
_

_Preston's Answer:__"Release the hounds on the Phantomhive property for Sebastian, write dirty things in a book, label it 'Ciel's Diary', and lay it out in the open for the other two."  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"I'm not much of a prankster... I just don't see the point."_

_Nigel's Answer:__"Fill all of their shoes with something sticky... y'know... so their feet will stick..." _

_Luka's Answer:__"Big brother's real ticklish, so I guess tickle him?" _


	208. Two For The Price Of One

Ciel was dredding what he was about to do. It was morning, and as promised, he was going to call his arch-rival, Sir Integra Fair Book Wingates Hellsing, and ask her for permission to act out their plan to save Luka and Nigel. He had to ask his_ arch-rival _for _permission_. As you can most definitely imagine, this was not something that the bluenette would enjoy. He would be laying down his pride, and his ego off to the side, and showing weakness to the one of the very last people he would ever want to. He paced back and forth for a while, trying to gain the motivation to do so, and it was starting to work; how very slow it might have.

"What's the cyclops doing?" asked Daniel, arching an eyebrow at the bluenette's unusual activity.

"He's getting ready to call Sir Hellsing about making Luka a body." answered Alois, grinning at the sight of a somewhat agitated Ciel.

_ "'Sir Hellsing'?_ Who's that?" the politican's son inquired.

"One of Ciel's_ best friends ever."_ the blonde replied jokingly, gaining the attention of the irritated Phantomhive boy.

"She's not my friend!" he barked. "There's no wat in _hell _that I would be friends with that _cigar-chewing, mannish, beast of a woman!"_

"But whenever I see you two talk to each other, you seem pretty familiar!"

"_'Familiar'?! _Don't make me _laugh! _Every time I see that _stupid, high-and-mighty expression on her face,_ I just want to _slap it!_

"Did you get _rejected_ by her or something?" asked Daniel, joining in the fun of teasing the Phantomhive boy.

"Don't be _disgusting." _Ciel snapped. "Even _Sebastian _is _more effeminate_ than that _thing_."

"So? I thought you _liked men?" _The brown-haired lad's comment made the bluenette's cheeks flush slightly.

"I don't think I necessarily like _'men' _in general..." he began, trying to choose his words carefully. "..I just know I like _Alois_..."

"So you like _girly men,_ then?"

"Hey! I'm not _'girly'!"_ argued the blonde menace.

_"Have you looked in a mirror, lately?!" _Daniel asked the Trancy lad.

"Yes, and _I look bloody amazing!"_

_ "..._And _like a girl!"_

_ "You wish _I was a girl!"

"I do _not!"_

"_Suffer, Westley! You're getting none of this!"_

While the Sensational Seven's "_Dumbass Duo"_ were bickering, Ciel had taken the opportunity to flee the conversation. He had things to be doing, and they didn't involve discussing his sexual preferences. His frustration had only grown in those few moments of speaking with those two, as their suggestions were absolute_ repulsive _to the bluenette.

Never, nor has he ever, at any point in time, had a "_crush" _on Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. The very thought made him shudder. Sure, they may have met when she was his age, but he had at the time, thought of her as nothing more than a business partner, or even a _little sister._ That was even more revolting than Alois' suggestion of the two being "_best friends". _Why would Ciel Phantomhive be friends with the source of his irritation and hatred? The more he thought of this, however, the more he thought about his relationship with Alois. He internally kicked himself for thwarting his own argument.

Yet, thinking about the blonde somehow made his anger subside for the moment. Why did he hate him, again? Was it simply because the Trancy family was supposedly behind his parents' deaths and the besmirching of the Phantomhive name? Or was it because they were so _different?_ Or maybe, it was that deep down, they both could tell that they were the _same?_ _It was just so long ago, that it was hard for the bluenette to remember._

That thought mildly frightened the bluenette for a moment. To him, forgetting was a _bad_ thing. Forgetting the past that makes you, is one of the signs of becoming a true demon; the kind without _self_. No, Ciel would remember, and hold onto his _humanity_. Even though he was a demon now, and was no longer human, loosing that small sliver of humanity that remained frightened him. Would he cease to exist if he lost it? Wouldn't that be the "_end_" of Ciel Phantomhive? No, he wouldn't allow that. He would remain human at his core, and _live_.

He was pulled by his thoughts, however, when he almost ran into an excited Nigel as he turned a corner. No, wait, _it wasn't quite_. Something was off about the ginger. Ciel's suspicions were only confirmed when the boy opened his mouth.

"Gah! Sorry, Ciel!" he said, "is everyone almost ready to go?"

"Go _where?"_ asked the bluenette.

"To the _beach_, silly!" the other boy said with a big, childish grin. That wasn't Nigel's grin. Upon further inspection, he realized that the boy was also wearing a shirt with his swim trunks, something Nigel doesn't do. That wasn't Nigel.

"Not yet, _Luka_. I have to make a phone call before we can go." the bluenette replied, folding his arms. The ginger's eyes lit up upon hearing his name.

"Whoa! You got it _right_ on the_ first try!" _said Luka excitedly. "You're the first one to get it today!"

"It's not that difficult. All I had to do was _pay attention_."

"You're just as smart as big brother said!" the mentally younger of the two said. His grin faded and he tilted his head slightly in confusion. "But, I don't see how you're _'kinda full of it',_ though." The bluenette's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the second part of that.

"Did he really say that?" he asked, forcing a grin. That grin would have made the other lads' blood run cold at the sight of it, knowing the cruelty that lurked beneath it's surface, but, Luka was simply young and naive enough to believe it, so he smiled back.

"Yup! He said that you can be arrogant and cold on the outside, but that you're secretly really nice." Luka paused for a moment before clarifying. "I was just askin' him why he liked you, is all."

_ "Really?" _the bluenette asked with a smile, his interest piqued. "Just _what else_ did he say?"

"Well, he said stuff like how cool and strong you were, and he also said you were pretty cute-." Luka stopped suddenly stopped talking. His eyes went wide and he clasped his hands over his mouth.

"What's wrong?" Ciel asked, his smile gone and replaced with a look of confusion.

"I..._ wasn't supposed to tell you that_..." Luka replied, his words muffled by his hands. "_I forgot big brother told me not to tell_..." He removed his hands and wore a worried expression. "_Please don't let big brother know I told!"_

Ciel's smile crept back across his face and he answered. "Of course I won't. I won't tell, and your big brother won't get mad at you, alright?"

"Thank you so much!" Luka said. "You go make your phone call so we can all play some more!"

"Alright. Will do." the bluenette replied, walking past the ginger in order to find a quiet place to make his call uninterrupted. Alas, he was stopped dead in his tracks when the other boy called after him again.

"Wait, Ciel! I forgot I wanted to ask you something!" he said, looking at the bluenette as he turned around. _"Since you and Jim are together, does that make you my big brother too?"_

A blush crawled across Ciel's face as he heard that. It took almost every fiber of his being in order to not snap at the other boy, since at the moment, he was mentally younger than him, and simply didn't know any better. Instead, he took a deep breath and calm his nerves as he concocted something to say.

_ "Sure, I'll be your big brother too..." _he replied somewhat bashfully, a thing that went unnoticed by Luka. A big grin formed on the other lad's face at those words, and he giggled. Ciel simply turned to complete the task that he had set out to do in the first place, walking only a few feet before being stopped once again by the ginger's voice, this time coming from the other room. What the boy said made Ciel blush even more.

"Hey, guess what, Jim! _Ciel said he'd be my big brother too! Does that make him my 'big-brother-in-law'?" _he declared. Luka didn't quite understand why the blonde's friends were laughing, or why his older brother was blushing so hard.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, Luka...  
**

**His awkward questions are mostly based on my own little brother... He asks the most awkward shit sometimes... **

**I, for some reason, started thinking about the Convention of Twelve yesterday, and like, tried to come up with the names of every member, even though most of them will never, ever, EVER be relevant. So far, I got seven out of twelve. (Is seven just my lucky number?)**

**So far, there's _Sir Integra Hellsing, Sir Hugh Islands, Sir Rob Walsh, Sir Richard Penwood, Sir Rupert Midford, Sir Arthur Kirkland, and Sir Alfred Pennyworth._**

**Still working on the last five... I got nothin'...  
**

**Oh, and I didn't update yesterday because an ass-ton of people were at my house yesterday and we were watching _Attack On Titan_. I REGRET NOTHING.**

**Why the fuck do any of you read this random-ass brain-spew at the end, anyway? **

**...Laters, Duckies...**

* * *

**_CHARACTER SHET_  
**

_Question: **"Thats what I do alois XD now ciel alois has turned into uhh your bed would you say he's soft or hard (nudge nudge wink wink say no more) Next daniel I just wanna give you a highfive since you are the most 'funny perverted' person out of the seven."** by Wooimmafox1305  
_

_Alois' Answer:"He's both soft and hard in ALL the RIGHT PLACES~! (If you know what I mean.)"  
_

_Daniel's Resonse:__"Hell to the yes!" ***highfives***  
_

_00000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Alois, Ciel, therapudic session. Say 5 things you hate and love about each other. Luka- what's your opinion on Ciel? And is being In another body uncomfortable?"** by Emeraldpaw_

_Ciel's Answer:__"His self-esteem issues are somewhat bothersome, and his bizarrely perverse nature is embarrassing. He won't tell me what's wrong when he's upset, is reckless, and somewhat of a crybaby. But, Alois also has a way with making me laugh and feel like a kid. His boldness is admirable. Even if he only uses it to protect himself from his own fears, it's endearing. I love how innocent he is deep-down, even if he can't see it because the surface is somewhat clouded, in a figurative sense. I can't help but smile at even the smallest glimpse of it. Even if he can't see it, he's very strong. He was in hell far longer than I was, yet he was still able to smile. If that isn't "strong", then I don't know what is. There's also the most obvious thing, how... stunning he is. That's the only word I can think of to describe his appearance... No, I won't go into detail..."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__ "He's arrogant, and a classic rich brat. His pride is shoved way too far up his ass, and he can act so cold. He also really doesn't know how to talk to people, but at the same time, his social awkwardness can be pretty cute. How can someone be so cute and so sexy at the same time? It shouldn't be possible! I like how he always tries his hardest to win, no matter what, and how smooth he can be about it. He's smart and always knows what to say. He doesn't often let loose, but when he does, he's super-fun, and so cute when he shows his feelings. He's just so cute and cool and... have I mentioned sexy? He's sexy as hell."  
_

_Luka's Answer:__ "Ciel's so cool! The way he acts, and dresses is just cool! He's well nice, too! He's real different from my big brother, but he really understands him, and he makes him real happy. Bein' in another body was weird at first, but after bein' here for awhile, I got used to it. When I first woke up in Nigel's body, the ground was so high up, and my skin felt weird. I just didn't feel right all over for a real long time. Also, he's right-handed, so I couldn't draw stuff for awhile. Mister Irons is teaching me how to read and write and stuff, and now that I can use Nigel's hands, I can even write my name! i can't do it in cursive like Mister Irons can yet, though..."_

_0000000000000  
_

_Question: "_Hey ciel and alois have you ever thought as going in your demon form for halloween? Also sebastian how would you feel if you got really drunk and ended up in bed with amile" by Wooimmafox1305

Ciel's Answer:"No. While it seems like the perfect time, something is bound to go wrong, and reveal our secret, so it's best to stay clear of a mishap."

Alois' Answer:"Yeah, but then I got to thinking, and I don't want people pulling on my tail and poking my horns..."

Sebastian's Answer:***twitch-twitch*  
**

Amelie's Answer:"The penguin's room smells weird. Too clean. Also, CHARLOTTE IS MY WIFE!


	209. Fish Pee

"I must say, Ciel. I'm proud of you." said the blonde menace as the Sensational Seven strolled up to the beach. "_You didn't call Sir Integra a single name, or threaten her even once!"_

"It's 'Sir Hellsing', and I had to." replied the bluenette. "I had to be polite in order to make sure she would give us the _'okay' _in order to go along with our little plan."

"I've never seen anybody clench their fist until it _bleeds,_ though..." said Kristopherson, recalling the atmosphere at the time.

It took everything Ciel had in order to not lash out at the woman and verbally abuse her over the phone, especially with her picking at him. It was as though she was trying to test how long that the boy could keep that up. All of the irritation that the bluenette wasn't expressing over the phone, seemed to seep out into the room, becoming toxic to anyone unfortunate to be breathing in the nearby vicinity, and suffocating them to death. The only physical expression of his anger that manifested itself on the bluenette's person was the clenching of his fist until it shook, and until his fingernails dug so deep into his skin that it bled. He felt as thought he was losing to the woman by asking her for anything, and losing to the Hellsing woman was unacceptable, in Ciel's eye. His anger began to boil up again just by recalling the conversation, prompting the others to try to change the subject.

"So... Uh... Is Luka going to get a body, or what?" asked Daniel.

"She said she would have to call a meeting of the Round Table Conference in order to find out." replied the bluenette with a sigh. This was going to be so much work, and he knew it. "Wait, where did Luka go, anyway?"

The blonde's eyes quickly widened, and he began to frantically whip his head back and forth, scanning for the boy. He spun around in place once or twice to check the area behind him, only to spot the boy poking at something in the sand. With a relieved sigh, Alois walked back to get the boy.

"What did you find?" he asked, curious as to what caught the mentally younger boy's eye. Luka smiled, and pointed.

"It's a crab!" he said. "I was just playing with it."

"Careful with those. They're _ungrateful_." Alois replied. "Ciel saved one last year, and it then pinched his foot. It took us forever to make it let go."

"How'd you get it off him?"

"We _didn't._ We had to call _Sebastian_. Ciel was so mad. He said so many swear words, it would've made a _sailor _blush!" The blonde reached down and grabbed the other boy's hand, helping him up. "C'mon, let's go catch up with the others before the crab _gets_ you."

"Okay!"

Alois led the boy back over to the rest of the Seven, who had slowed down their pace in order for the two to catch up. The blonde announced their return loudly, calling out:

"_Ciel! Luka found your friend, the crab!"_ Ciel furrowed his brow and frowned, turning around to dismiss the blonde's claim.

"What is with you and calling my _enemies _my _'friends'?"_ he asked, blushing and looking away when he noticed the the two boys were holding hands. He didn't like this feeling in his chest that the image gave him. He knew it was just Luka, but still, the unpleasant twinge persisted.

"You consider a _crab_ you _'enemy'? _And you say _I'm _the _'immature'_ one?" the blonde asked, pausing for a moment when he noticed the bluenette's actions. He giggled and a smile appeared on his face_. "I'll hold your hand too, if you want, Ciel."_

"N-no. That's alright." the Phantomhive boy insisted, embarrassed by his own lack of composure. He tried to fold his arms, but was too slow, as his hand was snatched away from him by the blonde menace.

_ "I claim this hand in the name of myself!" _Alois declared, holding it high in the air, until it was forced down at his side by the bluenette.

"Stop being weird..." he said, intertwining their fingers sheepishly. His blush only darkened when the blonde smiled at him.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed, Ciel~!"

"Just... shut up..."

Luka, who had been studying the duo's interaction closely, came across several observations. One: The duo were fundamentally different in they way they communicated. Two: Ciel was cool, but his brother could make him lose that cool. Finally...

_ "Ciel is kind of girly, isn't he?"_ he said aloud, not meaning anything by it. The other boys had to cover their mouths and noses with their hands in order not to laugh. Alois had to bite his lip, as both of his hands were occupied, yet his mouth still threatened to morph into a smile. Meanwhile, the bluenette was silently seething. The glare on his face could immediately freeze those who didn't know him into a solid sheet of ice, yet finally smiled, immediately eliminating the blonde's urge to laugh.

"Luka, can you let go of Alois' hand for a moment?" he asked. The ginger tilted his head questioningly.

"Why?"

"Don't worry, it'll be _funny_."

Luka's grip on the blonde's hand cautiously faded, causing Alois to glance at him, and then back to the bluenette confusedly. The grip on his other hand abruptly vanished as well, leaving both of them empty. Alois would never be prepared for what happened next.

He was picked up, slung over the bluenette's shoulder, and carried away towards the water. Luka chased after them, worried about what was going to happen to his brother. No matter how much the boy shouted to be put down, his pleas fell on deaf ears until they reached the salty abyss. Once there, his body left it's position on the Phantomhive boy's shoulder and flew through the air before plummeting into the sea with a mighty splash.

"Whoa! He flew pretty far!" said Daniel.

_ "_Alois is apparently_ quite aerodynamic." _Audrey commented as the blonde menace resurfaced, spitting out a mouthful of seawater.

"_Avenge me my comrades!"_ Alois shouted, splashing about. "Seek revenge on the _dastardly cyclops _who caused me to soar and get a mouthful of water, salt and _fish pee!"_

"_Yes, your highness!"_ Luka shouted back, gesturing for the other lads to follow as he ran toward his target. The others paused for a moment before doing so, hesitating slightly before taking off in full pursuit.

_ "For the fish pee!" _shouted Daniel, as he tried to grab the bluenette.

Alas, his momentum was used against him as he flew through the air as well, his fall cushioned only by the waves. Seeing what had happened to their other fallen comrade, the others paused before attacking, analyzing the bluenette's every move. Ordinarily, the boy wouldn't have bothered launching a counter-attack. Then, it occurred to them what was going on. Ciel was simply blowing off steam from talking to Hellsing. Now, which the knowledge that the demon was at least semi-serious, they knew that they had to approach the situation differently.

"What do we do?" asked Preston. "If we just charge him, he's just going to toss us."

"Maybe if we charge him all at once?" suggested Kristopherson. "Surely he can't take all of us down at the same time..."

_"I can still hear you, you know..." _spoke the bluenette.

"C'mon! Avenge us!" shouted Daniel from the sea. "Are you _men_, or are you _Alois's?!" _he added before being pushed down into the waters by the blonde menace.

"Sod of, Daniel!" the blonde said. "Luka, you don't have to avenge me if you don't want." he called, but the boy didn't respond. The ginger now had a more serious expression on his face. Luka was asleep.

"Audrey!" called Nigel. "Attack pattern _delta _followed by _gamma!"_

"_Huh?"_ was the reaper-boy's initial reaction. He blinked for a moment before he realized that Luka wasn't speaking anymore, and that it was Nigel talking about H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. manoevres. "Oh... Oh! Got it!"

"What the _hell_ is he talking about, Bones?" asked Kristpoherson.

"Just follow our lead!" called Nigel. Both he and Audrey were on a mission.

Instead of charging the bluenette, they ran past him, and swarmed his back. The others followed, blocking the boy's other sides. The tactic was almost enough to make Ciel smile. He knew that they were going to attack his back, so he was ready. As soon as Nigel moved his foot to kick the demon's back, Ciel caught it, and when Audrey did the same, he caught his foot with his free hand. That was a problem, though. He only had two hands.

Kristopherson struck next, making an attempt to shove the bluenette once his back was turned. He was sent flying, however, as the bluenette took his stance and used the faux-blonde's force against him, but made the mistake of turning his back to the first two lads. With his now freed leg, Audrey kicked the back of the bluenette's while the boy's stance was sturdy and not likely to move to a defensive position. He had struck the back of the knee, causing the bluenette's leg to buckle and fall beneath him. Ciel landed in the sand with a thud.

"Grab him!" shouted Nigel, and the remaining boys did just that, grabbing his arms and legs. With their combined effort, they managed to send the bluenette demon plunging into the vast ocean water. He resurfaced and opened his mouth to complain, but saw Sebastian standing behind the boys chuckling.

"You really shouldn't underestimate humans, my lord." spoke the man with a smile. "They really are quite capable of amazing feats."

"'It takes a _man_ to defeat a _monster'_." said Nigel, quoting an excerpt from the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. handbook, under their philosophy.

"Indeed, but you must also remember that letting your guard down is also unwise." said the butler. The boys simply turned to look at him for a moment. They didn't even see Sebastian move before they were thrown into the air. They quickly were reunited with their fallen comrades as they plummeted into the sea with a _splash._

"Just who's side are you on, Sebastian!?" asked Daniel as the others resurfaced. The man responded by putting his right hand over his heart and bowing slightly.

"Why, my lord's, of course." he said. "You simply allowed me to walk up and defeat you without any resistance whatsoever."

"We didn't even know you were _playing!"_ shouted Preston.

"_Expect the unexpected."_

They simply watched the man's back as he walked away for a moment. Wondering what the point of any of that was. Nigel then remembered the conversation that the group had the previous night about his "access soul-removal". He swam over to the bluenette so he didn't have to shout.

"Hey, Phantomhive, did you call Sir Integra, yet?" he asked, the bluenette blinked confusedly for a moment before it registered who he was talking to. His mind had faltered slightly, as this wasn't the same person who had said all of those embarrassing things, even though he had the same face.

"Yes, she said that she would have to hold a meeting with the Round Table Conference before reaching a verdict." he replied. "It should be within the week. We may have to leave early in order to get everything done." He paused for a moment before registering an afterthought. "Wait, _'Sir Integra'?"_

"Everyone at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. calls her that." Audrey clarified. "It's cool. You guys should be able to leave early if you need to-"

"No it's not!" interrupted Kristopherson. "If they leave, _Sebastian leaves too, meaning that we have no way to get home after this."_

"Can't they just drive back?" asked Daniel.

"That's a waste of gas money." answered Travis.

"Why don't we just go too?" asked Bones.

"Go home early from _the beach_ in order to perform _Satanic rituals?"_ asked the faux-blonde. "I don't need any more reasons to go to _Hell!"_

"What's the big deal? You_'ve already got friends from there."_

"That's easy for _you_ to say, _reaper-boy!"_

_ "You mad, bro?"_

* * *

**A/N: Yea, bro. He real mad.  
**

**The original title for this chapter was "Kristopherson Is A Racist", but I felt that "Fish Pee" just worked better. **

**Sssssshhhh... Don't question me... Just FEEL.**

**Is "Manoeuvres" another one of those weird words that has different spellings? Spellcheck says that's wrong, but I know this is right, and the spelling they're giving me doesn't look right at all...**

**I had an English teacher in 8th grade who pointed out a lot of words like that to me. She counted off points for spelling "grey" with an "e"! **

**"GRAY" DOES NOT LOOK NATURAL YOU GUYS.**

**IT'S.**

**NOT.**

**NATURAL.**

**Yeah, I didn't do too good in English that year...**

**KWES-CHUNS:  
**

**"Hey hateweasel I think I know the perfect scythe for Audrey go to YouTube and look up the red trailer for rwby. Please tell me what u think!" by PaganWanderer**

**WHOA. WAT. DAS AWESOME. I imagine Audrey would be having a fanboy moment after watching that...  
**

**"A question for you Hateweasel! 1.) Do you mind that I ask so many questions? I don't want to be pushing it or anything. And 2.) Who of all the characters in DLTD are you most like?" by Emeraldpaw**

**1.) Not at all~! Ask away~! 2.) I am like the all of the seven combined, basically. I can be serious, articulate, and sophisticated like Ciel, or I can be goofy and otherwise "odd" like Alois ( my sense of humour).I have my pervy moments (a lot) like Daniel, as I can and will make even the smallest phrase suggestive. I FUCKING LOVE FASHION like Kristopherson, and own a pink tie (that I wear often). Travis is the me that refrains from speaking when it is unnecessary. Audrey is the part of me that can sit there and argue for hours about morality in comicbooks, and the psychology and philosophy of anime, as well as the complete history of. Preston is my cynical, practical self, basically my "voice of reason". He often debunks statements made by the other inner-seven.  
**

**Example:**

**Inner-Kris: *looks at closet overflowing with clothes* "OMG I have NOTHING to wear!"**

**Inner-Preston: "Are you fucking kidding me?"**

**Me: "Oh yeah..."**

**Auf Weidersehen, mein duckies!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"For the seven, excluding Alois, if Jim Maken and Alois Trancy were two different people, and the fell in love, (please don't kill me Ciel!) who would top?"** by LeilaTheGreat _

_Ciel's Answer:"Ugh... Okay... Hmmm... Well... I guess you could consider 'Alois Trancy' as the perverse, seductive persona that he's adopted, and 'Jim Maken' could be the most genuine, and 'innocent' part of him, so... 'Alois', then? Maybe? I don't know! ...Oh God... Don't imagine that..." ***blushes***_

_Alois' Harrassment Of Ciel Because He's A Little Shit:"That image turn you on, Ciel~? It's no fun on my own, so you should join in~! Ooh~! Your nose is bleeding~! Mission: COMPLETE!"  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"Don't picture it; don't picture it; don't picture it; don't picture it..."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:"I dunno. They're the same person, right? Wouldn't they just, I dunno, take turns?"  
_

_Daniel's Answer:"TWINCEST?! Wait, since they're really the same person, doesn't that just count as 'masturbation'?"  
_

_Preston's Answer:"Oh God, why? I don't know! I didn't even know there was a 'Jim Macken' until a few days ago!"  
_

_Travis' Answer:"Alois."_

_0000000000000000_

_Question: **"Question to Alois: Did you really love Claude back then? Why?Question to Ciel: Has there ever been a situation where you got jealous because Alois wasn't paying attention to you? If so, please tell!"** by MidnightWhispersInTheDark_

_Ciel's Answer:__"...I simply don't know what you're talking about..." ***dodgy eyes***  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"Yeah, but not in the way you're probably thinking! It was more kind of like... like he was kind of a father to me, in a way. It's hard to explain. Mostly, I think it was because, to my knowledge, at least, I didn't have anyone else. Up 'til then, there was no one else who would say 'hey, you're NOT an absolute piece of shit'. I never had anyone like that since Luka died, and that was Claude until he... y'know... Anyway, it was more like the kind of love you would give to your family, so I guess I can still say that I loved him; just not in a lovey-dovey sort of way. Ugh... That would be way creepy..."  
_

_00000000000000000_

_Question: **"Ciel, do you resent Luka for asking awkward questions? Alois, does Luka ever annoy you like other people's younger brothers annoy them? And to the rest of the Seven, Sebastian, and Nigel: what do you think of Luka?"** by SailorVegeta13_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Not really. He's just young, curious, and doesn't know any better, so I can't really hold that against him. It's embarrassing, and somewhat irritating, but I still don't resent him for it."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"I dunno. Probably. How do other people's brothers annoy them?"  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"He's hilarious. I'd like to see what he actually looks like some day!"  
_

_Audrey's Answer:__"Anyone who can fluster the demonic duo has some mad skills." _

_Daniel's Answer:__"The kid's a riot! We need to keep him around! HE CAN BE OUR MASCOT."  
_

_Preston's Answer:"__He__'s funny now, but I imagine that after a while, he'd get pretty annoying.__ What if he __starts asking US those weird questions?"__  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"We need to be careful so he doesn't accidentally get lost or hurt." _

_Sebastian's Answer:__"It could be amusing to keep him around. The mansion gets a little lonely while the young master and Alois are away at school, anyway."  
_

_Nigel's Answer:__"I don't know. I've never talked to the kid. I'm always asleep when he's awake, so I've never met him. He's put me into some trouble, though. Lots of awkward moments I don't remember and not to mention I'm going to have to switch schools because of him. He can't really help it, though... One of the worst parts is that you can't really get mad at him! I didn't let them perform an exorcism because I felt sorry for the little guy, but man, am I going to be glad to have my own body back..." _


	210. The Devil's Wife

A few days went by, as the lads continued to play in the sand and surf while waiting on the council's verdict. Everyone except Nigel, however. The ginger was tormented by the thought that his soul, his essence, the very thing that makes him "Nigel Irons", could simply be destroyed at any given moment, weighed heavily on his mind. The only time when he wasn't harassed by these disturbing thoughts was when Luka was "awake", as the boy had also been losing sleep over the idea. Luka, on the other hand, wasn't scared at all, since he hadn't been informed about the fact for the specific purpose of avoiding having to deal with a frightened eight-year-old.

So while the other lads were playing, splashing about in the waves and trying to drown each other, occasionally pausing to tease the demonic duo whenever they tried to sneak off in order to be alone with each other; while Sebastian supervised the children and built absurdly detailed sand-sculptures; while Luka was busily asking his older brother questions about this and that, such as things he had been doing since waking up in the modern world, and awkward questions about his relationship with Ciel, Nigel was zoning out and fretting over his _potential destruction._ It was incredibly obvious to the others, but their hands were tied, as they were forced to wait on the Round Table's judgement. The Irons lad was plunging deep into the pits of depression over all of this. He couldn't enjoy himself at all. He felt lethargic, melancholy, and empty, as he simply waited on his demise.

The demonic duo, however, had other plans. Ciel had brought his laptop with him to the beach-house for the purpose of managing Funtom while on vacation, but recently, he had been using it for other purposes. While he kept it in multiple places just in case one copy was somehow destroyed, the bluenette had documented the steps he had taken while summoning Alois, just in case he needed them again. It was a wise move. He had even gone as far as to document the contact information of the various companies he had bought the ingredients from next to their names.

He had enlisted the help of some of the seven as well, having Audrey and Preston calculate the exact measurements that would be necessary for the body of the average eight-year-old, and Sebastian would read the directions and make the appropriate changes in order to achieve the desired results. Alois took his time, explaining Luka's appearance to Kristopherson, who would then sketch the lad's visage to the best of his ability, occasionally becoming irritated whenever he somehow interpreted the Trancy lad's description incorrectly. Travis would play with Luka whenever he came out in the meantime, making sure to keep him away from Daniel, so the politician's son wouldn't _"corrupt his young mind"._ They all pitched in so that once they received the call, they would be able to act out the plan as quickly as possible. When it finally came, everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath, as they perked up their ears in hopes of being able to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"_Hello?"_ the bluenette answered, holding his mobile phone up to his ear. "This is _Phantomhive."_

"This is _Islands." _said the voice over the phone. It was aman's voice, old, and serious in it's tone. It was the voice of the council Chairman, _Sir Hugh Islands._ "Well, it would appear that the council has reached a verdict on your rather _unusual request_..." he said.

"_Yes?" _the bluenette asked, somewhat nervously.

_"It has been approved with a majority vote of nine-to-three_." said Sir Islands. Ciel unconsciously let out a voice of relief. The other boys saw this and interpreted it as good, so they silently cheered and high-fived each other. The bluenette could only guess who it was who opposed the idea, yet, his suspicions were proven partially wrong by what the man said next.

"You should be grateful to _Sir Integra _for the passing of this proposal." the grouchy, old man said. "She managed to sway most of the members in your favour. If it wasn't for her, your plan would never leave the ground!"

"_Integra did?"_ he asked, thinking aloud. There was no way the Hellsing woman would help him, would she?

"Yes. Just make sure that whatever _that thing_ does, will benefit this nation's welfare, _Phantomhive_." Sir Islands said sternly, before hanging up. The bluenette's suspicions of one of his opposers was confirmed, at least. He hung up too and looked at the group of boys in the room.

"Luka's going to get his own body." he said. The other boys cheered at the statement. Nigel snapped out of his depressed state and stared at the bluenette in shock for a moment. They really were going to allow him to do this? He looked over at the blonde menace as well, watching him as tears streamed down his face, an expression that didn't seem to match the gigantic smile on his face.

Alois would get to have his brother back, in his entirety. He wouldn't have to wait until Nigel was "asleep" in order to see him, nor would he have to feel awkward by talking to the boy while he was wearing Nigel's face. He would get to see Luka again. He would get to see his face, with his big brown eyes and big smile. He would also get to ruffle his brother's messy brown hair, and hold him in a big hug, making up for all of the times he simply wasn't able to. The thought of all of this alone was enough to make the blonde cry tears of joy.

The other lads pat him on the back as they cheered. Nigel was now smiling so much that his cheeks hurt. Ciel simply smiled at the scene in front of him, before dialing the numbers of the documented companies, and placing his phone back up to his ear before ordering the supplies that they needed, including extra, just in case they botched up their first attempt at making a body for the boy. The bluenette had somehow miraculously convinced Kristopherson to allow them to perform the ceremony in the basement of the house, so they wouldn't have to venture all the way back to London. In a few days, the supplies would arrive, and Nigel would have his body back, while Luka had his own.

"What's everybody so happy about?" asked the ginger, suddenly. He jumped when the blonde suddenly grabbed his shoulders.

"Luka! Luka, you're going to have your own body soon!" Alois said excitedly. "Isn't that awesome!?"

"Whoa! How're you gonna do that?!" asked the mentally younger boy.

"Ciel's going to make you one, then he's going to transfer your soul into it!"

"Whoa! He can do that?!" asked Luka, now staring at the bluenette. "Is he a '_super-demon'_ or something?!"

"Of course he is! He's Satan!" Daniel chimed in, giving the boy a thumbs-up.

_ "Satan?! He's the devil?!" _the ginger asked, Luka of course, taking the nickname seriously. "_Big brother, you kissed the devil?!"_

"Daniel, shut up! Luka, he's not _really _the devil!" Alois attempted to clarify, an attempt that proved to be for naught as the other lads joined.

"_You bet he is!"_ said Krisotpherson. "He's the _King of Demons!"_

_"That's why Sebastian and Alois listen to him." _added Audrey.

"He can _control people's minds_, and_ create other demons for him to command_." said Preston.

"Big Brother! _Is the Devil controlling you?!" _asked Luka, rather seriously.

"No, he _isn't! _He's not _the Devil!"_ Alois insissted.

"_He doesn't even know he's being forced to become the Devil's wife!" _spoke Daniel, wiping away a non-existant tear. "_It's so sad!"_

_"Big Brother! Noooooooo!"_

_ "I'm not being forced into anything! I'm not his wife!"_ the blonde shouted, jumping with the others when the bluenette finally snapped at them.

"_WILL YOU MORONS QUIT TAKING A PISS?! I AM ON THE BLOODY PHONE!"_

* * *

**A/N: He mad.  
**

**Laters, duckies.**

* * *

_**OH MY GOD STOP CORRUPTING THE INNOCENT YOU GUYS WE ARE ALL GOING TO HELL FOR THIS GUYS I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED  
**_

_Question: **"now luka when two people love each other very much they decided to have 'special time' during this the man puts his uh manly parts in man/woman womanly parts/manly ass and this is what we call sex! Now your reaction?"** by Wooimmafox1305_

_Luka's Answer:__"Ew! That's so GROSS! Why would anyone do that?! I didn't know THAT'S what that meant! The town prostitutes got paid for that?! Why would anyone want that?!" ***GASP* **__"D-does big brother do that with Ciel, too?! In his butt?! Big Brother, why would you do that to Ciel?! Doesn't that hurt him?! I thought you liked him! I don't understand, big brother! Why would you try to hurt him?! Ciel, are you okay?!"__  
_


	211. Life Lessons

Tension arose between the blondes of the Sensational Seven. The natural blonde held in his hand the sketch that the faux-blonde had made based on his descriptions. He stared blankly at it for the longest time before speaking.

_ "It doesn't look anything like him..."_ he said, breaking the silence that nearly suffocated the two.

_ "What?!"_ barked Kristopherson. "But that's what you told me he looks like!"

"No it's _not!_ I'd know my brother anywhere!" argued Alois. "That ain't him!"

"It's not_ my _fault that _I can't read your mind!"_

"But it_ is _your fault that _you suck at following directions!"_

"I do _not!"_

"Do _too!"_

"Alois, Kristopherson, _shut up."_ ordered the bluenette, rubbing his temples. "I'm trying to concentrate..."

"Bullshit! _You're just sitting there doing nothing!"_ remarked the pink-loving lad, earning a mean look from Ciel.

With a sigh, the bluenette said: _"I'm trying to remember what Luka looks like... It's been over one-hundred years since I've seen him..."_

"You met Luka? When?" asked Alois, arching an eyebrow and tilting his head.

"Well, I didn't actually _meet_ him. I saw him when you were_ in my head _and_ hijacking my body."_ Ciel replied with a shudder. He could really sympathize with Alois due to the fact that he had seen his memories; memories that both he and Alois would like to forget. He had seen Luka while his soul was mixed with the blondes, and it was for this reason that he could sympathize with Nigel and Luka as well. Having your body stolen isn't exactly pleasant.

"Oh yeah..." the blonde said, shuddering a bit, himself. Wearing someone elses' skin, and motoring their limbs was a strange thing. "That was a_ weird _expeirience..."

"Very..."

"Everything seemed taller." the blonde remarked, smirking at the death glare that the bluenette gave him.

"Whatever you're talking about,_ I don't want to know..." _said Kristopherson, getting up to walk into a different room. "Keep your _weird exploits_ to yourselves!" he called as he entered the kitchen.

"_It wasn't like that!" _the bluenette called back. He sighed when he didn't receive a response, returning his attention to the blonde once more.

"Anyway, can you describe for me what he looked like?" he asked. "If I can remember, we won't need the sketch."

"Hmm... Okay, let's see..." the blonde said, scooting over closer to the bluenette on the couch. He thought for a moment on how to explain the image in his head. "He has big, kind of round-ish brown eyes, and his hair is brown, but sort of on the red-ish side." he began, pausing between sentences in order to get his description right. "It's kind of moppy, but that was probably because he hardly ever washed it. His face is round, and looks happy and cute no matter what expression he's making. His nose is kind of small, too. Luka's not as pale as you and me, either. He's a little tan... and... Hmmmnnn... That's not very descriptive, is it?"

"It's fine. I think I can imagine it, now." the bluenette replied with a small chuckle. "He might not be exactly the same, but it should be pretty close."

"That's okay. I'm pretty confident that you'll do a good job at it." Alois said. "I'm actually pretty impressed you were able to make mine almost exactly the same!" That, the other boy blushed at.

"Well, it's..." the bluentte began, struggling for words. "It's pretty hard to forget the face of the kid who _molested my brain_..."

"Hmmm~? Are you sure you just didn't think I was_ hot?" _the blonde menace teased, wrapping an arm around the bluenette's next and using his free hand to cup the boy's cheek.

"Sh-shut up..."

_"P.D.A., _you guys! There are _children _present!" called Daniel, indicating that Luka was awake. "Show some_ decency!"_

"You are one of the _last_ people who should be talking about _'decency'_, Daniel..." remarked the Phantomhive boy, turning his head to face the politician's son.

"Big brother is a _pervert..." _Luka said flatly, not withholding his observation in the slightest.

"No, I'm_ not!" _the blonde whined, separating himself from the bluenette, his face red. "_Ciel's _the _bigger pervert!"_

_ "No, I'm not."_

"How is he more perverted, big brother?"

Alois opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it, his face turning a dark shade of red at the many memories of the bluenette being "perverted". That was simply something your don't tell your little brother. Not even an "abridged" version was acceptable. The blonde looked to the Phantomhive boy for help on how to diffuse the situation.

"Don't look at _me. You're _the one who got yourself into this, '_big brother'_." the bluenette remarked. In response, the blonde pouted for a moment before turning to the confused, mentally-younger boy in front of him.

"Uhm, well..." he began, trying to form a coherent sentence. "...He's... He's always... _kissing_ me... and stuff..."

"But you do that to him too, don't you?"

"Uh, well... _yeah, _but..." the blonde began, only digging himself into a deeper hole. "He kisses _differently_... like... like... _Like the people on TV!"_

"Whoa! Like on those weird_ girly shows _Nigel's mom watches?!"

"_Y-y-yeah!_ Yeah! _Exactly!"_ the blonde said, relieved that he was able to escape. "L-like on those _romantic 'girly shows'!"_

"_Gross!_ What's _wrong _with you, Ciel?!" Luka demanded.

"_Me?! _Alois kisses back!" the bluenette argued. "Half the time, _he _starts it!"

_ "Ew!_ Big Brother! You'll get his spit in your mouth!" Luka said. "Why do people kiss, anyway?! It's _gross!"_

"Well, Luka..." Daniel began, putting his hand on the ginger's shoulder, with a mischeivious grin. "People kiss because it _feels good~!"_

"Like _you_ would know, _'Mister Forever-Alone'_." said Alois.

"I _have _a girlfriend, mind you!" the brown-haired lad snapped. "We haven't kissed yet, but_ it could happen!"_

"Stay away from my sister, you _slimeball_." said Kristopherson, walking back into the room with a soda.

"What about _you,_ huh?! How far have _you _gotten?!" asked Daniel.

"Like I'd tell a _creep_ like you!"

"Hey, big brother, is that true?" asked Luka. "Does kissing feel good?"

_ "Huh?!_ O-oh... Well... _Yeah_, but..." the blonde stammered. "B-b-but, you can't kiss someone unless you love them, got it?"

"Yes, sir!" the ginger replied, giving the blonde a salute. Thus, everyone survived the awkward conversation of the day. In a few days, the supplies for the younger Macken boy's body would arrive, and Nigel would be forced to participate in them as well.

* * *

**A/N: Stalling. I'm just stalling.  
**

**Soon, my duckies. SOON.**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET SWEET MERCIFUL MOTHER MARY **_

_Question: **"To Luka; Can you beg Alois to put you in Health Class, and tell me his reaction?"** by Canadian Hero  
_

_Luka's Answer:__"His face got really red, and he said it was okay before mutterin' somethin' about how he wouldn't have to explain stuff to me. What's a health class? Like, where you go to be a doctor?" _

_000000000000000_

_Question:** "Alois: you enjoyed your 'punishment' didn't you? I know you liked it as much as Ciel did. Ciel: If you could dress up Alois however you wanted, what would it be? And no, normal clothes isn't an acceptable answer"** by Emeraldpaw_

_Ciel's Answer:__"A-a-anything?! W-well... I don't know! H-he looks good in almost anything, so... Uhm... I really like his demon form, I guess... and his suit..."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"...M-maybe..."_

_000000000000000_

_Question: **"Alois, how would you react to Daniel corrupting Luka so he...understands...stuff. Ciel and Sebastian, listen to anything by the song MSI."** by RainbowStar000_

_Alois' Answer:__"LUKA! NOOOOOOOOO! I'LL FUCKING MURDER YOU INTO OBLIVION, DANIEL!"  
_

_Ciel's Answer: "I like the sound, I just don't really care for the lyrics..."_

_Sebastian: ***Takes Out Earbud*** "Pardon? I didn't hear you..."  
_

_00000000000000000_

_Question: **"Luka thought Ciel was the uke! Hahahahahhaha! Ciel! Alois! What is your reaction to this?"** by FreezinWinter_

_Ciel's Reaction:_**_*screams internally* *Sighs* _**_"I'm fine, Luka. **Alois** didn't do any of those things to **me**..."  
_

_Alois' Reaction:__"L-Luka! I-I-I didn't do any of that! Listen to your big brother! You're not old enough to know about all of that stuff! Got it?!"  
_

_Luka: "Why not?! Why do people do that, though?!"  
_

_Alois: "YOU'LL KNOW WHEN YOU'RE OLDER."_


	212. Not Just A Faded Memory

Somewhere off the coast of Britain, in a beach-house owned by the family of Miles, a familiar scene took place. Days had passed, and after the materials had arrived, the sensational seven all helped carry them down into the basement of the house as the butler busily drew undecipherable symbols on it's concrete floor in chalk. The lad's were then shooed away, as the demons didn't wish for them to be in the way, or worry about their souls becoming corrupted or damned. The lads weren't even allowed to help set up, as the demons organized the ingredients in a manner that would be useable, removing lids, and unscrewing caps, and pouring things into other things. It was amazing that nothing exploded.

After the blonde menace described his brother's appearance to the bluenette one last time, Ciel crouched down, placing his hands inside the diabolic circles. His "good" eye began to glow an ominous crimson, and his muscles tensed as he focused his energy, illuminating the chalk lines on the floor. Odd winds coming from seemingly nowhere stirred up dust, and it was amazing that it didn't seem to interfere with the procedure or contaminate the ingredients. Suddenly, the many chemicals and elements scattered within the circle toppled over and burst into pitch-black, smokeless flames. Alois' eyes widened at the reaction, and quickly looked at the other demons, who's faces seemed oddly calm. It would seem that this was all simply part of the procedure. He could vaguely understand what the other boy was saying.

"Hoc virtutis species dona mihi animam!" the bluenette chanted, and behold!

The flames began to die down. Among the scattered empty glass bottles that had once contained the elements that made up a human body and had turned black from the flames, was the visage of a child, limp, seemingly lifeless, and nude. Sebastian walked over and covered the boy with his coat, giving him at least some dignity in his current state, leaving only the lad's face exposed. Alois immediately dashed over to the body, and examined it.

It was Luka. No matter how he looked at it, the boy was definately Luka. The blonde absent-mindedly caressed the boy's cheek with the palm of his hand, and smiled. This Luka didn't look like he did when he died. He simply looked like he was sleeping, as opposed to the image of the boy on that day, when his eyes were open, empty, and devoid of life. Alois also noticed that the boy's skin was softer, "new" as it wasn't worn and accustomed to the abuse of nature. The blonde turned and gave the bluenette a big smile, fighting off the urge to cry.

"Does that look about right?" asked the bluenette, dusting off his pants leg. He smiled when he saw the blonde nod in response, his face pained as it fought off tears, yet smiling all the same as he held the his younger brother's new vessel in his arms.

"I suppose we should get started on the next step right away, then?" asked the butler.

"We should probably make him decent first." suggested the bluenette. "Unless you're willing to let him borrow your coat for awhile, Sebastian. I'll go upstairs and ask Kristohperson to do some clothes-shopping for Luka. Can you two clean up here?"

_ "Yes, my lord."_

_ "Yes, my master."_ Ciel simply rolled his eyes at the odd response and began to climb up the stairs.

"I'll leave you to it, then." he said, leaving the blonde, and the raven-haired man to clean up the chalk lines and replace them with new ones. Gently, the blonde picked up Luka's new body and carefully placed it in a chair, wrapping the butler's coat around him a bit better. Sebastian began to roll up his sleeves to get to work.

"Would you like to mop, or pick up the bottles?" he asked, picking up the mop and bucket of water he had prepared prior, knowing they would need it. He smiled as the blonde turned to face him.

"I don't really care. I'll pick up the bottles, I guess." he replied.

"Alright then, you'll need some gloves." the man said, swiping away at the evil markings on the floor. "Some of those chemicals are dangerous, and you shouldn't let them touch your skin."

"Isn't demon-skin tough?"

_"It still hurts when __**acid **__touches it."_

The blonde got up and picked up a pair of rubber gloves as he wondered why having acid in one's body was somehow not harmful, if it ate away at flesh. He Put on the ugly yellow gloves, and began picking up the empty bottles and jars, and buckets before placing them in a garbage bag. He looked up as he heard a stampede of people coming down the stairs, and the shouting of the a certain bluenette demon. Ciel was yelling at the other lads to stop, but they didn't listen, as they were all eager to see what Luka looked like.

"He's a cute little guy, isn't he?" said Daniel with a grin. "He doesn't look much like you, though, Alois."

"We're not related by blood." the blonde menace clarified. "We just call ourselves

_'brothers' _because we took care of each other and thought of each other as _'family'."_

"His face matches his personality." said Audrey. "He looks so sweet and innocent."

"Don't let _Daniel_ get a hold of him." said Kristopherson. "I can definately find clothes for such a little cutie."

"You like younger boys, too, Kris?!" asked the disgruntled politician's son, jokingly. "And you call _me_ _'scummy'!? _We need to call _the Yard _on you!"

"Piss off, Dan! He's not _'cute' _in _that _way!"

"You mean he's _'cute' _in the way _puppies_ are, right?" asked Preston.

"He's super-cute." said Travis. More footsteps were heard coming down the stairs as the Phantomhive boy came into view.

"I told you all to wait until we're done! Do you _want_ to get _cursed, _or something!?" he demanded, furrowing his brow.

"I just needed to see what kind of clothes I was looking for, and what sizes to get." said the faux-blonde, turning his attention to the irritated bluenette. "I'm told that I'm _'going to Hell',_ all the time, so what's the problem, if I'm going there _anyway?"_

"The idea of _Hell_ becomes a lot less scary when you're friends with demons, anyway." Audrey commented. _"Especially when 'death' doesn't seem to be a 'permanent' thing, around here."_

_ "Just go and get Luka some clothes." _Ciel said, rubbing his temples. "_Take the others with you, while you're at it, why don't you?"_

"Fine. I'll need the car, though." replied Kristopherson, holding out his hand for the keys.

"I didn't know you could drive, Kris!" said Daniel.

"I'm seventeen, so I have my license already." Sebastian grimaced somewhat as he reluctantly handed the boy the car-keys.

"Please... _Just be careful with it..." _the man said in an unusually pleading fashion.

"Don't worry... I will..." the faux-blonde replied, somewhat confused by the man's behaviour. It was just a simple fact that the butler held fondness over the automobiles of the Phantomhive estate, and spent much time keeping all of them in pristine condition. Knowing this, the bluenette simply rolled his visible eye at the man's actions.

"The rest of you, don't do anything to mess up _my _car." he warned the others- and by "_others", _I mean "_primarily Daniel_".

They simply nodded, some also agreeing verbally as they followed the Miles boy out of the basement and out of the house, leaving only the three demons and the Irons boy, who simply stood and stared at the small child propped up in his chair. That was the boy who was in his head, the one who would sometimes possess his body and interact with others, causing confusion and awkward situations wherever he went. That was Luka Macken. It was odd, seeing his face. Nigel began to wonder what the small lad was like, as he had never been able to actually speak with him. All he knew of Luka was what he had heard from others-, his friends, and his parents. Today, he was going to be able to meet him for the first time. He was going to meet the person who was literally closest to him, who he knew nothing about, and who knew nothing of him, for the first time. He was both excited, and he was frightened.

Nigel was excited to meet the boy and get his body back, but frightened of failure. What if the procedure failed, and he ended up in the other boy's body instead of staying in his own? What if his soul was accidentally destroyed in the process? What if he would be going to _Hell _for being a part of this? He wondered which was worse: _Not existing, or going to Hell?_

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt pressure on his shoulder. Nigel turned to see the blonde menace smiling at him.

"Thank you." the boy said. "I owe you so much for this, Nigel." the ginger stood there, confused.

"Owe me for what?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did! You let Luka borrow your body and didn't just tell him to 'piss off'." the blonde said quite seriously. "You made it possible for me to see him again! I owe you a lot!"

"It's no big deal." the Irons boy said with a shrug. "I couldn't just let him float off into space, or whatever souls do."

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen him today, did he come out at all?"

"No. He hasn't, actually. _Not since yesterday..." _

The bluenette almost dropped the bottles he was carrying when he heard that. Ciel was listening in to their conversation, and immediately became worried. Luka had been coming out so often, recently, and him suddenly disappearing could only mean one thing. Quickly, he set down the bottles and ran over to Nigel, grabbing the sides of his head and examining him.

"Wh-what are you going?" Nigel asked, yet the bluenette didn't answer him.

"Sebastian! Hurry up with the circle! We need to do this_ now!"_ Ciel shouted, grabbing the ginger's wrist and shoving him inside the circle. He then ran back to pick up Luka's body and set it down in the circle next to the first boy.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!" Nigel asked, panicking. His eyes were wide, and his voice shook, knowing that the bluenette's haste meant nothing good.

_ "Luka's fading."_ the Phantomhive boy said, putting one hand on Nigel's forehead, and the other on Luka's. "He's not going to be here for much longer if we don't hurry! Sebastian! _The circle!"_

"It's complete, my lord! Start the incantation!" the butler shouted back.

The chalk lines on the ground began to glow,. They glowed, and the bluenette's multi-coloured eyes glowed, as the winds returned to stir up dust and and cause a ruckus. Alois' eyes widened, expressing his worry and his fear of losing Luka again, this was his only chance, as well as Luka's. Nigel's eyes shut tightly as he felt the life being sucked out of him. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe; this was it, their only shot.

_"E pluribus unum dare, cum pauci. Da ei anima sua. Suam faciem._

_Vocem suam. Corpus suum."_

Nigel fell over when the light faded, falling and curling up into a ball on the ground. His body felt cold, but he could still feel it, so he knew he was still alive. He shuddered and moved his eyes to look over at the body next to him, wrapped carefully in Sebastian's tailcoat. _Luka wasn't moving. _

His brother quickly rushed to his side, and propped him up, calling his name over and over, while trying to wake him up. _Luka did not move, not in the slightest._ Not even a small twitch to indicate that he was alive. Upon realizing this, Alois' lip began to quiver, and he tightly held onto the younger Macken's shell of a body, as if he was afraid that he would leave.

_ "Luka..." _the blonde whimpered, his vision blurring and his cheeks turning wet with the small streams of water pouring from his eyes. The room was entirely silent save for the sound of the blonde's cries.

"..._Luka..."_ he called again, his voice cracking as it reached a certain volume and he hiccuped.

It hurt. It hurt him everywhere. It hurt him in his very soul to know, once and for all, that Luka was never coming back. All the others in the room could do was sadly watch as the blonde sobbed. _"Luka... Please don't leave me... Please... Luka..."_

But then they heard a small cough.

"_Big brother, you're squeezing me too hard... It hurts..."_

Alois pulled away to look at the small boy, watching him for a moment as he coughed from the blonde compressing his ribcage in his embrace. He couldn't believe it. Right there, in his arms was Luka, with his own face, and voice. Everything about the boy in the blonde's arms was Luka. Finally, at long last, the Macken brothers were reunited once again.

"_Luka!"_ the blonde cried, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy again.

_ "Wagh! Big brother, it's too tight! Leggo!"_

_ "No way! I don't want to let go of you ever again!"_

"_But I'm naked!"_

* * *

**A/N: Yo.  
**

**I can't think of anything to say, so here's a question:**

**"HateWeasle if you woke up in the phantomhive estate and most of the characters were waiting for you to wake what would you do also you're the extra friend in the seven?" by Cheshire Lucky**

**I hate it when I wake up and realize that my entire life was only a dream... It's like, super-awkward...**

**ALTERNATE UNIVERSES OHMAHGAW.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET SWEET JESUS HAVE MERCY  
**_

_Questions: **"Luka, what would you think if Alois and Ciel had a baby?"** by White Bloody Queen  
_

_Luka's Answer:"First, I'd be confused 'cause Ciel and Jim are both boys, but then I'd be really happy 'cause then I'd be an uncle!"  
_

_0000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Alois, what would you do if you and Ciel switched bodies for a day?"** by KuroNeko_

_Alois' Answer:__"After being WEIRDED THE FUCK OUT for a long time, I would probably try not to ruin his reputation in public, but then I'd probably make stupid faces in the mirror and try to resist the urge to oogle him. Oh, and try to figure out a way to fix it."  
_

_000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"****Question for Ciel: you're the uke and you have no choice and let Alois top you. Your reaction and how did you like it? ****Alois: what is your reaction to being the pitcher"** by sebastianthedemonbutler_

_Ciel's External Reaction: "Oh... Well... T-that was... D-different... S-so that's what it f-feels like for Alois..."_

_Ciel's Internal Reaction:"Ugh, but it was so embarrassing! I can't believe I made myself look so weak! W-well it's just to Alois, a-and i-i-it did f-feel pretty g-good... B-but still! It pisses me off! Ciel Phantomhive is NOT submissive! Next time I see him, I'm gonna..."_

_Alois' Reaction:"Heheheheehee... Ciel! You were so cute~! I almost couldn't hold back with you being all cute, flustered, and sexy~! Oh, and those sounds you were making~! What a turn-on~! Whoa! Hey! W-wait! W-what are you doing?! Y-you damn Horndog! Ciel~!"_

_0000000000000000000000000000  
_

_Question: **"No one's asked Hellsing anything yet! So, Sir Integra, what do you really think of Ciel Phantomhive? And why can't you stop antagonizing him whenever the two of you meet?"** by SailorVegeta13_

_Integra's Answer:__"Sir Phantomhive is dutiful, proud, intelligent, and worthy of respect. He always gets his jobs done as quickly as possible, and is definitely Round-Table material, but lacks a sense of humility and is extremely arrogant. Ciel Phantomhive is a warped individual with questionable morals. His slight disregard for life and sadistic tendencies are somewhat disturbing. I don't know what he's after, but I'm not entirely sure that he knows, either. That 'boy' is a complete and utter anomaly. My antagonizing of him is simply to test his wit and his hold on his own 'humanity'. That, and it's quite amusing to see him slip-up and act like the child that he appears to be."  
_


	213. Flying Koalas

A few days passed since Luka's restoration, and he and the Sensational Seven had been getting along swimmingly. Especially with Nigel, who he felt a sort of connection with even if he hadn't actually met him before then. Luka went as far as to call Nigel his "_third big brother_", much to the annoyance of a certain blonde, who claimed that _"being Luka's big brother isn't apparently as special as it used to be, since anyone can be one now_." He was simply pouting about having to share the younger boy with others.

The bluenette found himself in a similar situation, as more of Alois' attention shifted from him, to Luka. Now, Ciel isn't an immature boy, so he wasn't really one to complain, but the fact that he wasn't able to monopolize the blonde's affections any longer annoyed him. It annoyed him now that the blonde wasn't crawling all over him, and he oddly found himself missing those flirtatious remarks that the boy would always make. Even at night, when they were supposed to be "alone", Luka was still there, since all of the beds and couches were already full, and he, like the humans, required sleep since he was "new". The Phantomhive boy often kicked himself for feeling absurd things such as jealousy over a _"baby demon_".

He couldn't really blame Alois for giving the boy so much attention, however, since the blonde hadn't seen his brother in years. He was the only person that the boy could consider "family", and one of the only people the boy has ever cared about, so it wasn't as though the bluenette could simply "change his mind". Because he cared about Alois, and Alois cared about Luka, Ciel had to care for Luka as well. He didn't particularly mind the cute little thing. His only irritation was with the lack of attention he was receiving from the blonde.

"Travis! _Travis!" _Luka called, running up to the bulky boy along the sand. "Throw me in the water! _Throw me in the water!"_

The usually silent Sullivan boy arched an eyebrow, and looked to the blonde menace for a moment to see if it was alright. Once he received the "thumbs-up" signal from the blonde, he hesitantly bent down and picked up the small boy by his underarms. With a grunt from Travis, Luka was sent flying, giggling as he soared through the air and landed in the water with a _splash_. Immediately upon resurfacing, he swam back to shore and ran up to Travis once more.

_ "Do it again!"_ he shouted when he finally managed to stop giggling. Travis simply held up his hands.

"Sorry, I'm not doing it anymore." he replied, frowning apologetically at the tiny brunette's pout. He simply didn't want Luka to accidentally get hurt in the process. Since pouting didn't work, the brunette trotted up to some of the others and began asking them.

First he asked Nigel, and then Audrey because they were both slightly more muscular than the others from being at the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. camp, but they refused. He didn't bother asking Preston, because he knew the Indian boy would say "no", nor did he ask Kristopherson, simply because he questioned the faux-blonde's physical strength. Thus, he turned to his older brother.

"_Jim! Throw me!" _he said, waving his arms around in the air. He was answered with what he was hoping for.

"Alright, alright, but just one time." Alois said with a giggle.

He picked the rather excitable lad up, and walked a little closer to the water. Tensing his muscles, and letting go, he sent the smaller boy soaring. Unfortunately, he underestimated his own strength a bit, and sent the lad flying a bit too high. Alois was in a panic as the boy came spiraling down towards the sea, creating an enormous splash as he made impact. All was silent as those on land stared at the spot where the younger Macken boy landed, waiting for him to resurface.

They all released a sigh of relief when the boy finally did reappear, smiling and being otherwise unharmed. "I went really high that time! _Do it again!"_

"No, we _will not '_do it again'!"

"You shouldn't have thrown him in the first place, if it worries you." said the bluenette, gaining the attention of the blonde.

"I didn't know he'd fly _that _high!" Alois replied. "If I did, I wouldn't have!"

"Then you should plan ahead in case of such mishaps." Ciel said, folding his arms.

_ "Bite me, cyclops-boy!"_

"Is that a _challenge,_ or an _invitation?"_ the Phantomhive boy smirked, leaning forward and pecking the blonde on the lips, an action that somewhat surprised the other boy, since the bluenette wasn't the type to show such affection in public. Alois simply smiled.

"Feeling _neglected_, are we?" he asked, grinning at the bluenette's blush. "Don't worry, when we get home, I'll kiss you all you want."

"_How did you know about that?"_ Ciel asked, looking at the ground, slightly.

"Because I know you." Alois replied, grabbing the bluenette's hand and guiding him towards the water. "C'mon, we need to go join the others before Daniel _corrupts_ my brother." He paused for a moment before adding: "Unless you want another quick kiss?"

They got down to the others, joining the others in laughing at Nigel, who was currently being climbed upon by a certain tiny demon. They were apparently far enough away from the shore, that Luka had trouble touching his feet to the sea floor due to his lack of height. The boy was latched onto Nigel's back like a baby koala, struggling to maintain his grip without accidentally digging his nails into the other lad's skin.

It would appear that he would be getting along just fine with the others.

* * *

**A/N: So short! So painfully short!  
**

**I couldn't think of anything, and I was in a hurry, 'cause there's stuff I gotta do~! I need to fill out my college application because I've been putting it off because THE PROCRASTI-NATION WON'T STOP ATTACKING.**

**EVERYTHING CHANGES WHEN THE PROCRASTI-NATION ATTACKS.**

**Don't worry, I should be posting again today, but I now that I said that, I might have just jinxed it. **

**WHOOOOOOOOOO~!**

**I have no idea what I'm gonna major in~! I'm only good at English, and Art, and jobs in those fields are extremely rare, and the ones that aren't, don't pay for shit~! I was going to ty and become a graphic designer. I just need to learn how to use the technology and software that's necessary for that...**

**Ah... I wanna pursue my acting too... I mean, like voice and stage work. I have a little experience in both, but nothing super-impressive... (A local commercial or two and a few high-school musical productions...) I don't have the specific look or any interest in cinema. I don't wanna sell my soul... **

**Ah, man, it would be so cool if I could become an anime voice actress... I'd have to do something else on the side, though, because supporting yourself on that kind of salary is impossible unless you can book multiple gigs at once...**

**For now, I just use my voice to mimic the sounds of popular characters to make fangirls go "squee". I can sound just like an older English Ciel, like the Japanese Lizzie, and like the English Dub Alois. I like the Japanese better, it's just closer to my normal range. All I have to do is add a smoother texture and an accent.**

**Damn, my dreams are so unrealistic... Reality sucks... And not in a good way...**

**UGH.**

**Laters, duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET CHRIST ON A STICK  
**_

_Question: **"Integra (screw formalities), have you ever encountered a vampire by the name of /i/ Edward Cullen /i/?"** by Honeycloud of RiverClan_

_Integra's Answer: "You're not talking about that 'Twilight' nonsense, are you? Of course I haven't. Even if he was an actual vampire, he certainly wouldn't be worth my time to take him out personally. It would just barely be worth it to waste the money to deploy a small team to take care of him."  
_

_000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Ciel, one morning you wake up, and Alois is a girl. How do you spend your day? Alois, the opposite for you. Though, how would you spend your day as a girl? Luka, go look up an M rated fanfic of Ciel and Alois. React."** by CiaranMichlealis_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I imagine it would be just like any other day, only Alois would look slightly different, and it would be socially acceptable for us to hold hands and stuff in public."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"I would use the power of breasts to make Ciel immensely uncomfortable."  
_

_Luka's Answer:__"But I can't read!"  
_

**_DON'T HAVE TIME RIGHT NOW TO ANSWER THE REST I'LL DO IT LATER ASDGFADSLGASDLKGJADLKGH!  
_**


	214. Watch Out For The Little Guy

In some undisclosed secret location somewhere within the London area, a meeting is taking place. A gathering of twelve, high-ranked individuals within the British government, who have been burdened with the task of running the government from the shadows, and supporting her majesty, the Queen, discusses troubling topics that the public must never know about. Subjects such as the existence of the supernatural, as well as the use of such creatures as tools. Recently, the twelve had agreed upon investing in a new "tool" such as this, and were currently going over the progress of adapting that tool to modern society.

_"I don't like it."_ spoke one of the Round Table members, a cynical man with shaggy blonde hair and dark bushy eyebrows, as well as the youngest member of the council. "Are we honestly going just to sit here and allow Phantomhive to simply do as he pleases? Don't any of you find it odd that he keeps _collecting _demons?"

"_Sir Kirkland_, I'm sure that Sir Phantomhive has his reasons, and I highly doubt that he is simply up to no good." replied another, a somewhat nervous, yet kind man who went by the title "Sir Penwood".

"Then what exactly _is_ his plan?" asked the first. "He could be building _an army_ for all we know!"

"Calm down, _Arthur_." spoke a third man, one of the oldest at the table as he stroked his goatee. The man wore a beret and part of a military uniform. His name was "_Sir Walsh", _and while he was an old military veteran, he was somewhat laid back, and like Sir Hellsing, enjoyed smoking at meetings. "I doubt the Dog is that silly. He doesn't seem like the type to do a thing like that."

"How do _you_ know?"

"Because that's _not_ Ciel Phantomhive." spoke Rupert Midford, the current head of the Midford family.

He was related to the bluenette to some extent, being the great, great, great_, et cetra_ grandson of the demon's cousin, _Edward Midford_, the older brother of his former fiancee,_ Elizabeth_. The Midford household, being linked to the Phantomhive household, had become aware of the boy's existence as a demon, and spoke to him often. To them, it was just a family secret, that all members of Midford were to keep. Even Rupert's children were aware, and thus aware of the existence of the supernatural. His middle child, _Oliver_, even went to the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Camp. Yes, like the _Hellsing's_, the _Midford's_ knew all about _Ciel Phantomhive._ Sir Midford frowned at the statement made about the bluenette, feeling as though his family had been directly called into question.

"Ciel is an honourable man, who would never go against the crown." he continued, furrowing his brow at _Sir Kirkland._ "To call his integrity into question, is absurd! He hasn't the slightest motivation for conquest!"

"How can you be so sure?" asked the much younger man. "You seem to know an awful lot about his motives, Midford. Perhaps _you too _are in on his scheme?"

"How _dare _you?!"

"_Gentlemen,_ please." interrupted the council chairman, Sir Islands, clapping his hands together in order to gain the attention of the others. "Let us all behave like human beings. Now, it has come to my attention that Sir Hellsing has some updated information on the progress of the new addition to the Phantomhive household. _Sir Hellsing_, would you care to _share_ with us?" The bespectacled woman nodded.

"Indeed, I would." she began, glancing at the files in front of her. "As we know, the addition is known as '_Luka Macken'_, and is the younger brother of the previous addition, _Jim Macken._ His personality seems incredibly stable, even more so that that of either his brother, or even that of Sir Phantomhive himself. Now that they are aware of the possibility of demonity in resurrected souls such as these, the Phantomhives have also begun searching for evidence of transformation into such a creature."

"And?" asked Sir Penwood. "_Did they find anything?" _Sir Hellsing nodded, and opened the small laptop on the table in front of her.

"Yes." she said simply, gesturing to the pull-down screen up against the wall in the room, stationed in front of a small projector. She pushed a few buttons on the computer, and a picture came up.

"_Luka Macken_ is showing signs of demonity, such as his fingernails turning darker, as seen here. As some of you may know, all demons have black fingernails." she pushed another button, and the picture changed. "As seen here, he has also developed small, hard growths on the sides of his head, just underneath the skin. According to the x-rays, it's _bone,_ and is most likely the beginnings of _horns_. These are the only physical changes. We aren't aware whether or not this is abnormal, since we were all unaware of the demonity of_ Jim Macken_, and didn't get a chance to study him in this stage._ Any questions?"_ She looked around the room, watching as the others whispered amongst themselves for a moment.

"But is he _dangerous?" _asked Sir Kirkland, still very skeptical.

"In theory, yes." the woman replied. "He will require the consumption of a human soul in order to achieve full maturity, but as of now, he has _the same biological necessities and functions of any human being."_ Sir Hellsing looked back down at her screen for a moment, clicking around on the device. "Here is the video documentation taken by one of our doctors, of the boy's mental state." She pushed another button, and the screen changed.

The Twelve could see a recording of Luka, simply looking around the room he was in, before looking at the camera. The boy walked up to it, and placed his eye up against the lens as if he were trying to see what was inside, an action that made some of the Round Table members laugh. Finally, he pulled away, and they weren't staring directly at his eyeball any longer, as the boy turned and crawled up on the small table in the doctors office, taking a seat with his feet dangling over the edge.

"Hello, Luka!" called a voice from off-screen. It was the voice of doctor Ackerman. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine!" the boy replied cheerfully. "What're we gonna do today?"

"Well, today, I'm just going to ask you a few questions, okay?" replied the doctor in a friendly tone. "How has your summer vacation been so far?"

"It's been fun! I went to the beach, and found my big brother, and we all played together!" the boy said, playfully kicking his feet back and forth. "I also went to camp, which wasn't as much fun. It prol'ly would have been if I had my own body at the time!"

"Oh, and why's that?"

"'Cause then I would've actually got to talk to Jim! I had to pretend I was Nigel the whole time, and it wasn't fun! I liked running and playing with the guns, though."

"Guns are pretty dangerous, though."

"Yeah, but they taught us how to shoot them so that we wouldn't get hurt and stuff. Oh! And I didn't like all of the _yelling!_ It was annoying!"

"Well, It's a _military camp,_ and that's just how they work." replied the doctor, scribbling something down on he notepad. "So Luka, how do you like the modern world?"

"It's weird! The buildings look weird and have lights all over them, and there's all these really fast horseless carriages, and all sort of weird machinery everywhere and it's all so weird!" The boy paused for a moment. "I'm not allowed in the kitchen because Sebastian's afraid I'll break something!"

"That sounds quite overwhelming!"

"It is, sometimes! When we're out in public, my big brother holds my hand real tight everywhere we go so I don't run off! Ciel makes funny faces when he's mad."

Doctor Ackerman laughed at the small boy's enthusiasm. This boy was just so un-demon-like in his demeanor, that one would wonder what the point of evaluating him in the first place. The woman composed herself and spoke again.

"Do you get along with Ciel? How is he?"

"He's... _odd_." the boy said. Almost all of the twelve watching the recording laughed, the remainder chuckled. Only one man, Sir Islands, remain completely silent.

" What do you mean?" the doctor asked.

"Well, he's real serious and quiet all the time. He's nice though, but not at all the kind of person I'd think my brother would like. I don't know if he likes me very much. He hardly says anything to me..." the boy said, fidgeting and looking down at his hands in his lap.

"Oh, come now, love. I don't think that's it at all." the woman replied, in a caring tone. "I just think that's he just isn't used to you yet. He's not very social, you know."

"So he's just _shy,_ then?"

"Yeah, more or less." the doctor said, setting down her clip-board. "Well, Luka, we're almost done here. Do you remember anything from your training with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.?" The boy held his hand up and pressed it against his forehead in a salute.

"_'We are on a mission from God'!"_ he shouted, reciting the motto. The council laughed at the small demon's cuteness, as did the doctor on the recording.

"Alright, I'm glad to hear you're doing well, Luka! I'll see you again in a month or so."

"Okay. I'll tell you if Ciel starts talking more, too!"

With that, the recording ended, and the lights came back on. The twelve all turned to Sir Hellsing, most of them understanding the point of showing them this, and some now. One in particular, did not.

"Sir Integra, what is the meaning of showing us this?" asked Sir Islands, frowning.

"It's simple, to show you what that child really is." the woman stated, lighting a cigar. "A child. He has the mentality of a young child, but, as shown with both his brother, and Ciel Phantomhive himself, demons age mentally. With this knowledge, we can confirm that he can be raised to service us, perhaps to cooperate even better than any of the others."

"Nonsense! A demon is a demon!" declared Sir Kirkland. "You cannot convince me that this child is not deadly!"

"He's _less deadly than your cooking_, Arthur." said Sir Midford.

"_There is nothing wrong with my cooking!"_

* * *

**A/N: Oh.  
**

**HAVE SOME FILLER.**

**DAMN FILLER.**

**I DUNNO WHAT I'M GONNA DO NEXT.**

**Laters, duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET **_

_Question: **"Question for the seven plus Luka, Nigel and Sir Integra. If you had to share a body with either Ciel, Alois or Sebastian who would you choose and why?"** by Emipandachan  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"Ciel's, because then I could boss people around with no objections."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:"Sebastian's, because he has the most demon-power."  
_

_Daniel's Answer:"Alois', because I don't want to be short!"_

_Preston's Answer:"Ciel's, because he has the best reputation, and the the power with it."  
_

_Travis' Answer:"Alois', because then I might have the guts to talk more."  
_

_Nigel's Answer:"Sebastian's, because he's the most 'normal'."  
_

_Luka's Answer:__"Sebastian's, because then I would still be able to spend time with big brother and Jim wouldn't be sad when Ciel's gone, and Sebastian's really nice!" _

_Integra's Answer:"Ciel's, because I would still be taken seriously."  
_

_00000000000_

_Question: **"Question for Ciel! : So are you bisexual, gay, or pansexual? (Pansexual is defined as someone who is attracted to other people of all sexes and gender, or regardless of sex and gender.)"** by RemyLupin_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Well... I guess pansexual, since I don't really care what form Alois takes..."  
_

_00000000000_

_Question:** "Travis, how did you feel when you found out that Ciel and Alois were demons?"** by bluejellyfishOuO_

_Travis' Answer:__"I was scared. Really scared. Also confused. It's not an easy thing to accept at all. It took me awhile to accept it, but when I did, everything was fine."  
_

_00000000000_

_Question: **"hate weasel i haz a question or two one how's it at hogwarts right now (:P) next what got you into this pairing? have you ever played Ib ? Next kris *gets out host microphone* How does it FEEL ...TO BE FABULOUS !"** by Wooimmafox1305_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"It feels so bloody AMAZING."_

_Hate's Answer:__"I haven't played Ib, but have seen a walk-through of it by Pewdiepie. Hogwarts is awesome right now since it's summer, and nobody's here. (Flyin' brooms in the Great Hall! No1curr~!)  
_

_Also, it was the same friend who got me into Kuroshitsuji in the first place. We started roleplaying and stuff, and joked about it back and forth, and those roleplay sessions became this. It's turned out to be something totally different, but I've kept some elements of it, like Ciel insisting that he's the seme, while Alois claims that he could be seme if he "wanted to". Steven the platypus is still here, even though he's a plushie, and not an actual platypus that Alois kept as a pet. It started getting shippy when Alois kept jokingly flirting with Ciel, like always, and then she, as Ciel was like: "No, no, no. If we do this, I'M the dominant one." or something to that extent... And then things escalated._

_It's totally weird, since from watching the actual show, I can't ship it at all. It doesn't fit in the show, and I have no idea how I somehow managed to make it make sense here. At the same time, though, it's my most powerful ship. I'm new to this whole 'shounen-ai' thing. Maybe I'm just in denial!" _


	215. Thoughtful Butler

Things have changed around the manor, lately. Up until now, it had been a rather quiet, and lifeless place, but now, people come and go; some stay as permanent residents, others don't. While it still is scarcely populated, things have become quite interesting with the addition of the Macken boys. Now, I certainly have my hands a little full.

Simply keeping up the manor's excellent condition is an easy task, even on my own. The burden was lifted a bit when Miss Charlotte worked here for those few months, but she wasn't the ones who had stayed. I hear she had quickly moved up in rank over at the Hellsing estate, becoming one of those more modern _female butlers,_ I've heard about. It's somewhat nice to hear that my little _"apprentice_" is doing well. As for the other one, she supposedly works primarily in the field, as her rambunctious nature is ill-suited for housework. At least she won't be _causing any more messes for me to clean up_.

Yet, I find myself becoming a tad bored with simply doing housework as of late. The young master suggested that I "_go find a hobby_", of some sort, and since that sounded like an order to me, I tried my best in order to do so. Thus, I've taken a liking to volunteering time at the animal shelter whenever they have a "_cat-day",_ which specializes in giving such beautiful creatures to a good home. I take my job quite seriously, too. However, I have yet to, nor will I ever, sign up to volunteer on "_dog-day."_ Ugh, simply _imagining_ the horrible sound of barking annoys me.

Today, however, I have a special task given to me by the young master. Just as I did with Alois when he had first made residence here, I am to supervise in the education of his brother, Luka. It would appear that I'm going to have a lot of ground to cover with this one, as he is younger, and is even _less_ educated than the first.

Unlike Alois, Luka hardly knows how to read and write. He knows the alphabet and how to read and write small words as well as his own name, which is a good start, but I'm not quite certain where to go from here. For now, I've been focusing on getting him to read and write, for the most part, occasionally taking a break from this in order to go into some simple addition and subtraction, or discussing recent history.

I've been noticing some other differences between Alois and Luka as well, while tutoring the younger one. Luka is far more dis tractable, if you can believe that, often going off topic to excitedly discuss things he's learned about the modern world. Alois never did that. In fact, he hardly said anything at all, but I don't blame him. After all, it is quite awkward to talk to the person who trapped you in eternal servitude. Ah, but that is neither here, nor there. What's done has been done, and it cannot be fixed or changed. We do talk a bit more now, but then, it was only when completely necessary.

In addition, Luka is.. well... _sweeter_; more innocent, and less corrupt. Luka is far more _considerate of others_, and is able to find the "_positive"_ in anything, while Alois only looks at the "_negative",_ _much like my young master_. While Alois will see everything that is "dirty" or "corrupt" in society and in the world as a whole, Luka simply cannot. Even when coming from a background like his, where he and "Jim" had to struggle for survival everyday, the younger brother doesn't see it as "unfair", but rather as "just the way things are". It's going to pain me when the boy sets sights on how cruel reality really is, and that innocence is shattered, if you can believe that. Talking with Luka somehow makes one feel _lighter_, and it's quite an odd feeling.

Actually, I've been feeling "_odd" _quite a bit over the past few years. I can't quite put my finger on it, either. It's as though I'm starting to feel somewhat "familiar" with a select few, such as _my young master, Alois, Luka, and Charlotte_. Even those outside the household, such as _Sir Hellsing,_ or her assistant, _Seras Victoria_. Why is that? Never have I actually "_cared"_ about someone for any reason other than aesthetics. I don't understand this sort of attachment. It's quite confusing. It's both somewhat exciting to have something knew like this to think about, but at the same time: frustrating. For once, I am at almost a complete loss for what to do, or even where to turn. It's been so long since I've been "free", that I can't seem to remember how I used to go on in life. Was it really that _empty?_ How did I live with such _emptiness?_

_Why am I thinking about this? I didn't mean to think about this._

"_Hey, Mister Sebastian? Are you alright?" _called a small voice, pulling the butler out of his thoughts. He shook his head back and forth and blinked a few times, his focus coming back to him. Seated across from him at the table was a small boy with brown hair and eyes, looking up at him with concern. Sebastian had completely forgotten about his duties for a moment.

"I'm fine." the man replied, smiling. "_I was just thinking."_

_ "Okay_." said Luka, giving the butler a small nod. "Hey, do you know where my big brother is? _I haven't seen him and Ciel since this morning."_

"_They're probably 'working'." _Sebastian lied. He really didn't know, nor did he_ want _to. All he knew was that it was mostly likely safe to assume that the pair were together. _"It's probably best not to disturb them right now_."

* * *

**A/N: STALLING. **

**I'M SO STALLING. **

**I'M STALLING WHILE THINKING ABOUT WHAT I'M GOING TO DO NEXT. **

**DON'T HATE.  
**

**The main shotas shall return!**

**I'm glad you lot appreciated Sir Arthur Kirkland's appearance in the last chapter. So I take it that _Hetalia _is like_, popular, _or something? OH EM GEE.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET EAT AT JOE'S  
**_

_Question: **"Question for Ciel!Don't you think it's unfair that alois is always the uke? You do things for him too, right?Alois, does it bother you that Ciel doesn't let you? Sebastian; read a sebastian x ciel lemon. Thoughts?" **by Grell Slutcliff  
_

_Ciel's Answer:__"GO HOME, GRELL. YOU'RE DRUNK."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"As much as I like to see Ciel all flustered beneath me, I get that he's a little uncomfortable with it. For a control freak like Ciel, the bottom is a scary, scary place~! I don't really mind, because it's like that. That, and he does do... "other" stuff. H-his f-foreplay skills... They're a-amazing... That said, just for the record, I have topped him before. I know, I know. It surprised me, too... (I didn't think he was serious when he said I could...)"  
_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"...No. Just no. For starters, I'm not that fond of men, in that sort of way. Men remind me dogs, in their shape, with their bulkier torsos and lack of elegance. Women, however, are quite cat-like in appearance, with their delicate curves and nimble design, so if I had to choose between the two...  
_

_...Also, my young master would never do any of that. He is far to prideful."  
_

_000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Question for Sir Integra- What is your opinion if you had to babysit luka so Alois and Ciel can have some alone time, and do you fancy Sebastian?"** by sebastianthedemonbutler_

_Integra's Answer:__"That all depends. Are they **working**, or **flirting?** I'm not really suited for working with children, so I would probably leave the boy in the hands of Seras, instead of dealing with him personally. As for the second question: I'd have to say 'no'. Granted, he is an attractive man, but he is far too **sinister** for my tastes."  
_

_0000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Question to the seven plus Sebastian plus Nigel: What do you guys think about Alois now that he's shown his "big brother" side? Any reactions?"** by Rasu-Chi_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"It was kind of odd to see Alois' 'sensitive-side'. I guess I never really realized that he was capable of being anything but obnoxious and loud. Seeing him dote on something in a completely innocent way was kind of nice. It's also going to be fun picking at his weak-spot." _

_Audrey's Answer:__"I knew Alois was capable of being 'sweet', but I didn't know he could be such a worrywart. It was kind of nice."  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"The Trancy has a weakness! Finally! Our chance to embarrass him!"  
_

_Preston's_"Everyone is going to use Luka as a tool for revenge, now, aren't they? Alois has embarrassed us all, so many times..."

_Travis' Answer:__"I guess there's just a lot to Alois that we never knew about. Maybe that loud, obnoxious self of his is just to protect himself..."  
_

_Nigel's Answer:__"He's still pretty much the same. He's just a little more serious."  
_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"Alois is actually quite capable of caring for others. Ordinarily, he just isn't quite as open about it. He can also be somewhat responsible. Ah, the 'blonde menace' truly is somewhat of an anomaly..."  
_

_00000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"I have a question for Alois: How did you react after you found out that Luka formed a contract just to make you happy?"** by Steisz_

_Alois' Answer:__"I had so many emotions going through me at that moment that it was hard to tell just how I felt. I was happy that Luka cared about me that much, and that he was actually beside me all along, but I was also mortified because it was all my fault that he died... I also felt so guilty, and apologetic, for treating Hannah so badly for so long. I just didn't understand at the time what her intentions were. I had always thought she was up to something, because of the way she acted towards me. I didn't know... I just didn't know... I felt horrible, and still do, sometimes, when I realized that by treating Hannah so badly, I was also doing the same to Luka. I hate that I did all of that. I hate that Luka died for my sake. I hate it. What kind of big brother am I? I killed him and abused him just for caring about me. I really am awful, aren't I? I know I am.  
_

_This time, I'm going to make everything right. I won't let anyone hurt Luka, ever again. I don't want to make the people I care about suffer- No, I just don't want them to suffer at all! I want to protect them; all of them. I know I won't be able to fix the stuff I did in the past, but maybe this time, we can all just be happy together. As long as I can accomplish that, maybe they'll be able to forgive me, even just a little."_


	216. 1989

The year was 1989, several decades before our story takes place. The first proposals of the World Wide Web were made. In America, the Cold War has just ended. In Britain, Margaret Thatcher became the first prime minister of the 20th century to complete ten years as Prime Minister, the first _Wallace And Gromit_ short aired on television, and economic experts warn of a rescission. Yet, none of this is our focus. No, on this otherwise ordinary day of a past October, an important meeting took place. It was the first meeting between the Queen's Guard-Dog, and the youngest person ever to except the title of knighthood in modern history.

At the time, Ciel Phantomhive was a serious sort of fellow, as always, but was slightly less of a child than he is now, if that makes sense. The boy had seen many things in his long life, many battles, many sufferings of others, and many other bizarre and outlandish things, and was beginning to wonder why he even bothered to continue. It was lonely, being a demon in a human's world, with hardly anyone to relate to. His secret was known only by a handful of individuals, and on that year, the year of 1989, one of them at died.

Sir Arthur Hellsing was one of the many people named "Arthur" that he had met, and will meet, but was the head of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization for many years, and is noted as the head all the way through the second world war, giving use of his finest soldiers to the Allied forces. He was a kind of person who Ciel had difficulty getting along with. Thick-headed, carefree, flamboyant, and somewhat lecherous, yet at the same time, Arthur Hellsing was patriotic, dependable, and very wise. It was somewhat sad that such an interesting person would be succeeded, even if the bluenette wouldn't admit it. The man had helped Ciel many times during the war when his loyalty was called into question, so in a way, the boy felt somewhat honourbound to respect his wishes-, even if those wishes involved appointing a _twelve-year-old girl _as the next head of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.

The Phantomhive boy couldn't help but smirk to himself about how similar this set-up was to events in his own life. He was somewhat curious as to what this new head of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. would be like. Would she be a spoiled brat or would she be like himself? The question nagged at him as he waited in the Hellsing family's drawing room. Finally, the door swung open, and lo and behold, a young girl walked out from behind it, accompanied by her own butler at the time, a human named _Walter C. Dornez_.

The girl standing in front of the demon-boy and his butler of a similarly Satanic nature was about the same height as he was, give or take an inch or two, with tan skin and long, pale-blonde hair that stopped in the small of her back. She wore a white blouse with a red ascot, a long, blue skirt that stopped above the ankles, and a big, round pair of glasses that didn't dull the demon's view of the girl's serious-looking blue eyes. As a formality, the bluenette stood up from his seat, and held out his hand, a gesture that was returned by the Hellsing girl as they met in a firm handshake.

_"Sir Ciel Phantomhive, head of the house of Phantomhive, and 'the Queen's Guard-Dog'." _he said, introducing himself. He didn't bother with small-talk, as he wasn't very good at it. The girl opened her mouth to speak, eager to get to the point as well.

_"Sir Integra Hellsing, head of the house of Hellsing, and member of the Protestant Knights."_ she said, letting go of the demon's hand as she finished. She was not one for small-talk either, and was curious as to whether or not the boy in front of her was actually a demon or not. She hesitated before simply asking.

_"It's my understanding that you, in fact, aren't human." _she said, straightening her shoulders in order to not appear intimidated. Ciel did his best to hold back a smirk, noticing the action.

"_That is correct." _he said, almost as if it was a fact that he was proud of. _"I am a demon, the kind that leads human beings astray and devours their souls."_ He couldn't hold back his smirk any longer, as his lips curled against his will. "I assume it was Arthur who told you?"

"Yes. _My father _told me many things about_ you and your kind." _the girl said. "He told me how you fought in the war, and how you solve mysteries. You had better hope that I don't _catch you_ stealing souls, Sir Phantomhive. _It would be a shame to lose you."_

"Is that _a threat?"_

"No, it's _a promise_."

"Obviously, you're not nearly as _laid-back _as Arthur, are you, Sir Hellsing?" the Phantomhive boy asked, amused by the girl's words. Acting as though she would personally destroy him was such a laugh, at the time. Now, it almost seemed _possible_.

"Of course not!" Integra said with a smile. "If I'm lenient at all,_ I can't be taken seriously_, given my age and gender."

"I can understand that." said the bluenette. "Is there anything else I should keep in mind?"

"Yes. If I catch you eating a human's soul, _I will kill you_. If I catch you betraying the crown, _I will kill you_. If I catch you performing some bizarre, satanic ritual,_ I will kill you_. If I catch you otherwise breaking the law, _I will kill you_."

"So you invited me here in order to tell me that _you're_ the one who is going to _kill me?" _the Phantomhive boy asked.

"_More or less_." Integra replied plainly with a shrug. "It's _my job_ to kill you, should you do any of those things, and I don't want you thinking that just because my father is gone, that you can simply _go wild."_

"You seem very confident. It's partially _my job_ to break the law, so what am I supposed to do?"

"You're older and wiser than me._ You figure it out_." Ciel felt his eyebrow twitch in mild annoyance at the commanding tone in the much younger girl's voice. No one told him what to do. No one. Especially not in such a demeaning manner.

"You do realize that I'm a _demon,_ correct?" he asked. "That I could snap you in half like a twig if I wanted to?" Integra smiled.

"Yes, but I know you won't. You're too _kind_ for that." she said, completely taking the boy by surprise. _Ciel Phantomhive? Kind?_ What a concept. As much as he didn't want to, the demon had to ask.

"And what, pray tell, gives you _that _impression?"

"My father told me about you." said the Hellsing head. "How you helped protect civilians during the Blitz, and how you only consume souls when absolutely nessecary for your survival. You're too empathetic to kill me. You're too _human_."

"_'Human'?!"_ the boy echoed, frowning deeply. "I am in no way, a _human!_ You'd do well not to underestimate me!"

"I'm not. That was a _compliment_." the girl said with a giggle, having made the boy lose his composure. "You're very human-like, in an odd way. Father said it was because you had a _name_, and a _heart_, unlike most demons. Even after devouring an unknown number of souls, you're still _'you'._ So be proud! You're _unique_."

"_I have no idea what you're talking about." _the bluenette said. "Are you sure what you're saying even makes sense? _I can't understand what you're trying to say_." The girl standing in front of him sighed.

"Father also said you were _stubborn_." she said, her smile faded. "He said that you _'probably wouldn't understand right away' _because you _'have the stubbornness of someone ten-times your size'."_

Ciel was just about to snap at the girl, when he felt his shoulder being shaken. He looked around, but no one was touching him, much to his confusion. The room and the people in it began to fade into black, all while the shaking continued.

"..._iel..." _he heard faintly, his ears not being able to register the complete sound_. "Ci..."_ there it was again, slightly different.

Someone was yelling at him through the pitch-blackness. His mind and body began to feel groggy, but the sensation of being shaken never subsided. Suddenly he felt something soft and warm moving gently against his lips. It was then that his eyes finally shot open.

As his mind began to catch up, he registered that he was now in his office, seated behind his desk. It occurred to him that it wasn't 1989, but rather, it was the present day. He had dozed off, he realized, but the thing he noticed the most was the fact that he was being kissed by Alois aware that the bluenette had regained consciousness, the blonde pulled away and looked at him with a playful grin.

"Finally! Why is it that _this _is the best method for waking you up?" he teased, taking a seat on the edge of the desk. "Were you just _faking it_ so I would kiss you, Ciel?" He giggled at the blush that formed on the bluenette's face.

"No... I was just in the middle of a dream..." Ciel replied, rubbing the sleep from his eye. "...No, it was more like a _nightmare_..." he added, remembering that the Hellsing woman was there. The bluenette furrowed his brow when the blonde playfully held his head close to his chest, and began stroking his hair.

"_Aw, poor, poor dear~!" _he cooed, his smirk never fading. "You had a bad dream and now you have to go and talk to a _big, mean police man~!"_

"You know, I'm getting the _slightest implication_ that you might be_ making fun of me_." the bluenette said, closing his eye and listening to the ever-so faint sound of the other demon's heartbeat.

"No, _whatever gave you that idea?_" Alois asked, ceasing his previous actions and pecking the other boy on the cheek. "C'mon. _Charlotte's already here to watch Luka. _Let's go~!"

With that, they said 'goodbye' to the young Macken-boy and to the babysitting vampire before filing into the car that Sebastian had prepared. They were off to the New Scotland Yard building in order to meet with a certain detective about a new case. However, for the entirety of the trip there, Ciel couldn't help but wonder: _what was the purpose of such an odd dream?_

* * *

**A/N: Foreshadowing?  
**

**Eh, maybe? **

**I finally thought of something~! Hooray~! Eh, I'll stop every once and awhile to check back up on Luka. Just because that kid is just so cute~!  
**

**That's exactly the same reason why you all ask him such obscene questions too, isn't it? Don't lie...**

**I have "thought-provoking" chapters? Well, this is news... I'm not sure how this story "flows well" either, because I just make it up as I go... Seriously, I'm not that good. I just improvise~!**

**Ah... I was gonna call _chestnutghost _and see if he wanted to go see _Man of Steel_ tomorrow... Hopefully I'll remember to do it before it's too late... I'm terrible at shit like that... Time management is not my forte... Where's my phone? Dafuq? God, I hope I have his number... I hate these new-fangled smart-phones! THEY CONFUSE MEEEEEEEEEEE!**

**Laters, duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET YOU ARE SO AWFUL WHAT WOULD YOUR PARENTS THINK  
**_

_Question: **"For the demonic duo: how long do you usually do 'it'? For Luka: how are you adjusting to the mortal world?"** by CiaranMichealis  
_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Why? Why would you want to know this?"  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"I dunno. I don't really keep track of the time when we're 'gettin' busy', if you know what I mean. I've got 'other things' on my mind, at the time. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more, say no more~! In fact, one time, Ciel was late to a meeting because we were in his office gettin-"  
_

_Ciel: "THAT IS CLASSIFIED INFORMATION, ALOIS."_

_Luka's Answer:__"It's really fun! There's all sorts of machines and lights everywhere, and it's a lot more colourful! It's kind hard, though, 'cause I don't know what they all do, and it can be scary sometimes. One time, I was watchin' Sebastian in the kitchen, and he put a bunch of fruit and some milk other stuff into this one thingy and pushed a button, and it started making really loud noises, like 'WHIIIIIIIIRRRRR!' When the stuff came back out again, it was all runny. It was tasty, though."  
__  
_

_0000000000000_

_Questions: "**For Alois and Ciel: Do you think that the Lemons on fanfiction are..Erm...how do I put this...accurate? For Luka: Sweetie, remember when you had that talk before. Well, actually, Ciel is the one that does those 'painful' things To Alois. Your reaction? For Alois: fasgjknnbeaasfhbdgjncshkjfsasjklk oh my stars Ciel let you top? When? Why? How? Explain to me now what happened!"** by Emeraldpaw_

_Ciel's Answer:_**_ *Blushes* *Angry face* _**_"NO. Alois is never on top, nor do I ever get 'raped'!" _

_Alois' Answer:__"Some of them, I guess, but not a lot. I'm afraid that whole story counts as 'classified information', so I don't think I'm allowed to tell it. (That, and it was incredibly **embarrassing** asdgfasdlghadklgjh.)"  
_

_Luka's Answer:__"WHAT?! WHY?! I thought Ciel was nice! Why would he do those things to big brother?! Why would big brother let him?! Ciel, I'll never forgive you for hurting Jim! I have to save big brother!"  
_

_000000000000000_

_Question: **"****Alois, Amanda Bynes or Lindsey Lohan? Ciel, would you ever punish your butler by making him marry Grell (now that gay marriage is legal...i think)? Sebastian, how would you react if you were supposed to marry Grell?"** by RainbowStar000_

_Ciel's Answer: "No. I'm not THAT cruel. Besides, it's not legal in Britain. I think there's a few states in America, where it could be, but not Britain."_

_Alois' Answer:"Amanda Bynes was pretty cool until she started getting drunk and stuff. ('She's The Man' was awesome!) I never really cared for Linsey Lohan. She wasn't especially funny, but just kind of... 'meh'..."_

_Sebastian's Answer: "**NO.**"_


	217. Ten Fingers

New Scotland Yard, Broadway, London, SW1H 0BG, United Kingdom. This was the address of the of the Metropolitan Police headquarters, and where our usual demonic trio make their entrance. It was some time just past lunch; you could tell because half of the staff in the building were still eating, or had just finished doing so. One such person was Senior Detective Constable Gabriel Bailey, or at least that was what one could assume from the loud mustard stain on his necktie. He met the demons out front, as per usual, leading them through the hallways while chatting about this and that. Finally, however, the subject at hand came up.

"So, what exactly are we here for, Bailey?" asked the bluenette, tired of idle chit-chat, and eager to get straight to the point. The smile on the detective's face faded, being replaced with a frown.

"We were having clean streak for a while, you know." said the man, shuffling through the hall. "I was actually able to get a good-night's sleep! Now, we've had another disturbing case on our hands."

_ "And that would be?" _asked Sebastian, walking a few steps behind his master, just as always, as if he were trying to become his shadow.

_ "Prostitution." _said the detective, stopping outside a particular room. "We've caught wind of a prostitution ring, here in London."

_ "What else is new?"_ asked Alois.

"The fact that prostitution is _illegal _certainly _isn't!" _said Bailey, looking down at the boy. "We just can't allow this, and that's where_ you lot _come in."

"You want _us_ to bust a prostitution ring?" asked the bluenette, arching an eyebrow. "What's the _catch? _There's no way that this in all to it."

"Right. There's more. The reason we found out about the prostitution was due to a series of_ missing persons cases_..." the man trailed off, putting a cigarette in his mouth. "... _You can see where I'm going with this, can't you?"_

_ "Clearly."_ the bluenette answered plainly. Shuddering at the thought of _kidnapping _in this sort of case. "Any leads?"

"Just one." the man said. "And he's in there." the man said, gesturing to the door. He grabbed the handle. "We've tried everything, but he _just wont talk._ We're sure he knows who all is _involved." _With a flick of his wrist, the door opened. "_Have fun."_

"Oh, so you aren't going to stay too?" asked the Phantomhive boy, walking inside.

"Nope. I don't need to see this." the man said with a smile. "Besides, you can work _better if I can't."_

Ciel smiled as the detective closed the door, before turning to the man seated at the table in the middle of the room. He was handcuffed to his seat, and sweating like a pig. He didn't look impoverished, yet he didn't look quite part of the middle-class, either. The man looked about in his thirties, but not quite as old as Sir Hellsing, so it could be assumed that he was in his early thirties. He was an odd sort of fellow, but then again, most of the people who wind up in the interrogation room are. For a long while, his eyes rapidly darted around the room, looking everywhere but directly at the three who had just walked in, however, when he finally allowed himself to sneak a peek at the trio, he let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought I was going to get a _police officer." _the man said, leaning back a bit in his chair. _"I was scared I'd have the shit slapped out of me!_" Ciel sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the table.

"No,_ we're not police officers_." he said, simply waiting for the blonde to make the remark that he knew that he was so desperately trying to hold in.

_ "But we might slap the shit out of you." _There it was, just as predicted. Ciel smirked when he heard the man laugh.

"You?! You're just kids!" he said. "Now, the tall bloke behind you, _sure_, but not _kids!"_

"_Can I break something of his?"_ Alois asked with a smile.

_"Not yet."_ said the bluenette. "Save if for when we can't get anything out of him."

"I ain't tellin' you squat, _twerp!" _

_ "Now you may_." Ciel said, his brow slightly twitching with annoyance.

"Roger that!" the blonde replied, moving from his position into the room to just next to the chair of the captive. He picked up the man's uncuffed hand, gripping if firmly at the wrist with his own.

"Now, every time you refuse to tell us what you know, _you're going to lose a finger_." Alois said with a pleasant grin. The man just scoffed at him.

"_Are you fucking serious?" _he asked, not believing the fair-haired teen in the slightest. "_How's a little shit like you gonna do tha- AAAAUUUUUGGGHHH!"_

He tried in vain to shake his arm free of the boy's grasp, listening to the popping and crackling of his bones and stomping his foot. His vision blurred as tears welled up in his eyes, but he could still see the blonde's sadistic smile. Perhaps this was more serious than he thought.

"There's one." the bluenette said. "You now have nine usable fingers. _Every time you refuse to answer one of my questions, I'm going to let my coworker break one_."

_ "What if I run out of fingers?"_ asked the blonde.

"_Then you start on his toes."_

The man's eyes widened with fear at the suggestion. "Alright! _Alright!_ I'll talk!_ I'll talk!"_

"_Thank you." _said the eye-patched teen. "Now, why don't you start by introducing yourself?"

"My name is Isaac! _Isaac Atwoods!"_ the man shouted, feeling the blonde apply a small amount of pressure on his next finger. He relaxed his grip when the man answered.

"So, Mister Atwoods, how exactly do _you _fit into all of this?" Ciel asked, watching the man as he hesitated to answer.

"I just _deliver the goods!" _he shouted, feeling the pressure return. It began to hurt slightly, since he hesitated.

_"'Goods'? _What _'goods'?"_

"Y-y-you know! _The whores!"_ Isaac winced as the blonde suddenly applied more pressure on the word "_whores"._

"Where do you get them?"

"Here and there, y'know. They tell me where to pick them up, and I deliver them." the man explained. "Usually just some random bloke who I've never met before!"

"Do you have a _list_ of these places?" The man in the chair opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, and stared at the table. He looked as though he was trying to formulate a lie, so Ciel nodded towards the blonde.

_ "AAUGH!"_ Isaac screamed, tears streaming down his face.

_ "Eight fingers."_ the blonde said. "Answer the question, and you'll _keep it that way_."

"I do! I do... It's in my car... I-i-in the glove-box!" the man whimpered. The bluenette turned his head to look toward the butler clad in black.

"Sebastian, _take notes_." he said.

"Yes, my lord." the man replied, reaching into his coat and pulling out a small memo pad and a pen before jotting down the information just disclosed.

"So you're not the one who actually _abducts _the girls?" the bluenette asked, turning his attention back to the pained man.

"Y-yeah! _Honest!"_ the man said, quickly nodding his head. "It's not just _girls_, neither! Sometimes it's _men_, too! Also, there's a lot of _kids- AAAUGH!"_

"Sorry, _my hand slipped_." the blonde said. While his choice of words were apologetic, his tone was _not_. The way he said that was cold, and it was cruel, blended with concealed anger. "_That makes seven."_

Ciel paused, taking in the boy's demeanor for a moment. As much as he wanted to walk over and tell the boy that everything was alright, he couldn't. They were on business. He would have to wait until the task at hand was finished. He cleared his throat, grabbing the blonde's attention, the look he gave the boy causing him to give one of sincere apology. Thus, they continued.

"Where do you take them?" the bluenette asked finally, leaning forward in his own chair, resting his elbows on the table. _"Where do you take those people?"_

_"T-to..."_ the man began, hesitating. He took a deep breath and spoke. "To the R-R-_Red Palace Hotel_... It's on the east end..."

_ "Did you get that, Sebastian?" _asked the bluenette.

"Of course." the man said with a smile.

"Is it safe to assume that the owner of the hotel is running the operation, Mister Atwoods?" the Phantomhive asked.

"I'm not sure..." the man replied. "I've never seen him... I only ever talk to underlings..."

"Well, this is _good enough." _the bluenette concluded, standing up. "We can definitely branch out from here. _You can let go of him, Alois."_

Reluctantly, the blonde complied, following the bluenette as he walked out of the room, Sebastian closing the door behind them. They met up again with Detective Bailey outside the room, in the hallway. The man had a serious look on his face, and his arms were folded across his chest as he leaned against the wall. Obviously, he heard the screaming.

"I'm going to say that it's safe to assume mister Atwoods will be needing medical attention then?" he asked, looking at the bluenette dissapprovingly. Bailey had never liked the boy's methods, and was hoping that he would only use his _demonic possession technique _in order to pry information out of the man. Had he known that they were going to resort to torture, he would have tried harder to get the information himself.

_"Three broken fingers." _the bluenette replied. "Also, could you point me in the direction of Atwoods' car? _He left something of importance in the glove-box."_

_ "And that would be?"_ asked Bailey.

"_A list of potential traffickers_. In fact, perhaps _you're _better suited for that, Detective. I'd rather not _waste my time_."

"Then what will you do, Phantomhive?" asked the detective, his tone angry, even though there was not a single thing he could do about it.

"I'm going to _flush out some rats_." answered the eye-patched teen. "Be prepared to be making some arrests."

"You mean,_ if there's anyone left to arrest_..."

"_It could happen." _said Ciel, walking away with his subordinates in tow. "Be sure to remember to search the glove-box, Bailey."

"_Will do..."_ the detective answered before walking away in the opposite direction. There was a man in agony within the building, and he needed to do something about it.

Meanwhile, the demons once again piled into the Phantomhive car, Sebastian behind the wheel, and the boys in the backseat. All was silent for a moment, save for the roar of the engine coming to life, and the sound of the car speeding down the road on their way home. However, after a little while, Ciel opened his mouth to speak.

_"I don't want you working with me on this case, Alois." _he said, pretending not to notice the shocked look on the blonde's face.

_ "Why not?!"_ the blonde demanded, leaning closer to the bluenette so he could look at him in the eye.

"I just _don't."_ Ciel replied, remembering the blonde suddenly breaking one of the poor man's fingers without any real meaning. _"It isn't up for discussion."_

"What happened in the interrogation room was an _accident! _I didn't _mean _to!" the blonde insisted. "_I'm fine with it..._" he said softly. "_Really, I am..."_

He didn't receive a response. Ciel only sat there, looking out the window. It wasn't up for discussion, therefore he wouldn't discuss it. At very least, he would wait until they were alone to discuss it. He didn't want to speak of such things in front of Sebastian. The very thought of doing so was humiliating.

"Ciel?" the blonde called, shaking the boy's shoulder. He still received no answer. "Ciel? Ciel! Hey! _Don't ignore me, Ciel!"_

He repeated this for a while, trying to break the bluenette's will. Unfortunately, that was an impossible feat, as he soon discovered. Ciel Phantomhive was simply too stubborn to give in to such antics. With a huff, Alois simply gave up, and looked out of his own window, crossing his arms- or, he tried to. His hand was stopped short of doing som as it was grabbed by the bluenette. Confused, Alois turned to look at the other boy in search of an explanation.

Ciel said nothing. He didn't even look at the blonde, continuing to act as though he was giving him no notice. He did this, yet his fingers were still tightly intertwined with Alois', as he silently and expressionlessly tried to convey his reasoning. His worry, his care, his apology, all of these things were somehow understood with a simple gesture, to some extent. Regardless, the blonde wasn't going to forgive him just yet.

"_You're so mean..."_

* * *

**A/N: Yo...**

**I forgot to say how the last chapter was based on a numerical error. I was trying to calculate, based on available information, what year DLTD takes place in, just because I could. I somehow got 2014... AND IT'S ALL INTEGRA'S FAULT.**

**I think I wrote somewhere that she was 37, or something. And by adding that and the year she was supposedly born in, 1977, you get 2014. So I guess she's actually 36, for accuracy. That's not a bad miscalculation, considering that I just guessed. I also calculated that 1989 would have been the year that Integra inherited H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Then I was like "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwww Yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh! Idea~!" **

**But then I got distracted and finished it much later than expected. Such is life...**

**Oh, and in response to _The Queens Guard Dog ciel_ (who's actual spelling of their username will not show up no matter what I do): Yeah, You can ask any character almost anything, whether they're alive or dead. **

**I say "almost" anything, because I know you people and your ways... I've just realized that everyone harrasses the same character all at once, and that character may change. It was Daniel, but now it's Luka. YOU'RE CORRUPTING THE YOUTH! SHAME ON YOOOOUUUUU!**

**Laters, my perverse duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET OMAHGAW  
**_

_Questions: **"question for the seven and another for hate weasel (s-man cN join too) now seven what anime/manga would you watch or read or are watching/reading now"** by Wooimmafox1305  
_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I don't have time for such nonsense."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei~! Ciel's a liar. He watches this. He watches this and laughs!"_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama. Is it just me, or does Aoi look a lot like Ciel?"_

_Audrey's Answer:__"Durarara!"_

_Daniel's Answer:__"Negima!"_

_Preston's Answer:__"Bleach"_

_Travis' Answer:__"La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia. Is it just me, or does Nova look a lot like Ciel?"_

_Nigel's Answer:__"Dragonball."  
_

_Luka'__s__ Answer:__ "Pokemon!"_

_Sebastian's Answer:__ "Darker Than Black"  
_

_HateWeasel's Answer:__"I'm totally hooked on 'Attack On Titan', at the moment. Gonna try and cosplay as Shasha Braus at the next anime convention~!"  
_

_0000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Ciel, how would you react if your butler - this is purely hypothetical, so please don't be offended, Sebastian - hooked up with Grell? Or Charlotte? Or... anyone, really?"** by SailorVegeta13_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I really don't care, as long as whoever it is, is tolerable, and they keep their affections out of my sight."  
_


	218. No Running

"I said _'no', _Alois!"

"And _I _said, that_ everything will be fine_!"

It would appear that silent gestures alone wouldn't be enough to end this argument. Even after exiting the vehicle and entering the manor, Alois still persisted. The Phantomhive boy was stubborn, but then again, so was the blonde.

_ "Why are big brother and Ciel fighting?"_asked Luka, observing the boys as Ciel was followed up the stairs by an annoyed blonde.

"They're arguing about work." Sebastian answered with a sigh. "Don't worry, this is just how they communicate their feelings_."_

"Is it really okay for them to argue all the time?" asked the small boy, looking up at the butler.

"I'm sure. In fact, I think it's probably good for them." the man replied, looking down at the Macken boy, before glancing at his watch. "I should probably get started on dinner soon."

"Can I help?" The man opened his mouth to object, but then smiled.

"Alright, as long as you promise to be very careful, and_ not to play with strange machines."_

"Did big brother play with them when he first arrived?"

"_He put a lizard in the toaster."_

_ "Oh..."_ the brunette replied, following behind the butler to kitchen._ "What's a 'toaster'?"_

Meanwhile, in a certain eye-patch-wearing teen's office, a pair of lads quarreled. Ciel just simply did not want Alois working on the case. In fact, _Ciel himself_ didn't want to work on the case, but he had a job to do, and he'd rather do it alone.

"Look, I know you're _worried_, but I promise,_ I'll be okay_." Alois said for what felt like the hundredth time that evening.

_ "How do I know that for sure?"_ asked the bluenette, seated behind his desk, like usual. "You keep saying that it doesn't matter to you anymore, but that's obviously _not true, _now is it?" He looked up, and immediately regretted saying that.

The blonde looked shocked; genuinely shocked at the statement, with the slightest twinge of hurt in his eyes. His mouth was slightly open in a small frown, and his brow was raised, eyes slightly wide while looking down at the seated bluenette. Alois' expression shifted to that off anger, furrowing his brow and pressing his lips together in a thin line, frowning.

"So you just don't _trust_ me, then?" he asked, resting his weight on his arms, pressed against the desk's wooden surface. "It isn't exactly something that's _easy_ to recover from Ciel! I would assume that it would have to be a_ process!"_

"A process of _what?"_ Ciel replied, raising his tone. "Blinding charging at your fears head-on, and cause yourself to do _God knows what?!"_

"Are you suggesting that_ I lack self-control?!" _Alois demanded, slamming his hands on the desk.

"What you _lack_ is the ability to_ really think things through!" _the Phantomhive boy shouted back, standing up. "What if worst things come to worst, and you_ freak out _during the mission?! What if you went on a_ rampage?! _What if_ I couldn't stop you!? _What would_ Luka _say if you came home drenched in blood and recovering from a mental breakdown!? You _have_ to consider these things, Alois!" He paused for a moment to watch as the blonde looked down at his now clenched fists, and as he grit his teeth, baring them in a sort of snarl.

"Then what am I _supposed_ to do, then, Ciel?" Alois asked, his tone softer. _"I don't want this to haunt me for eternity_, you know..." Suddenly, he looked up in order to look the bluenette in the eye.

_"What am I supposed to do, just __**run and hide **__like __**you **__do!?"_ he barked, startling the bluenette. Now it was Ciel's turn to look shocked, as he tried to proccess what exactly that meant.

_ "Just what are you trying to say?" _he asked, furrowing his brow and glaring at the blonde.

"_Don't act like you don't know, Ciel_." the Trancy boy answered, his frown warping into a smile. "Doesn't it _bother _you? This set-up seems _so familiar_, doesn't it?" he asked with a pained laugh. "Not just for_ me_, but for _you_. Human trafficking; being sold and locked up like a pet, while your captors do whatever they please to you. You know what that _feels_ like too, don't you? Even if it wasn't for _sex_, you still _know_."

"_Where is all of that hatred?" _The blonde's smile faded as he continued to speak. "Surely you haven't _completely forgotten_ either, have you? How could you? Could you really have simply _let it all go _after becoming what you are now? Even if it was all in the past; even if it seems so very _far away_, it still _stings_ just a little bit..."

"_Stop it..." _the bluenette muttered, clenching his own fists.

"I'm not a _coward _anymore, Ciel. I 'm not going to cry or run away. I still need _closure. Don't you?"_

"_I said 'stop it'..."_

"No! I _won't!" _the blonde shouted. "I can't run away, and neither can _you!_ Are you really just going to continue to shuffle around like this, wondering what to do next with your life?! You're _still in the past_, Ciel! _We both are! _We can't go on like this!"

_ "Goddammit, Alois! Shut up! Just __**shut up!"**_ The bluenette reached over the desk, grabbing the other boy by the collar and giving it a swift yank.

He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words, so all he could do was stand there and try to stare the other boy down, the collar of the blonde's shirt firmly clenched in his fist. He couldn't think of an argument. Not a single one. It was then that it slowly began to dawn on the Phantomhive boy. He was somewhat at a loss for what direction to turn. That moment in his life where he seeked revenge; no, _hungered _for it, was _gone, _leaving him feeling somewhat _empty._ What had he been doing all of these years? Why had he continued to live? He had simply been roaming around all of this time, consuming souls. He only really worked with the humans to_ cure his boredom_. That's all it was.

He got no personal sense of fulfillment from it, nor any material gain. It was just something to do; something to kill time. What was he doing? Was that all he was good for? Wandering and consuming like_ any other demon _would be perfectly content with? _No_. He was _not_. Part of him still longed for something, _anything_, to make him feel _alive_. That, for Ciel, often came in the form of dwelling on the past.

He didn't want to think about it, either. He wanted to move on and away from that darker part of his life and move on to something brighter, yet it persisted. All of those memories flooded his mind upon hearing the words "_human trafficking"_ again, hitting him where he was still _human_, where he could still _feel_. It was his humanity that made him feel prideful, that made him feel things like joy, and things like sorrow. It was where he felt things like love, lust, and longing, but also, as much as he hated to admit it, where he felt _fear_.

Yes, there was still a part in Ciel's mind, no matter how small the fraction that may be, was afraid to go back. Back where he had suffered so much pain, and humiliation, and still even more _fear_. It was the_ fear _that made the bluenette feel so disgusted with himself. He was a _Phantomhive_, and Phantomhive's are not _afriad_. At least, that was the impression he was given, and it was because of this that the bluenette fought with himself. Ordinary humans feel _fear_, not _Phantomhives_. Phantomhives do not shirnk in the faces of their enemies, nor do _demons_.

He was _both_. He was a _Phantomhive and a demon, _yet he was still afraid. Why was that? Was there something _wrong_ with him? Was he, a Phantomhive, from one of the most respected families of nobles in English history, with pride, class, dignity, prestige, wealth, refinement, and most of all _power_; all of that and a demon, an immortal creature that treads the path between life and death that is strong enough to be able to spit in the face of the divine and laugh; was he, who was all of this, also somehow _imperfect?_

At first, Alois seemed startled; perhaps frightened, even, before the situation fully registered in his mind. By then, his expression had softened immensely as he gently reached up and held the bluenette's clenched fist in his palms. Alois felt the other boy's grip somehow relax upon the contact, and gently persuaded the boy to let go of his shirt. The blonde glanced down at the bluenette's hand, pausing briefly while lightly playing with the other boy's fingers before looking back up to meet Ciel's gaze.

_"I know you're scared too. _You have the same look in your eye as me!" he began, smiling at Ciel's surprised expression. "But, I think that's alright. It's pretty _normal _to be afraid, after all."

"But that's also why I can't leave you alone!" he continued, his grip on the bluenette's hand tightening. "If you feel afraid, isn't that when you'll need me the most? I don't care if I'm scared, I'm still going to protect you, _whether you like it, or not."_

All Ciel could do was stare back at the blonde's determined expression with a dumbfounded one. Was this really Alois? That boy who was always so self-conscious about his own abilities, that he would often kick himself and feel like he wasn't good enough; was this him?

It was then that the bluenette finally realized something: this was also part of that. The blonde was a person who had lost someone he cared about, and was subjected to physical and mental tortures that no ordinary person would ever understand. This was part of that in a way that wasn't entirely negative. In a way, what Alois was trying to do was ensure that both he, and those near and dear to him would never have to go through that again. It was something that seemed so out of character for the blonde.

Yet it wasn't. Alois had only ever lived for _others_, if memory serves. He signed not one, but_ two faustian contracts _not for himself, but for _his brother_. He didn't care what happened to himself. He was an empty shell of a person until coming across the lie that was fed to him about the demon who killed Luka by his former butler, _Claude Faustus_. Why else would he care? No one else did. Before then, his life was meaningless until the chance arose for him to seek revenge; revenge not for _himself_, but for _Luka_.

Even before then, it was for Luka, as he wouldn't have given the slightest care as to how the villagers treated him, had it not been for the fact that Luka was getting hurt as well. Love was a powerful thing. Even for Claude Faustus, whom he had deluded himself into thinking that their twisted relationship of contract-holder and demon was somehow "love", in a familial sense, was someone who the blonde lived for. He didn't want to die, he just wanted to stay with Claude. He would have lived for Claude, as Claude was his "highness", but it was not to be.

Alois didn't know what "love" really was at the time. He had forgotten it. He no longer understood it. That was why he was so awful to his maid, _Hannah. _It was because he didn't understand her intentions, and was thus _afraid _of her. People are simply afraid of what they cannot understand.

He understood it now, though. He had been reminded by Hannah, reminded by Luka, reminded by the Sensational Seven, and reminded by Ciel what it was. Each of those were different types of "love", but they were still just that, and they were precious to him. All of those people, were important to him. Thus, he wanted to protect them; protect them from pain, from injury, from death, as well as from negative emotions like anger, or sadness, and yes, _fear_. Just as much as Ciel wanted to protect him, he wanted to protect Ciel.

No longer was it about _"being good enough_", but it was now about _"keeping others safe_", a pursuit that was noble in the eyes, minds, and hearts of most mortal men, and this was coming from a boy who was once considered to be one of the most warped, twisted, and perverse individuals that Ciel had ever met. That unbelievable strength of will that Ciel had admired in Alois shone through as he did this. That strength that allowed him to smile, even though he was damaged and care for others, even though he was distorted, shone brilliantly to reveal the heart that was concealed by all of the dirt and scars that had built up over the years.

This person that Alois was would have never come to the surface if it weren't for the bluenette, nor would the Phantomhive boy have ever felt so lighthearted again had it not been for the blonde. The boy was a walking contradiction of himself, but one that Ciel was openly glad existed. It was obvious, as the usually serious boy was forced against his will by the blonde menace to smile, and set aside his pride for a moment in order to allow a small sound to bubble from his throat before accidentally allowing it to escape into the air around them.

Yes, Ciel Phantomhive _laughed_. It was genuine, hearty sort of laugh that was entirely uncommon for the boy erupt into. It actually startled the other boy, as he was only accustomed to the boy letting out a _chuckle_ at most, if not only a mere _chortle_. Something of this magnitude was incredibly uncommon for anyone to hear.

_ "What's so funny?!" _the blonde demanded, waiting impatiently as the bluenette composed himself. It took a moment or so, but Ciel somehow managed to force himself to restrain himself to only a smile.

"_You are." _he answered, gripping the other boy's hand across the desk. "And you claim that _I'm_ the one who '_always knows what to say'?"_

"Well,_ excuse me _for being _considerate!"_ the blonde pouted, his cheeks slightly red.

"I don't _mind _it. You just caught me off-guard." replied the bluenette. "Fine. You can join in on the case."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, but on three conditions: Don't freak out, obey all orders, and _don't ever tell anyone I was scared_." Ciel said, counting off the conditions on his fingers. "_Got it?"_

_ "Yes, my master~!"_ spoke Alois, placing his right hand over his heart and giving a slight bow. He looked back up to see the other boy staring at him. He simply tilted his head confusedly.

_ "You know, you... looked pretty masculine when you did your little speech_..." the bluenette said, folding his arms and averting his eyes with a slight blush on his face.

"_Oh, so does that mean I get to be on top tonight~?" _the blonde asked with a teasing smile. Ciel replied by looking at him again while resting his palms on the desk with a smirk.

"No." he said flatly. "That just means it's going to be _more fun _when I _put you back in your place tonight."_

Never had he seen the blonde's face turn that particular shade of dark red before...

* * *

**A/N: Plot? Character development? FUCK DAT SHET. LET'S THROW IN A DIRTY JOKE.  
**

**I didn't get done yesterday because I was entertaining guests~! And by that I mean, "sat around and watched anime".**

**We watched _"Another Crawling Chaos: Nyaruko"_ It's awesome. Perverted and kinda fucked up, but awesome. **

**It's got like, gods from the Cthulhu mythos in loli-form. One of them is actually a shota that looks like a humanized _Psyduck_. IT'S A TRAP~! **

**That kid's such an uke. Like, seriously...**

**No, it's not yaoi! It's like one of those harem anime, and one of them just happens to be a shota. I don't like that sort of anime normally, but the Cthulhu thing combined with all of the anime and movie referencecs make it unique, and fucking hilarious. **

**The main character looks like what would happen if Ciel and Haruhi Fujioka from _OHSHC_ had a baby... That ain't a joke... He acts like it too... Only he uses SILVERWARE AS A WEAPON. Forks, specifically... They actually reference black butler in episode... I wanna say "nine", but I don't remember. It's either nine or ten. CAN YOU NAME ALL THE REFERENCES?! I can't...**

**I don't feel like typing "CHARACTER SHET" right now... I just wanna type the next chapter...**

**Laters, duckies...**


	219. Luka Helps!

Meanwhile, as the previous scene was playing out, another pair of demons were downstairs, preparing dinner. While Sebastian was hesitant at allowing the far younger demon into the kitchen, he knew that if he didn't teach the boy what the machines did, he would never be able to set foot in that area of the house. That would be problematic, since Luka was the only one there who _actually needed to eat._

Thus, it was with great reluctance that Sebastian allowed the boy to help, or watch, at the very least, as he prepared dinner for that evening. They were going to make Roast lamb with spring herb crumbs. They had to get started on it early since the dish took slightly over two hours to make.

"Alright, Luka. The first step is for us to wash our hands." spoke the butler, removing his coat and gloves before rolling up his sleeves. The boy simply pouted.

"_Why? They ain't dirty_." he said, holding them up for the man to see, as if that would prove that the first step wasn't actually necessary.

"How _I_ know that?" asked Sebastian.

"Look at 'em! There's no dirt!" the boy replied with a determined face.

"Ah, but don't you know that _anything you touch has millions and millions of germs on it that can make you sick?" _the butler asked, smiling when the boy brought his hands back down and looked at them again. Luka then turned his gaze back to Sebastian, his face looking both concerned and disgusted.

"_Be sure to use soap_." Sebastian added as the lad dashed off to the sink, and pushed a stool in front of it wo he could better reach it.

Sebastian walked over to the one next to it before turning the faucet and lathering his own hands with soap. He glanced over at the boy to see what he was doing, only to see that he was playing with the liquid soap dispenser rather than actually washing his hands.

"_It's so gooey!"_ Luka shouted excitedly, watching as the odd, purplish-pink liquid oozed between his fingers and into the sink with a big grin.

_ "Is that why we've been running out of soap lately?"_

Next, they had to cut up vegetables-, and by "_they"_ I of course mean _"Sebastian". _ Luka sat at the edge of the counter, resting his chin on it's surface and watched as the man chopped up things like potatos and carrots before tossing them into a roasting tin. He didn't feel all that helpful. He did get to turn on the oven, after the older demon told him how, which did make him feel somewhat proud of himself.

"Can I cut some?" he asked, looking up at Sebastian, who simply looked at him for a moment. Sebastian looked at the boy, and then back to the knife in his hand.

"_No."_ he said plainly. "I don't want you to accidentally cut yourself. Would you care to toss the veg in the tin when I get done cutting them?"

"Okay!" the boy said, perking up. He scooted his tall stool a bit closer before beginning to complete his task.

Every time Sebastian would chop something, he would brush it over to Luka before working on the next batch, and the boy would scoop up the ingredients and toss them into the tin. It wasn't exactly the same as playing with knives, but it was still much better than just watching.

"Alright, I'm going to cut the meat now." Sebastian said when they finished and put the lamb into the tine with the vegetables. "I need you to put a little bit of garlic, and a little bit of rosemary into the cuts."

"Yessir!" Luka answered, giving the man a salute. He waited for the butler to make his incisions before allowing the Macken boy to take his place.

The boy did as he was told, for the most part, picking up a small amount of rosemary before turning to Sebastian for approval. He received a nod, indicating that he had selected the right amount and that he should go ahead and slip it into the cuts. He did the same with the garlic, only to mess up his orders by sampling the strong-smelling vegetable, only to spit it back out into his hand. He looked up at Sebastian as if he was questioning why anyone would ever eat such a thing.

"It isn't that good on it's own." the man replied, smiling a bit at the boy's antics. "Throw it away and go wash your hands again."

After drizzling the meat with wine and olive oil, they put that into the already preheated oven, and Luka set the timer with help from the butler. They then got started on making gravy, which Sebastian did most of. The only thing Luka really got to do was stir the concoction every once and a while.

Eventually, all they had to do was wait, and Luka, being the young child that he was, quickly got tired of this. Thus, he ventured into another room for a few minutes before coming back with some paper and his box of crayons that he was so proud of. He sat at the counter, playfully kicked his legs back and forth as he drew pictures of various things; people he knew, mostly. Luka drew pictures of Charlotte, Amelie, Nigel and Alois at the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. camp, and pictures of Nigel, Sebastian, himself and the sensational seven at the beach as well.

_ "Kristopherson looks like a girl..." _the boy said absent-mindedly, criticizing his own work. He held up the sheet of paper for the butler to see.

"I suppose he does..." Sebastian said, scratching his chin. "But then again, he likes to wear women's clothes, _so I don't think he would mind."_ Luka simply nodded in response before setting his paper back down and drawing some more with the butler curiously standing over his shoulder to watch.

_ "Is this the young master?"_ he asked, pointing to a stick figure that was noticeably shorter than the others, with blue hair and swim-trunks and with a big, mean-looking frown on it's face.

"_Yup~!" _the boy said happily in a sing-song voice. Sebastian pressed his hand briefly against his mouth in order to keep himself from laughing. It was just a stick-figure, yet it was so accurate, that it was also _mean._ "I was going to draw a _crab_, but I heard that _Ciel doesn't like them."_

This kid simply didn't know how hilarious that he was. The pair drew pictures together for about an hour. Eventually, Sebastian had nearly destroyed the boy's black crayon from drawing too many images of black cats and ravens at the speed of sound. Fortunately, the boy had more than one in the package, a fact that he felt the need to gloat about for whatever reason. Eventually, however, the time came for them to take the food out of the oven, and prepare the table.

"Luka, could you go get Alois and the young master, please?" Sebastian asked as he set the table. The boy stood at attention before giving a salute.

"Sir, yes sir!" he said before taking off down the hallway, into the foyer, up the stairs and down several other hallways before coming to what he believed to be the bluenette's office. He jiggled the doorknob a few times, realizing that the door was locked. It was only then that he remembered that he should knock.

"_Big brother? Ciel?"_ he called, listening to the muffled sounds of bickering coming from the other side of the door. He waited a while longer before the door opened, revealing the bluenette to be on the other side. However, something was off about him.

First of all, he wasn't wearing his eye-patch, and his hair was a mess, as was his wardrobe. The collar of his shirt wasn't neat, and his shirt was only partially tucked into his pants. Ciel's face was flushed, and held a nervous expression, that somehow morphed into a smile.

"H-hello, Luka." he greeted pleasantly, yet somewhat anxiously.

"Hi!" the younger boy said back, looking past the bluenette for a moment to see his older brother seated on the small couch in the office in a similar state of dress. Immediately, Luka furrowed his brow.

_ "Oi! Have you two been fighting?!" _he asked, looking up at Ciel with a serious face. The bluenette flinched slightly at the comment, glancing back at Alois for a moment, watching at the blonde motioned for him to just run with idea. Turning back to the younger demon, he cleared his throat.

"_Y-yes. Yes we have_." he lied, placing his hands behind his back and resuming his usual dignified mannerisms, that weren't nearly as effective with his current appearance. "_It's ordinary for men who are close to occasionally fight with fists."_

_"Y-yeah! We were just... fighting over how to proceed with the case we're working on!" _the blonde said, standing up from his seat, but not walking any closer. _"I won, so I'm going to be helping out after all!"_

"Are you okay, though?" the younger boy asked. _"There's a big bruise on your neck!"_ Alois' hand immediately reached up to cover the spot as a blush formed over his cheeks.

"O-oh, _th-this?"_ he asked, watching as his little brother nodded_. "Th-this is nothing!_ A demon like me can heal this up in a matter of _minutes!"_ he boasted, regardless of the nervousness in his voice.

"Whoa! That's so _cool!" _the younger Macken boy shouted. He then turned his attention back to the bluenette. "_Jim was always good at wrestlin', so don't feel bad!"_ he said, causing the Phantomhive's eyelid to twitch slightly in annoyance.

"Oh yeah!" he continued, remembering what he had come up there for. "Sebastian says it's almost time to eat. He told me to come and get you."

"O-oh, we'll be right down, Luka!" the blonde said, still not moving his hand. _"We need to fix our suits and wash our hands, first!" _

_ "Okay! I'll go tell Sebastian!"_ Luka said. "I helped make it, so hurry up!"

With that, the younger Macken boy left, running down the hallway, thus leaving the demonic duo on their own. Ciel closed the door and rubbed his temples. They had just barely managed to pull that off.

"That was close..." Alois said with a sigh of relief. He then turned his attention to the bluenette. "_Did you really have to leave a hickey?!_ _"_

_ "I didn't think we would be cutting it that close."_ the bluenette replied. "I thought you would have had time to heal, but I was wrong. Sorry..."

_"Ugh! If he had come any earlier than that..." _Alois began, putting his hands on the sides of his head. _"...There's no way I could ever look Luka in the eyes again! _What kind of big brother am I?!"

"Quit complaining and get dressed." Ciel said, tucking his shirt in and adjusting the collar. "Also_, your fly is down."_ he noted, causing the blonde's face to go red.

_"Just shut up and gimme my belt back!"_

* * *

**A/N: Filler~!  
**

**Sorry, I had this idea, and had to write it...**

**I'll get back to the plot in the next chapter...**

**Until then, my duckies~!**

**Oh, and I'll get back into doing "character shet soon." I've just been having trouble with coming up with answers for the latest batch...**


	220. Entering The Palace

A sigh escaped the lips of the Phantomhive boy as they approached their destination. He didn't want to go, but he had to, and since he was denied the cooperation of the blonde menace, he would be going in as well. While that made him feel somewhat more at ease, it simply brought a new worry to the surface. Would he be able to focus on the mission if he also had to worry about the blonde's safety and sanity? He simply didn't want Alois' sanity points to drop any lower than they already had.

Ciel had a feeling in his gut that something bad was going to happen. Judging by the pattern of events that usually are carried out on their missions, it most likely would. Yet that didn't quell the bluenette urge to settle the uneasiness in his stomach. He looked over at the blonde, who looked more and more pale with every second they inched closer to their destination.

Luka didn't need to be involved in such things just yet, so he was left at home with Charlotte and Amelie to watch him. He would most likely be asleep by now, given the time of night. It was probably for the best, however, should the demonic duo come home covered in blood.

Thus, it was only their usual small team of three. They parked several blocks away, as they readied themselves for their task, loading their weapons and going over the plan once more. It was simple. They would block-off every exit in the building, except one, then they would start a ruckus that called for evacuation. That single would lead directly into the long arms of the law. Whoever came out would be immediately greeted by the London Metropolitan Police and brought into custody for further questioning. It wasn't entirely fair to the guests of the hotel who actually weren't there for "obscene" reasons, and were truly ignorant to the situation, but that was a sacrifice that needed to be made. Detective Bailey waited several blocks away as well with a team of his own, ready to man the gate once they received the Phantomhive boy's signal.

"Sebastian will focus on the windows." he said to the oher two demons before heading out. "Alois, you and I will focus on all of the other exits around the perimeter. Every entrance, exit, and fire escape, except for the one in the very back of the building. I'll show it to you before we start. We'll all rendezvous there, understood?"

"_Yes, my lord."_ said Sebastian.

"_Yes, my master." _said Alois, causing the palm of Ciel's hand to make acquaintance with his forehead. The bluenette hated it when the blonde said that. He always managed to make it sound _dirty._

Regardless, they had a job to do. The demonic duo split await from Sebastian, and sneaked around to the back of the building, in order for Alois to know which door he was supposed to leave open. Before they separated themselves, Ciel felt the need to remind the blonde one last time of their priories.

"Remember: phase one relies on _stealth_, so if all goes well, we won't be seen, and hardly see anyone else, either." he said in a hushed tone. "_No unnecessary confrontations_, _no matter what."_

"I got it_, I got it!"_ the blonde replied, obviously tired of receiving the same information over and over again. _"'Use your sixth sense to sense for danger, while following the routes blocked out in the map'_." the boy quoted, imitating the bluenette's tone, much to Ciel's annoyance.

"Well..._ Yeah..." _the bluenette said, not quite knowing how else to respond. "Sorry... _Just making sure..."_

"It's fine. _You're_ worried, _I'm_ worried; _let's just get this over with_, alright?" Alois replied. He raised his hand up to his forehead, giving a salute. "Awaiting permission to start, _'sir'!"_

Ciel smiled in response. "_Permission granted." _he said. "Let's move out!"

With that, the door opened, and the duo charged in before splitting up. It was just like on the ship in the way that they discreetly lurked the hallways. The only main difference was that instead of the smell of sea-salt, the smell of cigarettes and cleaning product loomed in the air. But that was not all. The anxiety levels of the demonic duo were also different. They weren't as nervous on the ship. Maybe that's because they knew that the worst that could happen to them if they were caught, would be that they would have been shot, something relatively easy fro them to recover from. Now, they didn't know, and that was frightening. Their imaginations could get carried away in filling in the possibilities, causing them to feel even less at ease. It was a daunting task within itself to force the thought into the back of their minds and focus solely on the mission at hand.

For Ciel, it was quite easy to sneak through the halls. His skills were far more advanced than those of the blonde menace. The hallway lights were dim, leaving shadows huddled up against the walls where the weak lights couldn't reach them. All Ciel would have to do, is become a shadow. It was a perfect method of espionage, that only a higher-power of demon could use. Why, the bluenette had used it at that rugby game between Warwick and Tamworth that had gone awry during the past year. It was simply much faster to use what he and Sebastian had referred to as "_shadow jumping" _in order to get around, and it made if much less likely for him to get caught as well. Thus, he simply phased in with the shadows on the wall, making his way through hallways with ease. Whenever he encountered a possible threat, he could simply walk past them as if it were nothing. Even if they did see him, they would simply assume their minds were playing tricks on them. _Shadows don't ordinarily move like that._

Sebastian used a similar trick on the outside of the building as he locked all of the windows. It was a simple feat for a demon of his class to lock a window, even if it's lock was on the inside. If he couldn't use such magic for his age, what kind of butler would he be?

What disturbed him was the task itself. He knew why the young master had assigned him to the windows, but it still irked him. Human were fascinating creatures, but also quite _disgusting._ Fortunately most guests thought ahead enough to at least close the curtains, but some, however, _did not_. It wasn't just due to his skill in the dark arts that he was assigned to the task, but for this reason instead that Sebastian was assigned to the windows, not Alois. The butler could have been far more useful had the blonde menace not been there, since he could complete Alois' task as well his own, completing the mission in half of the time. Yet, he knew that Alois wouldn't become any more useful if he hadn't gained the experience to do so. The butler also respected that the boy needed to face his fears, and was thus less inclined to think of him as only a nuisance.

That was easier said than done, with the blonde clumsily trying to make his way through the halls unnoticed. He lacked the ability to shadow-jump, and simply wasn't skilled in stealth missions. The sort of missions he was better with involved using brutish force. Alas, one cannot receive such tasks all of the time, however, thus he was forced to attempt traversing the lonely hallways incognito.

Unfortunately, the _Red Palace_ had thugs roaming the hallways, stopping to inform their guests when their time had run out, and to ask if they would like to pay for an extension of that time. _Disgusting. _The blonde had difficulty hiding from such individuals, as the halls were practically barren, with nothing to hide behind or under.

With his sixth sense, however, he was able to detect when they were drawing near, and respond just in the nick of time. It caused a little bit of ruckus every time he hid, seeing as though he had to jump up and move a ceiling tile before climbing upwards and hiding himself before putting it back into place. His heart raced every-time he sensed them walking just below his hiding place, as he anxiously waited for them to come to the conclusion that no one was there. They would often leave with the assumption that the sound was only their imagination, and that it was most likely a door opening and closing. It wasn't exactly an efficient way of travel, but with his current set of skills, he had no other option.

_ "That's three down, and two to go..." _he thought, looking at the route that was drawn in on his copy of the floor-plans. He looked over the paper carefully, memorizing the next set of turns he would have to take before folding it up and placing it in his suit pocket.

Then he felt it; his sixth sense. It wasn't coming from either in front or behind him like it normally would in a hallway such as this, but from his right side. As such, the distances of the target was shorter, giving him no time to react. He jumped when the door opened, and he saw a businessman appear from behind it.

_ "Good. It's only a guest."_ Alois thought, relieved.

He smiled pleasantly at the man before continuing to walk onward, pretending like he was supposed to be there. It seemed to work, as the man payed him no mind. However, the boy tried to pretend that he hadn't seen the person sitting on the bed in the room behind the man. It was a girl who had looked as old as he appeared to be. He shuddered, trying to erase the image from his mind as he walked.

_ This mission needed to end_.

* * *

**A/N: Yo.  
**

**I'm later today because I've been having trouble blocking out the turn of events in my head. I'm still not sure what direction I want this to go in, yet. I've also just been having trouble imagining content, for the simply fact that the subject-matter is a little..._ disturbing_...**

**I mean, murderers are creepy in their own way, but sex-crimes are a different kind of creepy that often just makes you squirm. That's also the reason why I didn't do this arc sooner. I've had the idea for a while, but I just couldn't psych myself to go for it. I've had to read the news a lot as reference, just to get some ideas going. **

**Yeah, a lot of my crime arcs are based on real events. Even the "Simon Says" arc was, as unrealistic of a concept that is. There was a guy who was kidnapped, given a list of tasks to complete, and if he didn't complete them within the time limit, the collar around his neck explodes.**

**That story, however, didn't have a happy ending, as the collar went off, killing the guy. **

**I've realized lately that I write more than read. I don't really read fanfics, but I read their reveiws to use as a reference to see what audiences like in order to make this better. I really wasn't feelin' it, so that's mostly what I did today. I see that I'm mentioned in them sometimes, and my heart leaps for joy~! I've also noticed that I get mentioned in other people's authors notes when I do read fanfics.**

**IT MAKES MY KOKORO GO DOKI DOKI.**

**But then again, I kind of feel like an asshole for getting so excited about it... **

**I've been thinking about writing a tutorial or some shit about how I go about coming up with ideas and making interesting OCs, and maybe just writing in general, because I've seen a lot of the same mistakes in doing those things. Lots of the same old ideas, and the same old Mary-Sue-esque OCs, and the same annoying mistakes in writing. **

**I'm just not sure where I would post it. I could post it in the author's notes, but I'm afraid that then that would turn into a goddamn chapter by itself. I also need to leave room for "character shet"...**

**Anyways, I've gotten a question..**

**"hate weasel have you played borderlands 2 if so what's your reaction to sir hammerlock's voice ?" by Wooimmafox1305**

**Nope. I'm not really into games. Dunno. My brother is, though. BUT, I did look up the character you were talking about, and listened to his voice. My immediate response was as follows: **

**"TAAAAAAAAAATUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!" *shakes fist in the air***

**Laters, duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET OH GOD I'M BEHIND  
**_

_Question:** "I'm curious... Ciel, have you ever been hired as an assassin, or hitman, or something similar? Actually, have you OR Sebastian done that?"** by SisterOfScarletDevil  
_

_Ciel's Answer:"Yes. That mission where we had to take out Victor Beatie could count. I seldom receive missions like that, but it happens."  
_

_0000000000_

_Question: **"To Ciel: Sorry for asking what I did! My brain is really odd sometimes! Anyway, what were/are the best and worst parts of resurrecting Alois?**  
** For Audrey, if you were given the chance to become a full reaper would you?"** by CiaranMichealis_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I would have to say that the best part was getting a friend out of it. The worst part was simply getting used to him, I would say. It was extremely awkward between us for a month or so..."  
_

_Audrey's Answer: __"Who wouldn't? Wait, does that mean just a genetic change, or getting the job, or both? If so, then yeah..."  
_

_0000000000000_

_Question: **"Ciel: What do you have planned when Alois acts all masculine like he does sometimes? Alois: What does Ciel do to "put you back in your place"?"** by sebastianthedemonbutler_

_Ciel's Answer:__"What? I can't help it if it makes me want to tease him a bit when he gets like that..."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"Ciel's mean! He teases me more than usual! He's a sadist! A SADIST, I SAY!"  
_

_0000000000000_

_Question: **"A question for Alois! How awkward would it be if Luka came in while you and Ciel were BUSY. - wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more, say no more?"** by Ahsoka-Tano22_

_Alois' Answer:__"I would die! I would die of embarrassment! THERE'S NO WAY I CAN LET HIM SEE ME LIKE THAT! EVER!" _

_0000000000000_

_Question: **"To ciel and alois and luka: What is your favourite Pokemon?"** by Banana Llama_

_Ciel's Answer: __"Like I know anything about Pokemon..."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"I dunno. I'm not too familiar with it. Luka talks about it all the time, though. He said that Ciel reminds him of an Oshawott while I remind him of a Snivy..."_

_Luka's Answer:__"Charazard! No, wait! Mightyena! No, no, Entei! Mewtwo?! Snivy?! Augh! There's too many!" _


	221. On Second Thought

A certain bluenette peered out over the stair-railing that overlooked the hotel lobby, simply watching the people below for a moment from his place in the shadows. He watched as people came and went, ranging from completely ordinary-looking folks to the people who you knew that you wouldn't want to leave your children alone in a room with. Rightfully so, in some cases.

Some people were perfectly ordinary, innocently oblivious to the crimes that took place in this building. Some were families on vacation, even. Yes, these were the people who the bluenette felt sorry for, as they would be caught up in the middle of this as well.

He also observed the people who were up to no good. No, he didn't judge this on the way they were dressed, or any other way that they looked physically, but rather, on how suspicious they looked, and by the size of their luggage. The smaller the bag, the less time that they were going to spend there. Why, some didn't even come with luggage at all. These were the people who came to the _Red Palace _for a specific purpose.

Ciel wrinkled his nose in disgust at them. They ranged from businessmen, to the obviously unemployed, in their occupations, and were of all ages. Some were old, while some appeared to be in high-school. They came from all ages, occupations, social classes, etc. While they were mostly men, there were some women as well, albeit few in number.

Regardless, they were all after the same thing. Some were casual, as if it were no big deal, while some appeared to be more cautious. All of them, however, had this sort of depraved look in their eyes that made it obvious. While this wouldn't have been noticeable to most people, Ciel noticed it because he had dealt with individuals of that nature in the past, and because he was looking for these qualities. Before long, he became disgusted by looking at this, and went on with his work, disappearing in plain sight.

He sealed off his final exit, completing his route on the map. His mind drifted to how the others were doing. Everything seemed calm at the front of house, so it could be assumed that neither of them had been caught or seen. The bluenette was tempted to send Alois a text, but then thought better. Had the boy forgotten to put it on vibrate, he would definitely draw attention to himself. Moreover, had he put it on silent, he wouldn't even notice if he had received a message at all. Ciel simply came to the conclusion that getting into position for "phase two" of their plan would be best.

"Well, if it isn't the Phantomhive brat." called a voice from behind him.

Ciel had been so caught up in his thoughts, that he was unable to sense anyone approaching. He quickly whipped his head around to see a familiar face. Standing there, now in front of him, was none other than the most perverse grim reaper he knew, _Grell Sutcliff_.

The flamboyant man wore black gloves, shoes, and a black suit with a white dress-shirt and red tie. He looked at the boy with his head angled so that he had to look over his red spectacles and through his false eyelashes, wearing a big, toothy grin on his face. He placed his free hand, the one that wasn't grasping onto his signature chainsaw-deathscythe, on his hip and said:

"If you're here, then certainly that handsome butler of yours is as well. Something tells me that you're not just here for the _girls_, are you?"

"Something tells me that you aren't either." the boy remarked, making an attempt to walk past the man in order to go about his work, only to be stopped by the gender-confused gentleman once more.

_ "Tsk, tsk, tsk." _he said. "_All work and not play makes Jack a dull boy,_ you know."

"How very unfortunate for _Jack._ What do you want?" the bluenette asked.

"I'm just wondering about something." Grell began, "According to my list, along with several accidental deaths caused by ensuing mayhem and confusion, a few people are about to be _brutally murdered in a cruel and unusual fashion. _Now you, boy,_ don't seem like the type of person to do such a thing, _and neither does _Bassy_."

"What makes you think it was a _demon?"_

"Just a _hunch_." the man replied nonchalantly. "Anyway, if you don't know, then never-mind. Ooh! You didn't answer my question about _Bassy!"_

"_He's busy_." the boy said flatly, forcing his way past the man. "If you aren't going to be of any use, _then get out of my way_." He was stopped by the chain of blades being shoved in his path.

"Where are your _manners?!" _demanded Sutcliff. "Don't you know that is not the proper way to treat a _lady? _I refuse to be treated in such a manner by anyone, especially by a _brat _like you!"

"Something makes me _doubt_ that, given how _perverse_ you are, Sutcliff." the bluenette answered, simply moving to avoid the object. "Perhaps if you stopped calling me _'brat',_ I may begin to _consider_ treating you more politely, _Mister _Sutcliff."

"How _dare _you?!" the reaper called after the boy. "Hey! Get back here! _Ignoring _people is rude too, you know!"

"_I will be sure to inform you when I begin to care."_

With that he walked onward, ignoring the shouts of the grim reaper in favor of fleeing the scene before someone hears the flamboyant ginger and comes to investigate. What Grell had said worried him. If he thought it might be a demon to commit these murders, and didn't believe that either the bluenette, or his butler would have committed them, that leaves only one last possible option.

This was just what he was afraid of. This was why he didn't want to allow Alois to get involved. When faced with things of this nature, Alois tends to get more than just a tad violent. If worst things came to be, the blonde could very well lose himself, becoming reduced to a monster. Ciel had to find him, and find him _quickly_, if what was left of Alois' humanity was to be saved.

_ "Why did you do that?"_ asked a girl, no older than fifteen, to the blonde menace himself.

Elsewhere in the building, the blonde menace stood in one of the many winding hallways of the hotel, in front of said girl, and next to the unconscious body of the businessman he had come across earlier that evening. The man had tried to ask what the boy's name was so that he may "request his services" on his next visit, but was swiftly knocked unconscious by the blonde's defensive reflexes. All Alois could do was stare at the girl confusedly from her place in the doorway of her room, as he tried to comprehend the question.

"_What do you mean?" _he asked, unsure of what else to say. The girl simply furrowed her brow at him.

_ "I'm asking you why you knocked him out, you pillock!_" she said in an angry tone. Whe obviously wanted to yell, but in the quiet hallway, it seemed taboo to speak above a whisper. "_Do you have any idea what's going to happen to me now?!"_

All the blonde could do was shake his head "no", arching an eyebrow in confusion. The girl sighed. "I'm going to get _beaten _for this, and _so are you!"_

"No I'm not._ I don't work here_." Alois said. "You're not either, if you get out of here."

"What the fuck are you talking about?! Are you mental?!" the girl asked. Suddenly her expression changed to that of terror. "Wait, you don't work here?! You're not going to tell, are you?!"

"Why wouldn't I? That's the whole reason I'm here!"

"You can't! They'll _kill _you, if you're caught! _Or worse!"_

"I'm not going to get caught, and neither are you! Just shut up, and do as I say!"

"_Why would I?!"_

Arguing with this girl was pointless. Alois could see it on her face. He had seen that look before; that lifeless look of despair and hopelessness. He already knew what she was thinking. She was thinking that it was hopeless to even try to escape.

He knew it all too well. That feeling of being trapped. That belief that even if you were to escape, you wouldn't be able to be happy, ever again. That feeling of being dirty, long after the touches were gone. He knew it. He knew what that felt like. What he couldn't understand was this girl's willingness to simply give up without a fight. Was she just going to passively accept this fate without even trying to lift a finger to do something about it?

"_Because you're still alive." _he answered, causing the girl to tilt her head in slight confusion. "You're just going to give up? Do you _like_ feeling pathetic, or something? You're not going to try for something better?" The girl simply looked down at the floor, unsure how to answer. The blonde frowned.

"Your opportunity to escape has appeared, and yet you're too _weak_ to even_ try? _I feel _sorry_ for you." the boy continued, turning to walk away. "Nothing will ever change unless you _make_ it."

He continued on his route, leaving the girl behind. As much as he didn't like it, he knew better. Some people simply cannot be saved, for the simple fact that they don't think they can be. That was what made both he, and the bluenette, as well as the other humans who were capable of signing contracts with demons, different from the majority of the population. People who refuse to give up, even in the face of the seemingly impossible, are those who _live_. It is as simple as that. _Those who do not fight, do not live_, and even by some miracle that they do, they are too weak in mind and heart, and _allow their experiences to crush them. _

Unfortunately, that very well may be the case with most of the victims in this predicament. Even if they were to be saved, their minds would most likely not be able to bear the weight of their trauma. It takes a certain amount of inner-strength to not be broken in the face of adversity, and some people have it, while other don't. Some use their fear and turn it into anger, morphing it into a weapon in order to strike down those who had wronged them, and some simply give in to defeat and live in a manner similar to that as cattle, mindlessly obeying orders and trudging through each day feeling empty inside. Some, however, remain unaffected in the slightest, and simply lock their past in the recesses of their minds, not allowing it to hinder them.

He would get this place shut down, regardless, allowing those who were strong to live. If at least some could make it, that was good enough. He managed to seal the last two doors on his route, completing his role. Thus, he decided that the best course of action was to meet up with the others and the rendezvous point in order to initiate "_phase two"_ of their scheme.

But then, he sensed it. Someone was coming. He went through his usual routine of hiding in the ceiling and waiting for whoever it was to pass. He held his breath as the people passed beneath him, but he couldn't believe who it was.

It was the girl from earlier, being dragged through the halls by her hair by some thugs. Alois could hear her scream and cry, kicking and thrashing to get away, only to whimper when one of the men hit her in hopes of making her be quiet. The blonde's stomach sank as it dawned on him what had happened.

He had left her alone with the unconscious businessman. She was in trouble for rebelling, and hitting a customer, something that she herself _did not do_. It was all _his _fault. He was responsible for her suffering. He had to do something, he knew, but what? She wasn't simply going to cooperate with him on escaping, meaning that he would have to leave her again with two unconscious thugs, only putting her in even bigger trouble.

"_Where's Ciel?"_ he thought, keeping his senses sharp in order to keep tabs on the group below him. "_He would know what to do..."_

He tried to come up with a plan, but didn't have the time, as the group that he was tracking was on the verge of stepping out of the range of his senses. Quickly, he dropped from his hiding place in the ceiling, landing gently on his feet before pursuing the group. He he tailed them, he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text.

"_I'm done on my end. I need to save someone. _

_It's my fault they're in trouble. I'm near the offices._

_-AT"_

_Send._

It was only moments later that he received a reply.

"_Stop! Stick to the plan! _

_Don't do anything until I get there!_

_-CP"_

It was at that moment that the blonde menace recalled something that the bluenette had said to him the day before. _"What you lack is the ability to really think things through!"_ he had said, before going through all the possible ways that his usual rashness could affect him negatively.

So he thought. He thought as he sneaked about, clutching his mobile phone in his hand, about what he could do, and the consequences of acting out each scenario. He could simply take out the thugs, but the girl would most likely not cooperate with him, causing the scenario discussed earlier to occur, but then again, he could always simply force the girl to come with him. At the same time, though, if she protested too loudly, she would alert others to their location, and that simply wouldn't do. He could follow them to where-ever it was that they were going, but then what? He was told to avoid any unnecessary confrontations "_no matter what_", and he would most likely have to fight his way back out again, and if he should succeed, he still had the problem of transporting the girl to safety. There was also the possibility of him "freaking out" from the sight of whatever it was in that unknown room, causing him to go on a murderous rampage, not to mention cause the opening of old emotional scars. The option to simply ignore the girl existed, but Alois felt guilty about getting her in trouble in the first place .

Yes, Alois could feel guilt. He often found this new "conscience" of his to be somewhat of a nuisance. It annoyed him to feel responsible for his actions. It annoyed him that he felt compelled to save this girl, who he had considered "weak", but it was his fault. Whatever happens to her from this point on is, and always will be his fault.

It was then that he felt a familiar presence come up from behind him, and he felt a rush of relief as he turned to see the Phantomhive boy once more. Planning was not one of Alois' strong suits, but he knew Ciel would most likely be able to come up with the appropriate course of action. The bluenette had a worried look on his face as he opened his mouth to speak.

"_What the hell was that message about?!" _he asked, not daring to speak above a whisper.

_"I know, I know. It's stupid, but hear me out_." the blonde replied in a similar tone, leaning a little closer so that the other boy may hear him better. "_Long story short: I messed up and got this girl in trouble, and now she's going to be beaten or worse if we don't do something."_

"_What. Did. You. Do?!" _the bluenette demanded through clenched teeth, furrowing his brow.

"_One of her customers was flirting with me, so I knocked him out and left him." _Alois explained. "_They found him, and thought that she did it."_

_"I told you not to do anything rash!"_

_ "I know! And I'm sorry! But we have to save her!"_ The blonde's eyes were pleading with the bluenette to do something. There was a long pause before either lad did anything, but then, Ciel reached into his pocket and began typing. When he was finished, he sent the message and put the device back in his pocket.

_ "Ciel?"_

_ "I'm sent a message to Bailey, telling him that there's been a change in plans_." the bluenette said, reaching back into his pocket when he felt the phone vibrate. _"The police are now going to raid the hotel_." he added, reading the message.

_ "So what now?" _Alois asked.

"_We're going to go save the girl, that's what." _Ciel said as he began to walk, gesturing for the blonde to follow. _"But let's try to keep the fatalities at 'zero', shall we?"_

_ "Yes, my master~!"_ Alois replied, giggling at the sight of the bluenette rolling his visible eye.

The demonic duo walked up to the office door, and immediately stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of screaming. They looked at each other for a moment before hastily kicking the door open. Their eyes widened for a moment at the display in front of them before their faces morphed into snarls as they furrowed their brows and grit their teeth.

"_On second thought..."_ began the bluenette, his eye glowing red. _"...maybe one or two are permissible."_

* * *

**A/N: UGH.**

**This arc is so hard to write... Some authors are perfectly fine writing about this subject matter, while some aren't... I'm one of those "aren'ts"...**

**My mind just has difficulty going to such dark unsettling places... It's a skill that I simply do not have. I'm really forcin' it, here...  
**

**I... have a confession to make... When I get questions that involve me having to watch something, and make the characters react... I just don't wanna do it! *sobs* That's just time that I could be spending writing!**

**Admittedly, though, that's not 100% true, since I occasionally do get curious, and look it up anyway...**

**It's mostly with music videos and stuff. You know how you think that your music is awesome, and how everyone else's sucks, for the most part? Almost everyone feels that way. Music is just something extremely personal, an there are just some genres that I absolutely cannot stand. **

**I don't like mainstream pop music, I don't like country, I don't like screamo, I don't like modern rock in general, for the most part, but at the same time, I also don't like classic rock. I like the way rap music sounds, but I absolutely detest the lyrics.**

**I listen to really quirky shit. The kind of stuff that you can only seem to find ONE artist who has that sort of sound. I like some punk rock. I like classical music as well as Jazz, but it has to have a fast tempo. I like blues, blue-grass, and funk. I like I little bit of techno, and a little bit of pop, but only certain artists. Because I like the way rap sounds, I listen to only nerd-core rappers who's lyrics I can actually relate to. They also just have a more sophisticated feel to them.**

**The music I really like doesn't have a manufactured sort of sound, but instead seems to come from the very heart of the artist, with lyrics to match. It's like they sincerely want you to understand the idea that they're trying to convey, or feel the the feeling that they want you to feel. Music, just like any other art, is a form of expression, and should be treated as such. It's purpose is to convey an idea, feeling, or story. That's just what art is. **

**Yes, that includes fanfics. **

**So, what's the message of mine?**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET:  
**_

_Question: **"For ciel: what would you do if they made Alois dress in an inappropriate outfit and act as bait for the case?"** by Down-by-the-bay  
_

_Ciel's Answer:"Someone is either going to end up fired, or DEAD."  
_

_0000000000000_

_Question: **"So, Sir Arthur Kirkland, I was just wondering... How is your relationship with Mr. Francis Bonnefoy going? (Wink wink, nudge nudge...) And to Daniel. Are you feeling neglected that all the perverted questions aren't directed to you anymore, or relieved that no one is trying to harass you?"** by IggyLikeToExplode_

_Arthur's Answer:__"I hate that cheese-eating surrender monkey! He pisses me off!"  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"I'm hella-relieved! I've stopped having nightmares and can finally sleep peacefully again~!"  
_


	222. Odd Morality

No mortal is meant to see the disturbing scene that was taking place in that room. It was completely irksome, even to demon eyes. It infuriated the demonic duo. It scared them, too, and made them want to vomit at the same time. What made a person so sick, and so depraved to take part in such activities, they would never know, as it was something that no sane person could understand.

Such disregard for morality, for human life and decency, should only be rewarded with one thing: Death. A humiliating, excruciating death that inflicted ever once of pain and emotional suffering that was forced onto others by their hand was a fair punishment, no? In fact, to the demonic duo, that wouldn't be nearly _enough_. Even then, if wouldn't be enough! They would have to suffer _more,_ somehow, before the demons graciously escorted them to _Hell,_ as they wouldn't dare _touch_ their filthy souls. It was bad enough that they would most likely have to touch their _blood_.

That was the depth of the seething anger and outrage of the demons. They couldn't even hear the shouts and inquiries of the men in that room, as they demanded an explanation for why the boys were there, because of it. It was a burning hatred that manifested itself in black flames surrounding their bodies. The heat fromt that hatred and loathing filled the room in a violent _"whoosh"_ as the air suddenly became hot, and hard to breathe.

The women in the room were terrified; the children, too, even though it was not they who were in any real danger of losing their lives at that moment. It was the terrified, depraved men of all ages and occupations who were in danger. Before most of them could even pull up their pants, the dark inferno subsided, revealing their deaths. They couldn't speak, or even blink. All they could do was stare in awe at what they had just witnessed, leaving the room almost completely silent. It was only after the snarls on the demon's faces had turned into smirks, and after they began to move, that the men began to make noise.

Naturally, it was Alois who struck first, cocking back his arm before releasing his tensed muscles, propelling his fist forward to make acquaintance with the nearest man's face. The blonde had hit him hard; hard enough that instead of his entire body being propelled backwards, it was only his head that spun around with a gut-wrenching _crack_ of his neck, and with that, he fell to the ground in a heap. The blonde menace wasn't holding back; not one single bit.

He liked being able to fight back; an ability that he was not granted until his resurrection. He loved it. Immortality is magnificent. Ability is dazzling. Yet the one thing that he loved most about this power, was being able to use it so crush the scum that had tormented him so in his past life. The strong devour the weak, it was a simple rule that could be applied to most aspects of life, Alois knew this. He had _always_ known, yet it was when he was the strong one that he could truly appreciate this rule.

Power is a terrifying thing, as suddenly gaining it can drive even the kindest of people into madness and apathy. Alois was no exception, and neither was Ciel. It was at moments such as this when obliterating the objects of their hatred, that they truly began to lose themselves. It was at moments such as these when all traces of the duo's humanity were fast asleep, and replaced by the monsters that they appeared to be.

No longer, was this a rescue mission. No longer, were they agents of justice. Right then, as they crushed the men in that room like bugs with smiles on their faces, they were monsters. Monsters, who took delight in the screams of their victims, and the cracking of their bones as they toyed with the men until their deaths. The demons had broken their limbs, stepped on them, clawed their faces, and laughed at them, before finally killing them.

It was then, and only then, when the bluenette finally looked up, setting eyes on the terrified slaves in this palace as they cowered in fear, waiting for their own deaths, that Ciel realized what he was doing. Snapping from his dazed, power-drunken stupor, he stopped to take it all in. His eyes widened and he placed a hand on his forehead, slightly running his fingers through his hair, horrified at what he had become. He was a _monster_, and he _knew_ it.

Then, his ears caught up to him as well, and he could hear the screams of the men, and the cracking of their bones. He quickly looked around the room, trying to find it's source. Ciel's heart dropped a bit when he saw the blonde, wide-eyed, covered in blood, with a big, toothy grin on his face, as he wrapped his fingers around the throat of one of the men and began to squeeze the life out of him. His victim had tears running down his cheeks, and was kicking his legs while clawing at the demons hands, all while Alois laughed. _Alois laughed_ _in delight _at the man's suffering.

Finally, when he ceased his struggling, the man's body went limp. The blonde let go of the man's throat, leaving ugly, purple and red marks where his fingers had been, and stood up, laughing hysterically at the same time. Even though he was _laughing_, it seemed as though he was about to break down and _cry _at any moment. Deep down, he knew what he was doing, and knew it was wrong, but he simply couldn't stop it. Just before he lunged at his next target, he was stopped by a pair of arms wrapping around him and holding him tightly, causing him to hesitate.

"_Stop it!"_ the bluenette shouted, holding the blonde to his chest. "Just stop it! You're going to become_ like them_, if you don't!"

Suddenly, the blonde's muscles relaxed, and his smile faded as what he was doing slowly began to dawn on him as well. What had he been doing? With a sigh of relief, Ciel continued.

"These men... they... disregarded others and harmed them for the sake of their own amusement and pleasure... That's what _monsters _do." he said, watching as the blonde sheepishly looked down at the ground. "Isn't that what _we _were just doing?" There was a long pause before he received any form of answer.

"_They deserved it." _the blonde said coldly._ "All of them. we were just killing monsters, is all."_

"By becoming monsters ourselves? Don't you see what's _wrong _with that?" Ciel asked. He waited for a reply, but it never came. Thus, he continued. "You _do,_ don't you? I _know_ you do..."

"How else am I supposed to fight them?" asked Alois. "It's not like we can just _reason _with them." he added, glaring at the remaining men, who were too frozen with fear to flee.

"I know, but we still don't have to get on _their level_." replied the bluenette. "It's the _intent_ behind it that counts, I think..."

"_Huh?"_ the blonde asked, turning his head so that he could look at the other boy. HE arched an eyebrow in confusion at Ciel's statement.

_ "It's something Integra told me once..." _the Phantomhive boy began, struggling to figure out how to fully explain himself. "I'm not sure if I fully understand it, but I think I'm starting to. She said that _'True humans don't kill for their own pleasure, or satisfaction. That's what monsters do. A human will fight a monster, knowing that there is a high probability that they will die, or even knowing that they will die, because it is their duty. A human will never give up, no matter what'."_

"Are you suggesting that we _shouldn't _exterminate these.. these... '_monsters'?!_" Alois demanded, wriggling out of the bluenette's grasp. "They _need_ to die!_ Just look at what they've done!"_

"Look at what _we've_ done." Ciel answered; a response that caused the blonde to look around the room for the first time.

There were bodies on the floor, with their limbs twisted at odd angles, and dark crimson stains near some of them. The men that have yet to be mutilated were all huddled in a corner of the room, cowering as they waited for the demons to destroy them next. Then, there were the orignal victims, the abducted, who had been in the middle of being punished for trying to rebel against their captors. They were frightened by the uncertainty of whether or not the demons were actually on their side. They, unlike the men, were listening carefully in order to decipher this fact. Some of them didn't care either way, and simply wanted all of the horror to end. This is what the demonic duo had done, or at the very least, attributed to.

The demons had lost sight of the original purpose of their mission, and had simply entered a frenzy of killing for their own satisfaction. They had stopped fighting out of duty, and fought out of selfishness instead, dancing along the border between their humanity, and their demonity. That is that path that the Phantomhive boy consciously feared, or at the very least, hesitated to tread. At what point will he lose himself completely, and be reduced to that which is empty, and tries to fill the void in it's heart with conflict and consumption? Isn't losing one's conscious self the same as being dead? While the bluenette didn't know if he really cared for his immortality, the boy liked the idea of dying even _less_.

Alois slowly began to realize all of this when he saw what the two had done, at least on some level. It was when he opened his eyes that he began to realize that to a point, what he was doing was similar to what he hated. He was very confused in his morality, in that he believed that his foes needed to suffer for their crimes, but at the same time, didn't want to repeat the offense by instigating further crime and moral-fouls against humanity. It gave him an odd feeling of guilt, and fear to know this. The blonde's expression turned from fearful to solemn in nature before the boy was engulfed in flames again, reverting back to his normal "human" state.

After watching him for a moment, the bluenette did the same, the presence of a fourth party catching his attention. It was most likely the London Metropolitan Police heading their way, as they raided the building. The bluenette turned his attention to the humans in the room before speaking in a tone that demanded their attention, as if he already didn't have it.

"The police are on their way. Some of you will be whisked away to safety, and the rest of you will be arrested_. You know who you are." _he said, placing his hands behind his back in an authoritative manner. He turned his head again when the police kicked in the door. They were immediately taken aback by the scene before them in a manner similar to the duo when they first entered as well. The only difference was that now there were dead bodies.

"_Good evening, officers." _said the eye-patch-wearing boy. "I trust that you're fully capable of taking care of things from here?"

"Bloody hell..." spoke one of the officers.

"What happened here?!" demanded another.

"Simple. _There was resistance, and the use of force was necessary." _replied the bluenette, putting his arm around the blonde menace, and guiding him toward the door, past the officers. "We'll be taking our leave then."

"Hold it! _What are we supposed to do with all of this?!" _demanded one of the police officers. "Get back here and help!"

"Sorry. _Not my department_." the Phantomhive boy said, not slowing down in his pace in the slightest. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, and knew that Alois was definitely feeling the same way.

The demonic duo met with Sebastian, who had brought the car closer, and parked it among the flashing lights of the police vehicles. Ciel spotted detective Bailey among the officers outside, and they both made eye contact. The man was about to go over to the pair, but then he saw the expression on the blonde's face, and instead gestured to the Phantomhive boy that he would call him for details in the morning, which was most appreciated.

Silence loomed in the air in the black Rolls Royce of the Phantomhive household on the way home, as none of the demons especially felt like talking. Sebastian knew that things had taken a foul turn while he was absent, but respected his master's obvious wishes for peace and quiet, only, _his inference was somewhat incorrect_. For some odd reason, the silence simply made the bluenette feel even more uneasy. He tried to occupy his thoughts, looking out the window for a while, before the city landscape became somewhat boring to him; his eye began to wander around the contents of the vehicle, meeting his own gaze in the rear-view mirror briefly before staring at the back of the driver's head, faintly wondering what the man's opinion on the events was. He would have to remember to ask him later, when it didn't seem as though it were taboo to speak.

His eye then wandered to the seat next to him, examining the blonde boy. Alois looked down at his hands, folded in his lap, with a melancholy look on his face that was unusual for the boy. Ciel could just barely see the other teen's icy blue eyes, as the boy's fair hair covered them. It was as though he was trying to hide.

It was an almost unconscious decision to extend his hand in order to try and comfort the boy, but then the bluenette remembered that Sebastian was in the car with them, and would most likely tease him for anything he said. Ciel would have simply retracted his hand, but then he noticed the man looking at him in the rear-view mirror, curious as to what the sudden movement was. He was caught in an act of kindness. Once he realized that, he simply continued with a sigh, grabbing the other boy's hand, making him jolt into alertness. The blonde looked up to see the bluenette's small, yet comforting smile, and registered what he was trying to say.

_"Everything will be alright."_

It was about then that the trio of demons entered the long driveway that led to the Phantomhive estate, slowing down as they got closer to their destination. Everything seemed in order on the outside, which relieved the butler, who had left the place under the watchful care of Charlotte and Amelie (but mostly Charlotte,) in his absence, as they needed someone to watch Luka. When they opened the door, however, they were greeted with an interesting display.

Amelie was laying in the floor, wrapped in a blanket-cocoon. Wrapped around her prison was a chain, with silverware placed between several of the links so that she may not escape. Obviously, she was up to her usual antics, but the question on the trio's mind at the time was: "_How did Charlotte get her restrained in the first place?"_

"Oh, sorry! I didn't hear you pull up the driveway!" the vampire greeted as she entered the foyer. She was in her H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. uniform, as opposed to her old butler-esque outfit, but was otherwise the same. She followed the other's eyes to the "werewolf-cocoon" in the middle of the floor, and laughed nervously.

"_Oh, yeah..." _she said. _"I had trouble getting Luka to bed with her being up to no good..."_

"Why's that?" asked the blonde.

"_She wouldn't stop carrying him around on her back and running about_..." Charlotte answered with a sigh. "_It's difficult to get an eight-year-old to go to bed with an obnoxious werewolf offering piggy-back rides around..."_

At least _someone _had a pleasant evening...

* * *

**A/N: UGH. **

**I had NO IDEAS for this chapter... I improvised the entire way~!**

**UGH.**

**Goddamn pseudo-philosophical bullshit... It makes sense in my head, but I just can't seem to express the idea properly... but then again, without it, there might not have been a chapter today...**

**Now I have to think of what's going to happen next...**

**UGH.**

**Ugh, duckies... Ugh...**

__**(P.S. I take it quite a few of ****you ship Kristopherson and Daniel, correct~? ME GUSTA.****)**_**  
**_

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"**__**So, Daniel... *evil smirk* Read a CielxAlois M-rated fic, any one. Now, you must recount the whole thing to them. Reactions?"** by Honeycloud Of RiverClan_

_Daniel's Answer:__ "Nope, nope, nope, nope, NOPE, NOPE, NOPE!__ There's no way I can tell them about that! I don't think I can even look at them after reading that!"_

_000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Daniel my dear, what would happen if you woke up, tied to a chair, in a blouse, wig and miniskirt? Oh, and Kristerpherson, since we have missed you so much. A scenario: Daniel just announced that he is gay and is madly in love with you. Your reaction?"** by theotakuat221b (a.k.a. "The User Formerly Known As Emeraldpaw")_

_Daniel's Answer:_**_*cries*_**

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Huh?! Uhm, I dunno... I'm kind of seeing someone else right now, so..."  
_

_000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"So Arthur. What are you doing here? YOU SHALL NOT PASS! This is NOT a crossover! Artie. Your food sucks. This is a question. All of it."** by FreezinWinter_

_Arthur's Answer:__"What in blazes are you talking about?! I LIVE here! AND MY FOOD DOES NOT 'SUCK'!"  
_

_00000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Question for sebastian . Would you see luka as a child of yours or just someone to take care of?"** by Wooimmafox1305_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"You know, I'm not quite sure... I quite enjoy his company, and he helps out quite a bit, in his own way. I'm not entirely wure how one would feel towards their child, but I suppose I do see him as somewhat of an 'apprentice' of sorts, at the very least..."  
_


	223. Middle Earth

Warwick, Warwick, _Warwick Academy!_ Yes, we find ourselves returning to this location, as the Sensational Seven's summer break ended several weeks ago, and they now entered their third year of high-school. Now, it finally began to sink in that they only had two more years until college, where they would most likely end up separating. Each boy had their own interests and fields of expertise so it was almost inevitable, but, the lad's friendship was strong. Surely, they would keep in touch. After all, they shared one of the world's greatest secrets, bonding them. It was unlikely, that two years from that moment, on graduation day, would be the last they saw of each other. No, it wouldn't be so._ Not by a long shot. _

"_Bwa-ha-ha-haha!"_ The sound erupted from the throat of a certain, familiar brown-haired boy from a political family. Today, he had just learned another secret.

"Y-your... your!" he began, laughing violently between pauses. "_Your middle name is 'Gareth!' Bwa-ha-hahaha!" _While he couldn't see it, due to the fact that the reaper-boy's bangs had partially grown back towards their usual length, Audrey's eyebrow twitched in annoyance over the absurd reaction.

"_So?" _he asked, not sure what else to say. "I don't really see why that's so _funny_..."

"That's _hilarious!"_ Daniel choked out, resting his palms on the surface of the lad's desk. "_'Gareth'!_ What kind of name is that?!"

"It's really not that funny, Daniel..." said Preston from his own seat as he filled in answers to a worksheet that the boys were supposed to be working on. "It's a pretty normal name."

"Oh yeah? How would _you_ know? _You're Indian!_ You don't even _have _a middle name!" the politician's son replied.

"_Yes I do."_ Preston corrected. "It's _'Soma'_."

_"'Soma'?"_ echoed the Westley boy. "Why _'Soma'?"_

"It was _my mother's maiden name_; nothing special."

"So it's _'Preston Soma Omid'? _That doesn't really flow well." Daniel said before turning his attention to the boy seated next to Preston. "Hey! _Hey Travis!_ What's _your _middle name?" Travis blinked and looked up from what he was doing and looked at the loud boy.

"It's _'Marion'." _he said. The others simply stared at him, thinking about how that didn't suit him, but also did at the same time. Daniel didn't, though. He snorted as he tried not to laugh again.

"Hey Kristopherson~!" he called in a sing-song voice, getting the faux-blonde's attention.

The others simply couldn't get used to Kristopherson's appearance. The boy's image had changed drastically as he had stopped bleaching his hair, and his natural, dark-brown colouring started to fill in. He still had quite a bit of blonde left; more than half, even, but it was still just enough to put the others off just a bit.

"_Don't bother._ You aren't going to get a laugh out of _mine_." the faux-blonde answered, lazily folding his arms.

"Why not?" asked Daniel, now more curious than ever. "What is it?"

"_'Thomas'." _replied the boy in the pink tie, much to the surprise of everyone. There was a long pause before anyone said anything.

"That's surprisingly _butch_, actually." commented Audrey.

"I was expecting _'Maurice' _or something." added Preston.

"_Shut up."_ Kristopherson snapped. "What about you, Daniel? What is your _'super-cool, totally-not-embarrassing'_ middle name?"

The Westley boy immediately froze at the question. The intense stares of his peers didn't do anything to help his awkward feeling. There was a void of silence before anyone said anything.

"Come on, out with it." ordered Kristopherson.

"It's only fair." added Travis. Hesitantly, Daniel opened his mouth to speak, mumbling the word so softly, that none of them could hear it. None of them, but the _demonic duo_.

"_We can't hear you_." Preston said with a slightly annoyed tone.

"He said that it's _'Lennon'." _spoke the bluenette, not even bothering to look up from his work. He smiled slightly as he said it, all the same.

"_'Lennon'?" _asked Audrey.

"As in, like, _'John Lennon'?"_ inquired Preston.

"And you make fun of _other people's _middle names?" asked Kristopherson.

"Shut up!" the politician's son barked. "_Phantomhive! Trancy! _You gotta tell your's too!"

"Why?" asked Ciel.

"Well, since everyone elses' has been made public, then you might as well share too." said Kristopherson, resting his chin in his palm. "Do it to make Daniel stop _blubbering..."_

"...Or blubber _more_, since it's kind of_ funny." _added Preston. With a sigh, Ciel finally turned his attention to the other lads.

"If it bothers you that much, then _fine_." the bluenette said reluctantly. "It's _'Alexander'."_

"_'Ciel Alexander Phantomhive'?" _said Travis, putting the bluenette's full name together.

"You _dick!_ Why does yours have to sound _cool?!"_ demanded Daniel. _"Your turn, Trancy!"_

"_Huh?"_ the blonde asked, blinking a few times in surprise. "Oh, well, I don't exactly _have _one..."

"Why not?" asked Audrey.

"My real parents just never bothered, and I never learned the actual _'Alois Trancy's'_." explained the fair-haired demon, somewhat bashfully.

"When we registered you into the school, we wrote down that it was _'Jim'." _said Ciel. "So if you noticed, on your report cards, it ways _'Alois Jim Trancy'."_

"You git! You ruined it!" the blonde protested. "It doesn't sound as cool now!"

"Now, now, _'Jimmy', _there's no need to get _upset_~!" Daniel teased, enjoying every bit of the blonde's reaction.

"Shut up, _'Lennon'!_ Don't call me that!" Alois snapped back, furrowing his brow.

"But doesn't Luka call you by your real name sometimes?" asked Audrey.

"Yeah, but he's _special." _the blonde replied, indignantly crossing his arms over his chest.

"So does that mean _Ciel_ gets to call you _'Jim', _too?" asked Daniel, wiggling his eyebrows. As if on que, the blond menace shot him a dirty look, which didn't look nearly as threating as it would have without the subtle pink tint the appeared on his cheeks. That pigmentation only darkened when he glanced over at the bluenette, who simply looked at him with a smirk.

"_Sod off." _the blonde commanded._ "The cyclops would abuse that privilege."_

"What_ other 'privileges' _does he _abuse?"_

"_Don't even go there, Daniel!"_

* * *

**A/N: Goddammit, Daniel...**

**Whoo~! Fillllleeeeerrrrrr~!**

**Yeah, I have no idea what I'm gonna do next...**

**KWES-CHUN:_ "are you a bro?" by Wooimmafox1305_**

**A "Bro", as in "a boy", or a "Bro", as in "A Pewdiepie Fan"? I'm not a boy, but I do watch Pewdiepie. Not as often as I used to, but I still watch him. I'm one of those weirdos who likes watching other people play videogames more than actually playing them myself...**

**Oh! And here's a HATEFUL FANFIC-WRITING TIP:**

**When designing OCs, don't name them something you wouldn't actually hear in real life. _Ever._ When I see those names in summaries, it immediately trips the _"Mary-Sue Alarm_" in my head, telling me that a story is most likely rubbish, so it doesn't even get a chance. **

**Also, they need to have multiple layers, to where they aren't just "nice" all the time, or just "mean" all the time. That's boring. People don't really act like that, so your characters shouldn't either. **

**For example, Kristopherson, is an emotionally complex character, because of the way I introduced him. He, like the rest of the seven, has some sort of dilemma that he is faced with, and he has to overcome it, and pursue his "quest". Each character has some sort of "quest", or something that they're after, whether it be emotional, matierial, or otherwise. ALL of them. In Kristopherson's case, he had this thing in the beginning in, in that he is trying to protect himself from being ridiculed and hurt or rejected because of his homosexuality, so he tried to cover it up by being a total dick. As the story went on, he began to realize that he can't live happily denying himself. Kristopherson's "quest", is him sort of seeking acceptance from others, as well as himself, which is a desire that almost every human being has. That makes him more believable. They have to have a level of insecurity about them.**

**More tips... sometime... maybe... I dunno about what, or if they're even helpful asdlfkahsdglkahdg**

**I could've gone more in-depth, but I was actually trying to keep this A/N short... And failed...**

**Laters, duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: "Help me! Im a kitten and my owner doesn't love me! She clips my nails until i bleed! And she locks me up in a scary dark cage at night! Sebastion please save me! *sniffle*" by KrazynKuki_

_Sebastian's Answer:"Where are you?"_

_Amelie: "IT'S A TRAP!"_

_00000000000000_

_Question: **"Alois: be honest, whose d*ck is bigger? YOURS? Or CIELS?"** by Banana Llama_

_Alois' Answer:__"Well, physically, I'm a year older, so I might be slightly bigger. We're about the same, though... Wait, 'Banana Llama? What kind of 'bananas' are you the llama of?"  
_

_Ciel: "YOU. STOP TALKING."_


	224. We Have Ways

Warwick Academy; a fine establishment built on fine morals and ambition. Here the business and political leaders as well as the cultural icons of tomorrow learn, and prepare themselves for their bright futures. The students of Warwick are well versed in social studies and the arts, as well as in various maths and sciences. They are highly literate, with the best education money can buy, but that it not all Warwick is about. No, Warwick is not only proud of their educational standards, but also in their athletics programmes. Today, the Sensational Seven entered their usual Physical Education class, as it was a required course for students of every year to take.

"Yup, my suspicions have been confirmed." spoke Daniel in the changing room, as he and the other boys shed their usual uniforms and put on their gym clothes. _"Krisitopherson isn't nearly a curvy as Alois."_

"_What the fuck?!" _shouted the boy in the pink tie, hurrying to put on his T-shirt. _"Why are you looking for that stuff?!_

_ "It's just an observation_. I was just pointing it out." the brown-haired boy said. "Relax, I'm not a homo. There's no reason for your little boyfriend to get _jealous_."

"It's still _creepy,_ Dan." Kristopherson replied.

"What? Are you mad that_ Alois makes a better girl _than you?"

"How on earth does he make a better _'girl'?"_

"Just look at him!" Daniel declared, pointing at the blonde menace, who was doing his best to ignore the others. "He's so effeminate! If you look at him from the back, it's easy to confuse him for a girl! Hell, it's even hard to tell from the front!"

"Daniel, _just stop talking_." interrupted Audrey, putting his hat back on. "You're not helping your _'not a homo' _case, and not only that, _you're pissing Alois off_." The Miles and Westley boys, looked back to the blonde menace again, only to notice that the boy was now fuming.

_ "Oh shit." _muttered Daniel, before trying his best to fix the situation. "N-now, Alois, listen! I-it's not that big of a deal! Besides_, that sort of look is in, these days!_ Just look at _One Direction!"_

_ "Shut up, Daniel! You're not helping!"_ Kristopherson shouted. He then brought his voice down to a whisper. "_Now, Phantomhive is mad, too!"_ ht added, noticing the bluenette's crossed arms and his mean expression with his famous "ice-beam" directed towards them.

"What the fuck!? Why is _he _mad?!" asked Daniel.

"Probably because we were staring Alois while he's changing, or because you said Alois looked _girly!"_

"So?! _He_ calls Alois _'girly' _all the time!"

"_It's not the same!"_

The bluenette simply rolled his visible eye, and continued to wait on the others to leave. While the rest of the sensational seven were aware of his mark; his slave brand, he still didn't feel entirely comfortable with the idea of changing in front of others. Even after having over one-hundred years to adjust to the modern world, he still had difficulties letting go of old habits. It was stunning how quickly that the Macken brothers were able to grow accustomed to the lifestyle. Perhaps it was simply a difference in how they were raised.

Soon, the lads were ready to go, fully clothed in their shorts and their T-shirts, and thus, they entered the gymnasium around the same time that the girls had. They prepared for another grueling forty-five minutes of being yelled at while being forced to perform some sort of physical activity, something which was no longer an issue to either Alois or Audrey and was actually less horrible than what those two had suffered over the summer. Yet, instead of Mr. Alvey, the usual gym instructor, there was a new face-, or rather, a slightly _familiar _one.

He was a young man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with golden blonde hair, and emerald green eyes. He wore an angry expression on his face, a whistle on a string that was tied around his neck,and gym attire similar to those that the boys were wearing on the rest of his body. His shorts revealed just enough of his shin, that the bluenette was able to notice a scar on each of the man's legs. _Bullet wounds_. Those were wounds that Ciel himself had inflicted. He knew this man, and so did the blonde menace. They took a moment to glance at each other, both thinking the same thing.

"Alright! Shut up!" the man shouted in his usual German accent, which caught the other children completely off-guard, immediately granting the man their attention.

"Listen up! Mr. Alvey is no longer with Warwick Academy." he said, making the demonic duo somewhat question his choice of words. "My name is _Heinrich Strumer_. You will call me _'Mr. Strumer'. _Anyone who attempts to call me _'Heinrich' _will be _killed."_

Just then, a certain son of a politician began to raise his hand with a smile, but was immediately stopped by the Phantomhive boy slapping his hand back down. Ciel shot him a warning look before speaking in a hushed tone.

_ "Don't even think about it." _he said, knowing full-well that the boy was going to ask if the man was a "Nazi", or something along those lines. _"That man really will kill you_."

"_Why?" _Daniel asked.

**_"He's a deadly criminal who wants me dead, that's why_."**

"So... just out of curiosity..." the brown-haired lad began, "...just_ how many people want you dead?"_

_ "Too many to count, and the list just keeps growing."_

_ "Phantomhive! Keep your trap shut!" _the man barked, hearing the boy speak. He shot the boy a nasty look, that could only be described as a hateful one, of the likes of which the bluenette happily returned.

_"We have ways of making you talk..." _Audrey muttered, poorly attempting to replicate the man's accent while quoting a movie. Preston was the only one who got the joke, and who laughed, causing the man's attention to drift to them.

"_One-hundred push-ups! Everyone! Now!"_, to which the children groaned.

"_Make that one-hundred and fifty!"_

* * *

**A/N: Oh...  
**

**Remember him? Yeah...**

**I actually really wanted to do a school arc, but couldn't think of anything, so I'm slightly tweaking one of my other ideas in order to accommodate. Unfortunately, it's also going to go into more supernatural shit, which I wanted to hold off on and go into another school-time arc, but I didn't have any ideas. Thus, it's this shit again.**

**Oh, and I posted more shit on deviantart. Just sayin'.**

**SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION OMAHGAW**

**Laters, duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET BITCHES  
**_

_Question: **"To the seven, what would you do if it was the weekend and the power was out?"** by CiaraMichealis _

_Ciel's Answer:"Paintball battle to the death in the garden."_

_Alois' Answer:"What the cyclops said. The others are invited too~!"_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"I dunno? Go somewhere else? Read a book? The possibilities are endless."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:"So... No internet? I'll probably hit up the demonic duo on their offer to play paintball."_

_Daniel's Answer:"No internet?! No TV?! WHAT AM I GONNA DO?! What? Play paintball with the demons? Demons? HELL NAW! THAT SHIT IS FUCKING DANGEROUS!"  
_

_Preston's Answer:"Probably read those books I've been meaning to finish..."_

_Travis' Answer:"Go outside and play with my pets, just like any other day."  
_

_0000000000000000000_

_Question: **"To bad daniel cause im giving you nightmares so daniel if kris had to give you a lap dance what would your reaction be"** by Wooimmafox1305_

_Daniel's Answer:__"First, I would probably feel bad for Kris, since he would never give anyone a lapdance in a million years, and if he did, it was most likely by force. Then, my actual reaction would be as follows: 'NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE __NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE_ _NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE_ _NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE_ _NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE_ _NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE_"  


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_Question:** "I have a question for Ciel (this might have already been asked and/or answered...) : what was the first thing that went through your head when you realized you were gay? (Or bi...or pan?) And for Grell: Why do you love Sebastian so much? And why are you not in the plot more often!?"** by MeiMeiDeiMeiMei_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Uhm... W-well... I was mostly shocked, I guess... It was so weird because I had never known that about myself. I had never even CONSIDERED that about myself before. So, my first reaction was basically to gawk at that fact for a while. But then, I couldn't stop fretting about anyone knowing, and about what I was going to do next, with this knowledge. It was an odd combination of surprise, confusion, and a bit of fear, actually."  
_

_Grell's Answer:__"Oh, I just love that coldness about him! I love men who are hard-to-get. It's such a turn-on! It's seldom that you see such beauty in a man, but, such is the deceptive nature of a devil. Ah! I've been led astray, seduced by that devilish raven! I'm not sure what you're talking about by 'plot', but you may not see me around that much because I'm a DEATHly busy woman! There's just been so many deaths recently, and strange ones too, where souls couldn't be collected. It's such a headache!" _


	225. Ana's Informant

"_UGH. My arms..." _whined a certain son of a politician, rubbing his aching triceps, biceps, and other related muscles. The Sensational Seven were now eating lunch in the cafeteria, but had a hard time using their upper extremities due to the over-use of them. "What kind of person makes you do_ one-hundred and fucking fifty _push-ups!?"

"Some one who is a _gym teacher?" _suggested Audrey, who wasn't nearly as sore as the others.

"Why the _hell_ aren't _you_ exhausted?" Daniel asked.

"Two words: _'Military School'." _replied the boy in the skull beanie, casually sipping on a carton of juice. "Anyway, whats all this about _Mr. Strumer_ being a _'dangerous criminal'?"_

"It's a long story." the bluenette began, picking at the food on his tray with a fork. "In a nutshell, Alois and I were sent on a mission to kill his boss, who was illegally importing and exporting weapons to and from Britain, as well as other countries; we killed him and his crew, but Heinrich and another coworker got away. They came after us once, and we killed his comrade, so after all of that, he wants revenge."

_"You tango with some crazy blokes, you know that?" _asked Kristopherson, arching an eyebrow. "Exactly _how dangerous _are we talking, here?"

"Dangerous enough that I could barely hit him without getting_ sliced open_." Ciel answered. "He's fast, and uses a fighting style that I've never seen before."

"Damn..." uttered Preston, suddenly losing his appetite. "But you're a demon!_ How can a human be faster than a demon?"_

"I was _holding back." _the bluenette said. "It _won't _happen again. We last fought during the Christmas dance last year. With that many people around, it was unwise to transform and go all-out."

"You seriously had an epic battle during the dance?!" asked Daniel, standing up and slamming his hands on the table. "Why didn't you ask _us_ for help?!"

"_You want to end up dead?"_ asked Alois, butting in. "If you had gotten involved, you would have died; no doubt about it. What's a scrawny teenage human boy, who can hardly survive _gym class,_ going to do up against a_ lightening-fast German with gun-knives_, and the goddamn _Juggernaut?"_

Daniel paused for a moment, processing that information before sitting down again. The blonde had a point. If those two were dangerous enough to give a pair of demons trouble, then they wouldn't have stood a chance. Even if there was now just one of them, the others couldn't take him on. Even Audrey, a Grim Reaper, doesn't have the healing factor of a demon, and have would most likely died in combat.

"So... _what do we do?" _asked Kristopherson.

"_Don't get involved. _After all, he's not after _you."_ replied the bluenette. "It might be wise for you to distance yourselves from us, for the time being; just you you can _stay_ that way."

"Oh, come on! There's no way we can do that!" Daniel protested. "I don't know about _these wankers,_ but _I'm_ _no coward!"_

"Daniel, we know you're an_ idiot _and all, but please, do _try_ to use your _brain_ for once." Ciel said.

_ "What brain?"_ asked Preston.

"I want _all of you _to stay out of this." said the bluenette. "It would make me feel guilty if you died."

"But Ci-" Daniel stopped as something caught his eye. It was a girl with bleached blonde hair, brown eyes and eyebrows, wearing a light blue tie with her uniform.

Her name was _Anastasia Miles_, Daniel's current girlfriend and Kristopherson's older sister. She was waving at the group, beckoning one of them to come over. The Westley boy pointed to himself, silently asking if it was him that she was wanting to talk to, but the girl shook her head "no". He pointed to Kristopherson, but the answer was still "no". The girl covered her right eye with her hand, and the boy immediately knew who the girl wanted to talk to.

"Hey, _Ciel,_ Ana says she wants to talk to you." he said, making the bluenette look over his shoulder at the Miles girl, who waved at him to come over to her. The bluenette arched an eyebrow, and stood up, preparing to walk over to the girl.

"Just remember that _you have a boyfriend_, Phantomhive." Daniel warned, causing the bluenette to roll his visible eye before paying the lad no further regard and walking onward.

"Hey." he greeted once stopping in front of the girl. "Is there something you need, Anastsia?"

"Oh, please! Just call me_ 'Ana'_." the girl replied with a slight giggle. "Anyways, I needed to ask you something about _Kris_."

"Is something wrong?" the bluenette asked, not sure as to why the girl insisted on not using her full name, much like another blonde he used to know.

"Well, he's been acting kind of... _weird,_ lately..." she said, as though she couldn't quite find the word. Every time he comes home, he looks either _angry, _or like he might _cry_. He won't tell me what's wrong, either!"

"Maybe he just had a bad day and wants some time to be alone?"

"But he tells me _everything!"_ she said, keeping her tone down so the other lads at the table couldn't hear. "He's always told me what was the matter! He doesn't just keep _secrets!"_ The bluenette's ears perked up at the word "secret".

"_When did this start?"_ he asked, feeling slightly guilty, seeing as to how the biggest secret that Kristopherson knew was about his demonity. That was a big burden to bear, so maybe Kristopherson wasn't taking it so well.

"It's after he got that_ stupid boyfriend _of his." Anastasia answered, placing a hand on her hip. "I think might be _him_. They hang out before going home. I just wanted to know if you knew anything about it..."

"_Cameron?" _the bluenette asked. "Do you not like him, or something?"

"Of course _not!_ The guy's a tosser! Every time he comes over, _they get into a fight!"_

"_Sounds unhealthy_. Why don't you just tell Kris that you don't like him?"

"You know how _teen love_ is!" the girl said, pointing her finger on her free hand at the bluenette, causing him to jump. "It's not that simple! He won't listen to me!"

"So... are you saying you want _me_ to tell him?" Ciel asked.

_"If you would please?" _the girl asked. "I don't like seeing him upset like this. It just breaks my heart!"

"_Fine..."_ The bluenette sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'll... _try and think of something_... I'm really not the one suited for this sort of thing, though..."

"Maybe, but you can still enlist the help of the others, can't you?" Anastasia asked. "They'll listen to you. You've got that _'air of leadership' _about you!"

"I'll try..." Ciel said. "I won't make any _promises, _but I'll _try_."

"Good! Thanks a ton!" the girl said, putting her hands on the boy's shoulders briefly before walking away. She took a few steps before turning around and shouting: "And tell '_the missus'_ that I said '_hi'!"_ Thus, she disappeared into the sea of children in the cafeteria, leaving the bluentte feel awkward, embarrassed, and confused by her last comment. He turned and returned to his seat, rejoining the presence of the Sensational Seven.

_ "So what did Ana want?" _asked Kristopherson, causing the bluenette's eyebrow twitch. There was no way that he could simply tell Kristopherson about what his conversation covered. He had to think of a lie, and fast.

_"I heard everything." _Alois said suddenly, causing the attention of the others turn to him.

"Oh yeah_, demons have really good hearing, _don't they?" said Audrey, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "So, what is it? Daniel's _about to die,_ so you might want to _hurry." _Alois paused, taking in a deep breath, and building dramatic tension. With a straight face, he spoke.

_"She said that she's dumping Daniel, and she just asked Ciel to marry her." _he declared. It was an obvious lie, but the way he said it might get it confused with truth. The others snorted and snickered, and milk came out of the brown-haired politician's son's nose at the odd response.

"_She did not!" _he protested. Wiping his face with the back of his hand before being handed a napkin by Kristopherson. "I dunno what she said, but it definately wasn't _that!"_

"Are you calling me a _liar_, Westley?" the blonde menace asked with a smirk. _"She did, but Ciel turned her down, so she said that she'll just have to settle for you until someone better comes along."_

_ "You're so full of shit!"_

* * *

**A/N: He mad.  
**

**This is relevant. IT'S RELEVANT! Super relevant... **

**These two conflicts are totally related. You'll find out how... Eventually...**

**To Narnia, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET SO MANY SHIPS  
**_

_Question:** "Ok I haz a question for Ciel and Alois. Ciel, what would you do if Lizzy came back and still thought you loved her and she was still your fiancee? Alois, what would be your reaction to Lizzy coming back?"** by Ahsoka-Tano22  
_

_Ciel's Answer:"OH GOD. I don't want to even imagine that... I would probably have to explain the situation to her, since she would most likely find out, eventually. I would like to manipulate those conditions as much as possible... I would rather tell her myself rather than having her walk in on us kissing, or something... Ugh, she and Alois would probably be at each other's throats constantly..." _

_Alois' Answer:"I suppose 'kill her', isn't an appropriate response, is it? I'm just kidding. I don't really know what she's like. I mean, I know I danced with her at my costume ball, but I didn't really talk to her that much. I would probably feel jealous, and sort of like a third wheel at times since she and Ciel apparently knew each other really well, but I'm confident that Ciel would still be MINE." _

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_Question: "Audrey What would you do if you found Kris in bed with you nude and handcuffed to you?! Kris what do you think a perfect date with Audrey would be like, and if Cameron & you didnt meet and Audrey fell for you and you liked him (romanticly) would you date him?! YOU GUYS CAN'T BACK OUT OF THE QUESTION!" by Guest  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"H-huh?! I dunno... I can't really think of anything we'd both be really interested in doing... I guess I would date him if we liked each other, but I can't really see that happening. I'm not really into geeky goth guys..." _

_Audrey's Answer:__"Well, I would probably freak out a lot, and then wonder how the bloody hell we ended up that way. Then I'd force away any unpleasant explanations while trying to find some PANTS. My next move would be to try and break off the damn handcuffs while further forcing away those unpleasant thoughts..." _


	226. That Music-Lover, Unknown

Ans so, yet another day at Warwick Academy had come to a close. The children began to vacate the building, some getting into their cars, some getting into their family's cars, while others simply called taxi's . At this moment, the demonic duo took the journey from the school building to the Phantomhive car as an opportunity to converse upon the subject of their discoveries for that day.

First, they knew that Heinrich Strumer was somehow out of the maximum security prison that he had been sent to, and was now after the bluenette's head. Secondly, that Kristopherson was having "guy troubles". It was nothing against Kristopherson, but the latter wasn't nearly as high on the lad's list of priorities as the return of Heinrich. They still cared for his well-being, but they couldn't do that while there was a deadly criminal on the lose in their school.

At home, the bluenette sat behind his desk, searching the worldwide web for any news about an escape at any major prison, figuring he would find some helpful answers there. Alas, there was nothing, causing him to lean back in his chair and cross his arms in a huff. It made sense that they would want to keep that information under tight wraps, as they wouldn't want to cause the public to panic, or question the governments ability to contain such criminals, but the lack of information certainly wasn't helpful.

Ciel picked up his phone and scrolled through the contacts, before coming across the one that he desired to call. He pressed the button and placed the device up against his ear. After listening to it ring a few times, the person on the other end finally picked up.

"Hello?" they said.

"Hello, _Rupert?_ It's Phantomhive." Ciel replied. He was calling Sir Middford, seeing if he had any information to give him.

"Ah, _Ciel!"_ the jolly man on the other end of the phone said with a chuckle. "I haven't heard from you in a while! _Up to no good again, are we?"_ he joked. Ciel only chortled.

_"Only the same amount as usual, Rupert_." the demon-boy joked back. "Listen, I was wondering if you happened to know about any escapes from any maximum-security prisons, lately."

"Ah, of course. You never seem to call just to socialize, do you?" Sir Middford replied.

"I'm sorry, maybe some other time." spoke the bluenette. "It's just that I've run into an '_old friend'_ lately, and it was my understanding that he had gone to prison."

"If only that were _actually _the case." the man said on the other end of the line. "_You have a way with making enemies_. Well, if that's the case, then I'll tell you _what I know_. It would appear that it wasn't so much of an _'escape', _as it was a _'kidnapping'."_

"'A kidnapping'?" the bluenette echoed. "So you're saying that the jail was _broken into?"_

"Yes. Supposedly, _Strumer _seemed to know just as much about what was happening as the _guards_ did. When you saw him, _was he alone?"_

"_He appeared to be_." replied the bluenette.

"Well, he probably _isn't really_." the man on the other end of the phone line said. "It would appear that he's been collaborating with someone else who _also_ has a grudge against you. _Any ideas?"_ The bluenette paused a moment before speaking.

"_Too many to possibly narrow it down."_ the boy replied.

"Just out of curiosity, is_ Sir Integra _on that list?"

"I _never_ said that..." Ciel answered. "..._out loud."_

"Well, I certainly don't think it's_ her!" _Sir Middford said with a laugh. "So there's _one _person off your list of suspects!"

"Probably one of the most _menacing ones_, too." the boy remarked. "Is there anything else worth noting about the incident?"

"Not that I can recall, and say with one-hundred percent certainty. Everything I have heard was by word of mouth, and you know how _unreliable_ that can be."

"Indeed, I do, old friend." the boy said, looking up to see a pair of lads standing in his doorway. "I'm afraid I have to go. _A certain pair of brothers is demanding my attention_."

"I see. I know how that is." the man replied with a chuckle. "We'll have to go out to lunch sometime and catch up!"

"I'll be sure to take you up on that offer." the bluenette said. "Bye, Rupert."

"Until we meet again, Ciel!"

With that both gentlemen hung up. The bluenette then turned his attention to the Macken brothers, who had moved from the doorway to the couches in the Phantomhive's office. Both boy's were smiling at Ciel, much to his confusion.

"Oh, so you _do_ have _other friends~!" _spoke the blonde menace with a grin, teasing his bluenette compatriot.

"It's just Sir Middford..." Ciel insisted, folding his hands on the desk in front of him. "Now, _what is it?"_

"Well, I didn't want to interrupt you, but Luka is absolutely_ dying _to see what's inside this envelope." Alois said, holding up a large, yellow envelope with a stamp on it.

"I was just gonna open it _for _you, but Sebastian said it was a_ 'feather-all offense'!" _added Luka.

"That's '_federal offense'_, Luka." corrected the blonde lad.

"That makes even _less_ sense, though!"

_ "Just give it here..." _interrupted the bluenette, rubbing his temples in order to fight off a headache. He couldn't believe he had been interrupted over something so silly. Ciel stood up slightly, reaching across the desk in order to take the odd, yellow, paper container from the blonde menace before sitting back down again and beginning to tear the sealing. The two brothers simply stood on the other side and watched him, Luka standing on his tip-toes in order to get a better view.

"A _CD?"_ Ciel said aloud, pulling the small disc out of the bag and holding it up for the others to see.

"_Cool!" _Luka exclaimed excitedly. "Wait, _what's a 'CD'?_ Is it like a toy? Is it a game?"

"It means _'compact disc'." _Ciel explained. "It stores data from a computer. Most of the time, it's _music."_

"So, what's on it?" asked the blonde.

"I don't know. It doesn't have a label." the bluenette replied, turning over the small, disposable packaging that sealed the burned CD. When he did, however, he saw some writing.

"_'WHEN IN ROME...'" _it read. It was most likely referring to the phrase _"When in Rome, do as the Romans do_", yet the phrase didn't call anything in particular to mind.

Ciel removed the packaging and put the disc into the CD drive on his computer, in order to see what was on it. It immediately wanted to pull up his media player, so he simply assumed that it was music. He turned up the volume so that they trio could actually hear it, before glancing over the yellow envelope, looking for a return address, but it didn't appear to have one. It was then that the music, floating softly in the background, began to register in his mind. He recognized the song.

"_Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars._

_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars._

_In other words, hold my hand._

_In other words, darling kiss me."_

The song was called "_Fly Me To The Moon", _originally known as "_In Other Words"._ It was a popular song that had come out in the year 1954, and had many covers made by many artists made of it, but was originally sung by _Kaye Ballard_. That was the version that he was sent. But what Ciel wanted to know was: _"why?"_

"She sounds so pretty!" said Luka, resting his chin on the edge of the desk, and looking towards the futuristic machine.

"So what's with the song?" asked Alois, knowing full-well that this was an extremely unusual occurrence.

_"I don't know_, but I have a _vague idea_." replied the bluenette, looking away from the envelope in order to look up at the blonde. "I just called Sir Middford, and according to him, Heinrich was _'kidnapped' _from prison, meaning that he isn't _alone_ in his mission."

"So, what you're saying is: _that one of your crazy old enemies has teamed up with him?" _Alois asked.

"Precisely, but as to _'who'_, I'm not sure." the bluenette said, leaning back in his chair and scratching his chin in thought.

"But, whoever it is, has something to do with this song, and_ Rome_, apparently." the blonde said, pointing at the envelope on the table.

_ "Yes..." _the bluenette said, thinking. "They also have to be_ very influential _in order to get Heinrich his teaching position at Warwick..."

_ "Not ringing any bells?"_

_ "None at all."_

* * *

**A/N: The plot-points just keep piling up...  
**

**It all ties together, I promise~!**

PROMISE

My favourite version of that dong though isn't the original. It's a cover of it by _Brenda Lee,_ that appears during the credits of_ Bayonetta._

I can imagine the use of lots of Jazz music in here, if DLTD was an anime. Lots of Jazz, punk rock, and modern orchestra, among other things. I would put in so many inappropriate music ques... _They just got a case? Play "Homicide" by 999!_

Totally ruin the dramatic atmosphere...

BECAUSE I'M AN ASSHOLE.

**Laters, Duckies.**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Silly question for Sebas Chan and Ciel!: Have you ever been kicked\hit in the nuts? If so, how did it happen, and if not...would it hurt?"** by GirlyAnonymous  
_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Of course it hurts! Let's just say I've had many embarrassing football accidents during gym in my time..." _

_Sebastian's Answer:__"Please don't..."_


	227. I Know You From Somewhere

Warwick Academy; a school of such prestige, that it can hardly be rivaled by any other in the entirety of the United Kingdom. It is the setting for our story today, as the demonic duo walk up to the doors, and with a mighty pull of the handle, are admitted entrance so that they may join their friends in their first class. At the moment, however, the demonic duo isn't our main focus.

No, it is yet another lad, peering down at them as they cross the school's lush lawn before entering from his place in the Headmaster's office, standing in front of the window with a smile. The lad wore a standard Warwick uniform, like many students, but instead of a solid-coloured tie, he wore a spotted one, but this wasn't the only oddity about his appearance. He wore a black glove on his left hand, and had short, purplish-pink hair, lazily parted slightly off-center so that he could see through his spectacles.

"_Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars._

_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars._

_In other words, hold my hand._

_In other words, darling kiss me..."_

"Are you _still_ singing that song, _Murdock?"_ asked the headmaster as he walked in, capturing the boy's attention.

"_Yeah." _the boy replied, scratching the back of his head. "_It's really stuck in my head." _

"Well, maybe you should _stop singing_, and actually _go to class, for once?_" the head master said. "_I can't do you favours, even if I'm your uncle, you know_."

"Fine. _I'll go_." the boy said with a sigh, reluctantly turning away from his view of the lawn. _"I have people I need to talk to anyway_."

"Friends of yours?"

"No; we're just working on a little_ 'project' _together, is all." the boy said with a smirk as he left the office, closing the door behind him.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the building, the Sensational Seven were conversing as usual. Daniel was cracking dirty jokes, and the others debunked him, or simply called him an idiot. While the others taunted one another back and forth, Travis said nothing. He listened intently to the conversation at hand, taking in every detail. He also noticed someone he had never seen before, an odd-looking boy with purplish-pink hair, walk into the classroom. He didn't feel the need to bring it up, knowing that if it was anything important, one of the others would pick up on it and say something. _They never did, so he never brought it up. _Instead, the Sensational Seven continued to playfully jab at each other.

"Hey Kris, did something happen to your phone, or something?" asked Preston.

"_No, why?"_ replied the boy in the pink tie, arching an eyebrow.

"I dunno. I just haven't seen you take it out as often, is all." replied the Omid boy.

"Yeah, you used to take it out and text so often that it was _obnoxious_." Daniel added, being the _leading expert on being obnoxious_. The others watched as the faux-blonde's face turn a subtle shade of pink as he furrowed his brow.

"Maybe I just don't want to _waste my battery?" _he said defensively. Ciel and Alois knew the actual reason from listening to the boy's sister, but weren't the only ones for long, as a smirk grew on Daniel's face.

"Aw, having _relationship troubles,_ Kris?" he teased, wriggling his eyebrows. The only thing he earned from the boy was a punch to the shoulder, instead of any real answer.

"_Shut up." _Kristopherson commanded. "_It's none of your business_."

"Oh! So I was _right!" _the brown-haired boy declared. _"You only started that texting thing after hanging out with Cameron, so since you've stopped texting, you and Cameron have been having problems, right?"_

"That... _That was a strangely logical deduction..." _said Preston, surprised at the Westley boy.

_ "Everyone, stay back." _warned Audrey. _"Daniel has been replaced by body-snatchers."_

"Like I said, it's _none of your business_..." Kristopherson insisted. "You guys _don't have to worry about it."_

"Why not? We're your friends, mate. _Friends help each other with this sort of thing." _said Audrey, brushing his bangs out of his face slightly so he could see better. _"Except for Daniel. _He just wants a chance to act like a_ prick."_

_ "I do not!"_

Kristopherson hesitated for a moment. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, carefully gauging the reactions of the others. Whit a sigh, he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Well, lately... _he's been insisting that I stop hanging out with you guys_..." he said, causing the others to raise their eyebrows, or even jump in surprise.

"What?! Why?!" demanded Daniel.

_ "I_ _don't know."_ replied the faux-blonde. "He won't tell me _'why', _specifically. He keeps going on about how you're _'dangerous'."_

"How many times has he _actually talked _to us? He doesn't even _know!" _shouted Daniel, standing up. Audrey put his hand on the politician's son's shoulder and forced him back into his seat.

"_Stop making a scene, Dan_." said the boy in the skull beanie.

"That's pretty _manipulative."_ spoke Alois, and he would know. Manipulation was something he was very good at. "I'd suggest either counseling, or reconsidering your choice of men."

"He's not a_ bad _guy!" Kristopherson insisted. "He's just _worried_, is all..."

"Perhaps..." began the Phantomhive boy. "Kristopherson, out of curiosity, what does he say about us?"

"I don't know, he just says you're _'dangerous'!" _said the boy in the pink tie, furrowing his brow and crossing his arms. "Especially you and Alois. Whenever I ask him to _explain _himself, _he won't... tell me... why..." _He trailed off as an idea dawned on him. He looked back up at the bluenette, his face worried.

"You don't think Cameron _found out_, do you?" he asked, a hint of concern in his voice. Ciel simply remained silent for a moment.

"_It's possible_." spoke the Phantomhive lad. "He was at _that game with Tamworth_, the one where the_ bomb _went off, so _who knows what he actually saw?"_

The others shuddered, remembering that game. There was a long, uncomfortable silence in the air, crowding the seven's personal space. It was like they all wanted to say something, but either didn't know what to say, or were too afraid to do so. Finally, it was Kristopherson who broke the accursed silence.

"So..._ what should I do?" _he asked.

"Who knows? You could try to _negotiate _with him, or _ignore _him, or_ something_..." said Daniel, pointing out the obvious.

"Maybe you could just show him that we're _not 'dangerous'?" _suggested Audrey. "After all, _seeing is believing_, right?"

_ "Do you seriously want to hang out with him?" _asked Daniel, arching an eyebrow.

"I seriously don't think that-" Ciel's thought was cut off as he heard something. _Whistling._

He heard _whistling_, but that wasn't what really caught his attention. It was the _tune._ That _familiar tune that he had received in the mail_.

He looked up, and around the room, searching for the source of the tune, while ignoring the stares and questioning of the other lads. Alois did the same, and when he found it, he tapped the bluenette on the shoulder, alerting him, before pointing in the direction that the sound was coming from.

"_Who's that?"_ Ciel asked, arching an eyebrow and relaxing in his seat, all while never moving his eye away from the odd-looking boy who was whistling the tune.

"Huh? Who knows?" said Daniel. "Must've enrolled this year, 'cause I certainly don't remember him."

_ "That's Murdock Springfield_." said the group's resident reaper. He knew almost everything about almost everyone at Warwick, so naturally, he knows who all the new students are, along with some basic information on them. "No one knows what his parents do for a living, so no one is entirely sure how he got into Warwick. He seems close to the Headmaster, but he's hardly ever in class. People say that it's because he has a _weak body_. He also _quite likes that tune." _

"Good show." said Alois. "Looks like we owe you a _pixie stick_."

_ "I'll put it on your tab." _the boy in the skull beanie jokingly replied. "So, why the curiosity, Ciel?"

Even though everyone else heard Audrey ask, Ciel did not. The bluenette was too busy staring at that strange-looking boy with purplish-pink hair and glasses as the name echoed in his mind. "_Murdock Springfield". _He had heard that name before. He blinked when the boy met his gaze, and offered him a smile that was more of a smirk, than anything. Ciel's eye widened.

_It was then that the bluenette remembered what had happened in Rome._

* * *

**A/N: Well...  
**

**Aha... Murdock is loosely-based on a character I once played in a musical... My first time performing in front of an audience, and it was cross-dressing. It wasn't embarrassing in the slightest, though. Most people thought I really was a boy...**

**Cross-play ninja~! Whoosh!**

**I can make my voice go really low, and even sing like that, so they requested that I kept the character male. (shota?) I have a vocal range similar to that of an opera singer, and I still flunked choir class... **

**I can't read sheet music, and the other girls picked on me really bad... It's left a bit of an emotional scar... Performing out of character scares the shit out of me, to the point that I have an anxeity attack. (Talent shows are absolutely out of the question.) But if I'm in character, I'm not afraid in the slightest. In fact, I genuinely love acting. I love it more than drawing, writing, or even anime, and those three things are like, what I'm all about! I've never been so happy in my life until then.  
**

**The musical wasn't even written that well, but I didn't care... It was set in the 50's and about werewolves... It was dumb. REALLY dumb. But, it was still a whole lot of fun. The only thing that really pissed me off were the all of the "popular" girls who were only there for the attention. You can literally see it in their performance. **

**What losers...**

**Hey, I've noticed something... Can the "popular" kids really be "popular", if nobody likes them?**

**Fuck your social hierarchy. I DO WHAT I WANT. **

**I AM THE ALPHA.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET OH MA GAW  
**_

_Question:** "Preston are you related to Prince Soma Asman Kadar?"** by Violet  
_

_Preston's Answer:"I dunno? I haven't traced my family tree that far back..."  
_

_000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Wait... Heinrich was sent to jail? When?"** by Honeycloud Of RiverClan_

_Heinrich's Answer:__"Right after they patched me up at the hospital, I got cuffed. Apparently, working with an international criminal as a contracted assassin/bodyguard and then firing guns off on top of a private school building when children are present is frowned upon."  
_

_000000000000_

_Question:** "This is to the sensational seven! :D oh and Amelie and Charlotte too :) Complete the sentence: ciel is a ..."** by Banana Llama_

_Alois' Answer:__"Ciel is a pervert/secret sweetheart/major cutie/sexy beast with a cute butt."  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Ciel is a dastardly son of a Satan."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:__"Ciel is a pretty cool bloke."__  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"Ciel is a major homo."_

_Preston's Answer:__"Ciel is a weaselly and somewhat intimidating fellow." _

_Travis' Answer:__"Ciel is a good person with a somewhat off-putting exterior."  
_

_Charlotte's Answer:__"Ciel is a secretly kind person."_

_Amelie's Answer:__"Ciel is a dominant gentleman."  
_


	228. 1955

The year was 1955; only a decade after the second World War. At the time, Ciel had made his big return back to London only a few years prior, and was still slightly fresh to the way that modern shadow organizations worked. He was displeased with the mission he had been given.

Rome; ancient city rich with culture and history. Yet he was not here on vacation. No, he was strictly there on business. You see, this was one of the bluenette's first international missions, which wasn't what he minded. No, it certainly wasn't the travel. It was the mission itself. You see, the Guard-Dog was sent in order to protect a holy artifact that resided within the Vatican headquarters within the city, yet this wasn't what had bothered him, even with his demonity. What had bothered him, was that he was being sent straight into the heart of one of the greatest anti-freak organizations in history: _The Iscariot Organization_.

Controlled by the Vatican, The Iscariot Organization, also known as _"Vatican Section XIII", _officially does not "_exist_". It is far more secret than H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., and unlike H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., Section XIII does not use supernatural beings to combat the unholy. In fact, they have zero-tolerance for supernatural beings of any kind. They are to be terminated on sight by one of their incredibly skilled operatives. The only supernatural that they like, is a dead one. That said, divine beings such a Angels, or Grim Reapers are accepted, as they are "_fellow messengers of God_."

They also do not like _Protestants,_ or really, _Britain in general_, being predominantly so. The Iscariot Organizations loathes the British, and loathes the "unholy". The only thing that Section XIII despises more than either of those two things is a British supernatural-being, especially a _demon. _Naturally, the Phantomhive boy didn't like this mission, as it seemed to him that the Round Table was obviously trying to kill him off.

His mission was to protect a certain "_holy artifact_" from a group of self-proclaimed, "_treasure hunters". _The group in question, originating from the United Kingdom, was bound to further ruin any existing relations between the two if caught. In fact, due to the shear importance of this artifact, it wouldn't be surprising at all if war broke out as a result of it's theft.

Naturally, whoever this group was, they were fools. They were fools for messing with such a powerful organization. They were fools for going after a supposedly "holy" artifact. They were fools for thinking that they could possibly sell such a thing. They were fools for going up against _Ciel Phantomhive, _most of all.

_ "Hey, hey Murdock." _said one of the men. They had somehow miraculously sneaked past guard, after guard, after guard, and managed to get on the roof, just above what they were looking for."_You ready?"_

There was another man with the first, crouched down, unscrewing the vent on the roof so that they could slip inside and take the "treasure". This man looked to be in his early thirties, with short, brown hair, lazily parted in the middle, and wore glasses. After a while, he took the flashlight that he was holding in his mouth out, gaining access to both of his hands once more after moving the vent. This man looked up at the other and smiled.

"_Of course I am!"_ he said, wiping off the handle of the flashlight on his shirt before handing it to the other man. "_After you_."

"_Gee, thanks."_ said the first man, taking the small source of illumination before crawling inside the small opening in the roof. "Follow me, then."

After a few minutes, the pair were starting to become claustrophobic. They were trapped within the confines of the metal walls that only a few feet tall, and a few feet wide/ It wasn't even big enough for one to sit up in. Even though they were in the air conditioning system, they were still sweating. They were tired, scared, and excited all at the same time.

"_Hey, Murdock!" _called the first man in a hushed tone.

_ "Yeah?"_

_ "Quit whistling! You'll get us caught, you pillock!"_

_ "Oh, sorry..."_

At long last, they reached their prize. It was in sight, on a pedestal in the center of an extravagant room; one of the legendary _holy weapons _lied in that beautiful, yet small box before them. While such an otherwise ordinary object would otherwise never be worth such trouble, these were special. What these so-called "treasure-hunters" were after, were _silver coins-_, Thirty of them, to be exact._ These coins were the coins that were paid to Judas Iscariot himself when he betrayed Jesus Christ. _

There are several divine weapons such as this, like _Helena's Nail._ A nail that was said to have come straight from the _True Cross_, the cross on which Jesus was crucified upon. This nail would later be used in the year 1999, by a member of Iscariot in order to defeat H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s ultimate weapon, but alas, _that is a story for another time._

Whoever possesses those coins would become a living weapon. They would become _immortal, invincible, and gain power beyond belief_, as with any holy weapon. That is why it was worth it to try and steal them, to these men. They took a moment to stare at the box a while longer, before speaking.

"Do you think Richie turned off the cameras yet?" asked Murdock, unable to see past the other man.

"Yeah, I think so." his accomplice replied. "The red lights aren't blinking._ Let's go!"_

With that, the treasure hunters ventured onward, dropping from the opening and onto the ground, their shoes making a small _clicking_ noise against the hard floor. They slowly, and stealthily approached the box, arms outstretched, eager to take it and run. They were interrupted by the lights suddenly coming on. The two men looked around, panicking, but seeing nothing.

_ "You shouldn't take things that don't belong to you, you know."_ said a voice-, the voice of a boy. "You could get in serious trouble."

The men were relieved when they saw the bluenette, believing him to not be a threat. They both let out a sigh of relief.

"_It's just a kid_." said Murdock. "_You wanna take care of him while I grab the box?"_

_ "Sure thing_." said Murdock's accomplice, pulling out a knife. He walked closer while the other man walked toward the box.

_ "Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars. _

_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars._

_In other words, hold my hand._

_In other words, darling kiss me..."_ he sang, in a hushed tone as he reached for the box. He stopped when it occurred to him that he could no longer hear his friend.

"Roger?" he called, turning around. "Did you take care of the ki-" His eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw his friend lying on the floor, dead. The bluenette was still, there, as was another man, who was rummaging through his friend's pockets.

"_Here it is..." _Sebastian said, pulling out the deceased's passport and identification.

_ "Good, destroy them when we're done here..."_ the bluenette ordered. _"We can't have these two being traced."_ Murdock fully turned, his back facing the pedestal.

_ "R-Roger..."_ he said, his voice quaking with fear.

"Don't worry." said the butler in a soothing voice. He wore a smile, and pulled out a set of knives. "_You'll be joining him soon."_

Murdock backed up as far as he could, the edge of the table digging into his back as the man clad in black slowly approached him. He stood there, shaking for a moment, before his fight or flight response finally kicked in. Murdock turned again, now facing the box. Quickly, he picked it up, preparing to run, but then something completely unexpected happened.

_The box exploded._

The two demons stood, surprised for a moment, before their senses returned to them. They saw the man lying on the floor, his chest completely dyed red, sweating as he gasped and choked for air. Calmly, Sebastian walked over to the man, and dug in his pockets as he shook violently, before pulling out the man's passport and identification.

_ "What do you want me to do, my lord?" _asked the butler. "_It would appear that he's going to die soon_."

"_Finish it." _the bluenette ordered, and with a smile, Sebastian made his reply.

_ "Yes, my lord." _

Everything went black for poor Murdock as the knife pierced his flesh. He wouldn't be able to hear his favourite song ever again, would he? The butler stood up, looking over the man's identification.

_ "'Murdock Springfield'." _he read aloud. _"Quite the odd-sounding name_, don't you think?"

"It sounds _fake_." the Phantomhive boy replied, turning to leave. "Come, someone must have heard the explosion. _It's time we make our exit_."

"Yes, my lord." replied the butler, disappearing into the shadows with his master. The only thing that lit the duo's escape was the moon shining over head, and the only sound that was heard, was a _faint, almost wheezing whisper._

_ "Fly... me to... the moon... and... let me... play... among the stars..._

_Let... me see what spring... is like... on Jupiter... and Mars._

_In... other words... hold... my hand..._

_In other words... darling... kiss... me..."_

* * *

**A/N: Flashback~! **

**Yeah, Ciel's such a dick...  
**

**I had no idea how to explain "Iscariot Section XIII", so, the explanation probably sucks. For further information, look it up on the _Hellsing Wiki.._.**

**I'm having a hard time tying all of these nonsensical things together, believe it or not. **

**WHAT A SURPRISE~!**

**I didn't have to. I just wanted to. Just 'cause. **

**I wanted to be asleep over an hour ago, so no character shet until next time.I sowwy.  
**

**Laters, duckies...**


	229. It All Begins To Come Together

"_Damn..." _said Preston, now having lost his appetite_. "That's cold-blooded..."_

Several class periods later, during lunch, the bluenette recounted to the others the events that took place in Rome about fifty-eight years ago; how he killed Murdock and his crew-, or so he had thought. Now, it would appear that the man was back, although different before, in appearance. The bluenette, however, had given some thought as to _how._

_ "It was just a job_." he said flatly. "What's done is done; we can't change it. Regardless, whatever it is that's keeping him alive and youthful must not be taken lightly."

"Do you think it was _the coins?" _Alois asked, looking at the bluenette with deep interest. He, for one, actually enjoyed the story. "When he set off the booby trap and the box exploded, do you think they could've like, been _embedded in his chest_, or something?"

_ "My thoughts exactly_." Ciel replied. "If the legends about those artifacts are true, Murdock is now a _living weapon_. You all have to stay away from him-"

"_Ciel Phantomhive, please report to the headmaster's office." _interrupted a voice over the school intercom.

"Think that has something to do with this?" asked Kristopherson.

"I bet so, since he's apparently _bros with the headmaster_." said Audrey. However, in response to the message, Ciel smiled as he stood up.

"Sounds like a challenge, to me." he said with a defiant smirk.

While he didn't know much about Murdock, judging by his actions thus far, he likes to play mind-games, taunting and teasing his opponent as he cleverly closed in. From this, Ciel knew that this was going to be interesting. He bid his friends goodbye and turned to walk out of the cafeteria and down the lonesome halls of Warwick in order to confront his new opponent. He didn't get far, however, before he noticed that he was being followed.

_ "What are you doing?"_ he asked, stopping to allow the blonde menace to catch up.

"_Coming with you." _Alois replied, prancing up alongside the bluenette as the other boy began to walk again. "_What does it look like I'm doing?"_

"I'm going to assume that telling you that I want you nowhere near this person will be pointless, correct?" Ciel asked, already knowing the answer.

"Naturally." answered the blonde, keeping pace with the Phantomhive lad. "Besides, _it's my fight too, _you know. I was there to help you kill Beatie, and I was also killed Heinrich's friend. Since he's involved in this_, I am too_."

_ "That's some impressive un-logic, there."_

_ "I try."_

"You would come along even if Heinrich _wasn't _involved, wouldn't you?"

"_Of course."_

Ciel chuckled at the blonde's silliness before stopping in front of the door to the office, where the actual door to the headmaster's lair was guarded by _the secretary_. The bluenette turned the doorknob and stepped inside, followed by the blonde soon after. They both looked up, wide-eyed at the person sitting in the secretary's seat, taking phone-calls from parents, and working the intercom. The woman was fair-skinned, with straight, white hair that ended at her shoulders, and gentle-yet-stern, amethyst eyes. She held a familiar type of presence to the demonic duo. One that they wouldn't forget. They tried their best to not glare menacingly at the woman as she waved them in, indicating that they may proceed ot the headmaster's office. The lads paused to look at each other for a moment before hesitantly venturing onward into the dangerous citadel where their enemies were most likely lying in wait.

"_Oh, welcome~!" _said the pleasant voice of a lad who appeared to be as old as they did, seated behind the headmasters in a relaxed sort of manner. Murdock sat with a wide smile, warmly welcoming the other boys while Heinrich stood off to the side, glaring at them with hateful eyes. "Come in! Please, do have a seat!"

"_We'd rather stand, thanks." _the bluenette replied coldly, placing his hands behind his back, and straightening his posture. The boy with the odd, purplish-pink hair simply shrugged.

"Please yourself, then." he replied, propping his feet up on the desk, his almost fox-like grin never wavering. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? Do you remember me, Phantomhive, because_ I _certainly remember _you._"

"_Murdock Springfield:_ Member of the British group of 'treasure-hunters' known as_ 'El Dorado'_." answered the bluenette. "We last met in Rome while you tried to steal _the_ _thirty silver coins supposedly paid to Judas Iscariot when he betrayed Christ _to sell for a profit. My mission was to exterminate you and your team in order to make sure that already sour ties with the United Kingdom and the Vatican were not further worsened."

"Oh, so you _did_ remember!" replied Murdock. "I'm _flattered_."

"Let me guess: the legends about the coins giving 'immortality' were true, and are now embedded in your chest due to the explosion that occurred after you set off the booby trap..." the bluenette said, not even pausing to take in a breath. Alois watched him as he spoke to see if he would soon, be he never did, and thus the bluenette continued to speak. ",,,And now you want _revenge_, correct?"

"Mmm... _More or less_..." the former treasure-hunter replied, humming. "You're _wrong_ about a few things." The demonic duo's faces twitched for a moment, confused at what the other boy was doing. Murdock removed his spotted tie, tossing it somewhere to the floor before beginning to slowly unbutton his dress-shirt as he spoke.

"Firstly, I don't have all thirty coins. I only have _seven_..." he continued, never allowing his lifeless, green eyes wander away from the duo as he continued to move his hands. "...and secondly, I don't want revenge for_ immortality_. No, that is a _gift_. What I want _revenge _for, is _this."_

He undid the final button, revealing his chest and torso to the duo, who's faces held a certain amount of surprise, horror, and disgust all at the same time. They could see slight glimpses of silver peeking out where the skin had not healed from his wounds, but that wasn't what had them so revolted. It was the visible, vein-like structures that were spreading out across the boy's body from the wounds, raising the skin in a sickly-looking manner. These things were obviously not veins, however, as they did not move in a pulsating sort of manner. Instead, the wriggled and squirmed, as if his body contained serpents. Murdock furrowed his brow, yet his fox-like gin never wavered.

"_Appalling_, isn't it?" he asked, snapping the demons back to reality. "The _disfigurement, I could live with_. It's the _excruciating pain _that I must now endure at all hours that I _cannot._ These aren't _veins._ They're _vines;_ moving, _thorn-ridden _vines that spread throughout my body and _tear me apart and put me back together _ every single moment."

"This is apparently what happens when you don't have _all_ of the coins. No, every time I _move_, every time a _breathe, thorns tear open a new wound _before _healing _it back up, only to _tear it back open _moments later." Murdock continued, wincing slightly as he stood up. He looked ill, though, according to Audrey, he was said to be "sickly". Now, the boys knew _why_. "That is why I will never forgive you; why I will follow you to the ends of the earth, if I have to, just to end your life, as I _cannot_ end_ mine_."

"So that's it?" asked the bluenette. "That's why you recruited Heinrich? I suppose the _ange_l outside is your doing, too? That's how you manipulated the headmaster, isn't it? You had her rewrite his cinematic record, didn't you?"

"To be fair, I still have_ one other operative_, but that's neither here, nor there." replied Murdock. "To answer your questions, the answer to all of them is _'yes'. _You see, since I lack the rest of the coins, my _'immortality' isn't quite so. _I require energy in order to continue regenerating, which, just in case you're wondering, is the reason for my_ unusually youthful _appearance. My cells are _constantly regenerating,_ and so I have a specific diet, _similar to yours, _actually, but _not quite_."

"_You eat demon souls?!"_ demanded Alois.

"_Bob's your uncle!_ In other words: _you're absolutely correct_." The demonic duo jumped when the door behind them suddenly opened, the angel from before now blocking their only exit. They turned back to Murdock, as he smiled in a mocking manner. He continued. "_Miss Clark_, would you care to request _the friends of these two gentlemen _as Mr Strumer and I _escort them outside?"_

"_With pleasure, sir."_ the angel, apparently known as "_Miss Clark" _answered. She waited until Heinrich was armed before moving back to her desk to call the rest of the Sensational Seven over the intercom. "_Kristopherson Miles, Audrey Baines, Daniel Westley, Preston Omid, and Travis Sullivan, please report to the Rugby Field at this time."_

"_Leave them out of this, Murdock!" _the bluenette commanded with a snarl. He grit his teeth when the man chuckled.

"But they're _already involved, _Ciel!" he said, buttoning his shirt back up. "My revenge wouldn't be complete if _they _weren't there!"

"Why the _Rugby Field, _though?" Alois asked.

"_Proper scenery_, of course!" Murdock answered. "My other associate has_ bad memories _of that place, and it would only be fitting for him to achieve his revenge there as well! Speaking of which, _Miss Clark_, could you please go get him, please? I know it's a _school day, _but he certainly wouldn't want to miss out." Ciel thought about that for a moment. Not long, but he still thought about it. His eye widened before he spoke.

"_You didn't..." _he said, causing the deranged, former treasure-hunter's smile to widen.

_ "Oh, I most certainly did."_

* * *

**A/N: Oh...  
**

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I went to go see Man Of Steel with my boyfriend. We watched the movie, I tried not to fangirl in the theater, we got lost on the way back, ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere, and had to call my parents to come and rescue us.**

**Good times, good times...**

**The phrase of the day was "_Where the FUCK is 'Sovoy'?!"__Also, _I gots other shits to talk about. Somebody thought Lizzie came back for some reason. I'd just like to take a moment and clear this up. Lizzie is still dead. Will that change in the future? I dunno. I haven't decided. **

**It could happen.  
**

**I'm sure that's just an honest mistake. I'm not trying to be mean, and I'm sorry if I came across that way. I have a bad habit of doing that without meaning to... *cries in the corner of woe***

_**Also also, **_**I have received an inquiry.  
**

_**"I have a question for you: have you dealt with You Broke Fandom? Apparently he's picking on me for my 'lack of imagination'." by Light Umbreon**_

**The short answer is "_no."_ I've never heard of 'em. I have yet to receive any especially mean reviews yet, actually. I've gotten some constructive criticism, though, which is highly appreciated.**

**BUT, I did some looking into it, however, and read the review that you're talking about, as well as looked at their profile, and have arrived at this conclusion:**

**_They're a troll._ Just ignore them. Here's _why: _**

**They're profile is completely blank. No stories, no favourites, no information, _nothing._ That implies that either they come on here just to read, or to write mean shit. Either is plausible, yet more information proves otherwise. **

**In they're review, they're only argument was "It's crap!", yet they didn't bring forward any solid evidence as to _why,_ thus had no _actual _argument. Someone who was completely serious would not do that. This with the blank profile just screams "troll" to me. The only other type of person who would do that, is a complete idiot, but, that kind of person wouldn't even bother, unless you provoked them personally. That's why they're a troll. They said those things specifically to make you upset. **

**The final piece of evidence it their username: _"You Broke Fandom"._ It basically means _"You Broke (the) Fandom"_, i.e. _the fandom you're writing about._ They're implying that you screwed up, even in their username. **

**Their entire account is just for taunting people and making them upset. So, HateWeasel's hateful advice for everyone on how to deal with this, is this:**

**_DO NOT FIGHT BACK._  
**

**Why? Because then you've given them _exactly_ what they wanted. _They wanted you to get mad_. They _WANTED_ you to get upset. Don't give them that pleasure. If you get mad and respond accordingly, that's all you've done. If you're going to strike back, you have to be much smarter than them, and most of all, you have to be POLITE.**

**I know it's hard, but trolls are just like bullies at school, but there are two very distinct differences. One: They are sadists. Unlike bullies at school, they do not do it to boost their reputation, as they do not have an audience. Regular bullies attack in groups for this reason. To make themself look better by making you look worse. Internet Trolls do not do this. They only do it because they genuinely find it funny. And Two: they are too weak to do this in person, so they do it anonymously online. This, however, makes it easier to fight back, if you're careful.  
**

**I'm a cannibal bully. I specifically bully other bullies, and am quite successful at it. I do it for fun, and because I genuinely feel that they deserve that humiliation. You can get the same effect as a public humiliation, however, because they're weak. To them, an actual public humiliation would kill them.**

**How to argue with them:**

**BE POLITE. They want you to get mad and yell at them, so you can't do that. You have to be calm in order to ruin their fun. Don't swear, don't use an attacking tone, don't do anything of the sort. BE POLITE! If you do not do this one thing, you're doomed to fail from the very start.  
**

**BE ARTICULATE. Spell everything correctly and use right forms of everything. (Your, and You're; Were and Where; They're, Their and There, shit like that.) If you don't use correct grammar, that will give them something to pick at in their response. You have to be very careful with your words. You cannot say anything that can be used against you. You have to present your case carefully, and give 100% solid evidence as to how they're wrong, and be able to explain it in detail. You have to use detail so they can't escape your net and provide a counter-argument.**

**BE ATTENTIVE. Pay attention to every detail. Pay attention to everything they say in order to be able to provide and back up your own counter-argument. What kind of argument did they give? Did they even give an actual argument? Things like that. With your politeness, kindly ask them to further explain themselves as to what they didn't like about your fic. If they continue to only say that it's "crap", use that against them, and politely indicate that they are wasting your time. They didn't really say anything, so don't let yourself get upset over it.  
**

**Go to their profile and find out more about them. Even the LACK OF detail about them, is a detail. Using their own information, or lack of information against them can deliver a devastating blow. **

**And don't argue publicly just in case you mess up. Do it in a private message. You can't accidentally embarrass yourself that way. **

**I know it's difficult, and I know it's frustrating, but with practice, I know most of you can do it. Practice is all it takes. I know. I had to practice in a public setting, most of the time, and usually against more than one opponent. How do you think I felt?**

**I hope this terribly long author's note helped, my duckies. I'm not going to do "Character Shet" this time because it's so long. Ah... And I'm behind, too...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**


	230. A Rugby-Field Turned Battlefield

"Why the hell did they ask us to come out here instead of the office?" asked Preston, suspicious as he and the others sat in the bleachers on the "home" side of Warwick Academy's rugby field.

"I dunno, but I've got a bad feeling about this..." answered Audrey, staring out at the field itself. Suddenly, Kristopherson jerked into alertness, causing the others to follow his eyes.

"Is that... _Ciel and Alois?" _he asked, pointing to the opposite side of the field.

"Looks like it." answered Travis. "Looks like they're in major trouble, too."

"Hey, is that Mr. Strumer?" asked Preston. "_With a gun?!"_

"And _Murdock_, too." said Audrey. "So, _what's the plan?"_

_"We go and help them out, that's what!" _declared Daniel, standing up.

"Are you _stupid?!" _asked Kristopherson. "Don't answer that. _I already know_."

"Kris is right. You heard Ciel. He said that we should stay away from those two." said Preston. "Mr. Strumer is deadly with knife-guns, and Murdock is a '_living weapon'_. What are we supposed to do against _that?"_ The Westley boy paused for a moment and thought, scratching his chin.

"Hey, Bones, don't you have like, some sort of special, _Grim Reaper-powers _that can help us out?" he asked.

_ "Nope."_ said Audrey, leaning forward and putting his weight on his knees by resting his elbows on them as he watched the demonic duo being lead onto the field at gunpoint. "I'm stronger than most humans, but that won't help me any if I'm shot or cut to ribbons before I can even land a punch."

Ciel and Alois were their friends. They worried about them. They were powerless to help them out, however. Here they were, given access to a world that no other human knew about, and yet they couldn't do a thing with it. They couldn't intervene without getting killed, so they couldn't help their friends. A worrisome, sad feeling arose, as they continuously failed to come up with any ideas. Finally, Audrey got an idea. If _they_ couldn't help, _they knew someone who could_.

Bones immediately pulled out his cellphone and began texting, rapidly moving his thumbs to convey the situation to their only hope. The other lads watched curiously as he did this, occasionally looking away to check on the situation on the field. Finally, the boy in the skull beanie pressed sent, hoping that his message wouldn't be received a minute too late.

"Who did you text?" asked Preston, arching an eyebrow.

"No one special." replied Audrey. "just _one hell of a butler_." The others smiled, understanding what he meant by that, and turned their attention back to the demonic duo.

"So, why invite_ them _here?" demanded Ciel, gesturing to the rest of the Sensational Seven.

"Hmm? Oh, just to make sure you _suffer emotionally _before I kill you." Murdock replied with a smile. "All of your friends are going to_ find out what you really are_, and _shun _you. You'll die _hated by the people you care about_." Alois smiled, looking to the bluenette, finding the former treasure-hunter's mistake to be funny, but Ciel simply shook his head at him, silently telling him not to reveal the man's blunder just yet. Thus, Alois forced his smile away, eagerly awaiting how the boy was going to get them out of this.

"Murdock, I didn't intend for you to suffer all of this time." Ciel said instead, withholding information from the cursed boy. "I know that there's no reasoning with you at this point; I know what it's like to single-mindedly seek revenge; but you can't just do this to them. They shouldn't be a part of this! It's not right!"

"Oh, Ciel, you know better than anyone that_ sacrifices must be made for a higher cause." _Murdock replied, pleased that the bluenette was supposedly distraught by the thought. "You sacrificed my both _myself and my crew _for your_ country_, and now, I will sacrifice your_ life_, your_ reputation_, and your _friend's concept of reality _for _myself, _and for every other person you've made _suffer_." His smile widened, showing more teeth. _"Amen."_

Murdock's insane smile faded into more of a smirk when he saw the arrival of his associates out of the corner of his eye. He turned to get a better look, watching as the bluenette's friends took notice of their presence. The angel, and _another familiar face_.

"Oh, it looks like we'll be able to get the party started soon~!" he said in a playful tone. The bluenette followed Murdock's eyes, and watched as his friends reacted to the arrival of the new combatants. The first was named Myrtle Clark, an angel who held no grudge against Ciel, but served _"the living holy weapon_", Murdock Springfield, and the second, was none other than Kristopherson's current boyfriend,_ Cameron Gully_. His fear from earlier had been realized.

"_Cameron?!" _Kristopherson shouted in surprise upon seeing the blonde Tamworthian. He stood up and asked: "What are you doing here?!"

"What am _I _doing here?!" retorted the Gully boy. "Never mind that, what are_ you _doing here?! _I told you to stay away from those two!"_ Kristopherson furrowed his brow.

"_I go to school here_, and _'those two' _are my_ friends." _he said, his tone cross.

"You're only still friends with them because_ you don't know what they really are!" _Cameron shouted. _"I'm _here to make sure they pay for _what they did to my school!"_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa_, let's all just calm down here, for a second_." said Audrey, standing up and putting his hands up defensively. "We can work this out, let's just talk. Cameron, I'm just gonna go out on a limb here, and assume that you're talking about that game here. We saw what happened. We know that you care about your school, and that you're upset about what happened to the visitor's stand. We know that you want to make things right, but are you _sure _it was _Ciel and Alois?"_

"Don't play_ dumb! _I know you're in on it too_, freak!" _the irate Tamworthian shouted, pointing his finger at the reaper-boy accusingly. "Murdock told me everything! He told me how_ they moved the bomb under the bleachers_, and how_ you helped them do it! _All three of you are _monsters!"_

"That's not the_ whole story, _Cameron!" said Kristopherson. "I'm not going to just sit here and let you call my friends _'freaks',_ and just _accuse_ them of shit!"

"Why won't you _listen _to me?!" demanded Cameron, clenching his fists. "Those three! They're not _normal!_ They're not even _human_, Kris!" The boy in the pink tie simple crossed his arms and said:

_ "I know, and I don't care."_

"They may be _different_, but that doesn't mean that they're _bad people." _said Travis, standing up.

"We _all_ know what they really are, and it's just_ fine_. They're our friends. It's just part of who they are." said Preston.

"Does any one else find it _ironic_ that_ a gay _is freaking out about people being '_different'?"_ Daniel's remark was met with questioning looks from the others. _"What did I do!?"_

"Don't you see that I'm just trying to _protect _you, Kris?!" Cameron asked, calling the attention of the faux-blonde back toward himself.

"Don't _you_ see that I _don't need protected?" _asked Kristopherson, furrowing his brow at the other boy.

_"Forget it. I'm done talking_." Cameron said. He pulled out a gun, and pointed it at Audrey. "_You'll thank me for this later."_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" shouted Kristopherson.

"What the fuck, man?!" exclaimed Daniel.

"You don't want to do this!" called Preston.

"Put the gun down!" barked Travis. It was Audrey who said nothing. His eyes were wide as he stared down the barrel of the pistol in the Tamworthian's hands.

"_If you've got the situation under control here, I'm going to assist Mr. Springfield_." said Miss Clark, the angel who had given the boy the weapon in the first place. Calmly, she began to walk away toward the other group, standing in the middle of the field.

"Yeah, _yeah." _replied Cameron. "Just do whatever while I-"

He was cut off as the gun was knocked out of his hands. Audrey had moved quickly while the blonde was distracted, ducking out of his line of fire and knocking the weapon out of his grasp. With his H.E.L.L.S.I.G. training, he was able to knock the much brawnier boy to the ground, and grab his discarded weapon. Audrey moved in order to get a good shot at Murdock, but his path was blocked by the angel.

"I will not allow you to put my master in any greater pain than he is already in!" she said, her voice cross and her expression menacing. She lunged at the boy with killing intent, hands like the talons of a bird of prey. Yet, she was hindered by an unknown force, as she felt sharp pain in her shoulder. Upon further inspection, she discovered what appeared to be a silver butter-knife protruding from her injury.

_ "Oh dear. This is most embarrassing." _said a voice from above. The others looked upward, toward it's source. The voice belonged to a man who was clad in black from head to toe. His shoes, his pants, his vest, his tie, his jacket, and even his hair were all black. His skin was fair, without a single blemish or imperfection, and his eyes were of garnet. He stood atop the announcer's booth, overlooking the action before he jumped down, joining the others. _"I wanted to arrive much sooner, must finding a babysitter of such short notice took up much more time than I would have liked_."

"Sebastian!" said Audrey, relieved by the man's presence. The butler smiled.

"Don't worry, boys. I've dealt with an angel or two in my time." he said, tugging slightly on his gloves so that they stayed on a bit better. _"I'll be done here and help the young master in no time at all." _

With that, he lunged at the angel, silverware in hand. His actions were almost mirrored by Miss Clark, who lunged in return, blocking his silverware with what appeared to be a _metal ruler_. Sparks flew as the two metal objects collided.

"I won't ever allow you to harm my master." the woman warned, furrowing her brow in anger. This was only returned with a smile.

"That may be so..." Sebastian replied. "...but I can't allow _your master _to harm _mine."_

"This is _incredible!" _declared Daniel, leaning on the railing of the Warwick stands. "_We finally get to see one of these fights!"_ Kristopherson opened his mouth in order to get on to the silly son of a politician, but couldn't when he saw movement int he corner of his eye.

_ "Audrey! Look out!"_ he shouted, body instinctively moving. He jumped over the railing, landing on the grass that was only a few feet below as Bones turned around. He had been too focused on Sebastian's battle, that he had forgotten about _Cameron._

He, along with the rest of the Sensational Seven, were genuinely surprised, however, when the Tamworthian rugby player was forced to the ground. Cameron's own force was used against him as he was grabbed by the arm and thrown over the shoulder of Audrey's unexpected savior, _Kristopherson Miles._ The faux-blonde then proceeded to force the brawny lad on his stomach and place his wrist behind his back, causing it to painfully twist whenever Cameron tried to get up. Kristopherson caught his breath before looking up at the reaper-boy.

"You alright?" he asked. Audrey simply blinked at the question.

"_Whoa! Kris! THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!"_ shouted Daniel, dashing down the bleacher steps in order to join them, followed by the others.

"When did you learn how to do that?" asked Preston, watching as the faux-blonde was silently joined by Travis, who helped him pin the Tamworthian down.

"W-well, I... Uh..." Kristopherson began, blushing slightly. _"...When I was eight, my dad signed me up for a jujitsu class... I quit after I got my black belt..."_

"_And you're only sixteen!?" _asked Preston, knowing that most schools require that a person must be at least nineteen in order to receive that particular rank.

"_Kristopherson's ass is safe!" _shouted Daniel. _"Ain't nobody gonna tap that!"_

_ "What the fuck, Dan?!"_ asked the boy in the pink tie, his face almost matching his favourite colour.

"He's right, Dan. Talking about his ass like that is _pretty damn gay." _said Audrey, staring out on the rugby field-turned-battlefield.

"I am _not!" _Daniel snapped.

"_That's what I used to say..." _said Kristopherson.

_ "Shut up! _It was a _joke! _You hear me?! _A JOKE!"_

* * *

**A/N: ...I'm not sure what to say about that...  
**

**The shit toward the end came about due to several pictures on my deviantart of Kristopherson being oddly badass. I drew those for fun, without any intention of using them, but I like this new idea. **

**As for the bit with Daniel, and him saving Audrey, shippers, have fun. **

**Anyways, the fight continues in the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET AT LAST  
**_

_Question: "**What happened to Bernard?"** by GirlyAnonymous_

_Alois' Answer: __"He still lives in my bathroom. We don't see each other much because of that. Demons don't exactly have to use the loo, and most of the time, I just use Ciel's. It's fancier."  
_

_00000000000000000_

_Question: "..**heinrich ... HOW THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOu STILL WALKING ADSFLKHVCGBCVJ! Also doctor ackerman what do you think of luka?**" by Wooimmafox1305_

_Heinrich's Answer:__"It was just a gunshot to the leg. It hurts a lot, but it's not crippling. Realistically, you even have a 2/3 chance of surviving getting shot in the heart, if you get medical attention in time. If they can do that, they can fix a little boo-boo like this easily. I've gotten shot in my back, chest, stomach, and arms, and I'm still fine. I just take a few weeks, or even a few days off. Shit happens." _

_Dr. Ackerman's Answer:__"He's just the cutest little thing~! I must say, he's one of my favourite patients! He's so adorable, and we really learn a lot about demons from him! He really brightens up my day after getting visited by all of those rude military men!"  
000000000000000000_

_Question: "**The seven, Amelie, Charlotte, and Sebastian: Alois is a..."** by Honeycloud Of RiverClan_

_Ciel's Answer:__"Alois is such a girl." _

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Alois is a lunatic..."_

_Audrey's Answer:__"Alois is a bit eccentric."  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"Alois is a CRAZY-ASS MUTHAFUCKA!"  
_

_Preston's Answer:__"Alois is a little deranged..."_

_Travis' Answer:__"Alois is a bit silly on the outside, but seems to be less secure than he seems."  
_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to answer that..."_

_Charlotte's Answer:__"Alois is a rather strange individual, but is relatively easy to handle. (In comparison to a certain werewolf who insists that I'm her 'wife'.)"  
_

_Amelie's Answer:__"Alois is a kung-fu master! (And Ciel's bitch.)"  
_


	231. Revelations

_ "Aw~!" _whined Murdock, looking at the commotion that was occurring closer to the bleachers. "They _knew_. _That's no fun..."_

"Too bad. You should have done better research." replied the bluenette with a smirk.

"It's quite difficult to do so on a person who has spent several lifetimes covering their tracks." Murdock remarked, turning his attention back to the Phantomhive boy. "All I had to go on were urban legends and the information from a _very flamboyant Grim Reaper..."_

That made sense. How else could he have known about the incident at the Warwick versus Tamworth game? While the former treasure hunter couldn't come across Ciel Phantomhive himself, he was able to come across people who knew him. That's how he found Heinrich, and how he found Cameron. With a little manipulation, he was able to retrieve information from a certain red-headed reaper, who just happened to be at that particular rugby game. It was easy on Murdock's part, but he was careless, as always. He didn't check to see if the Phantomhive boy was armed.

"This is getting absurd. Let's just end this." Ciel said, reaching into his blazer and brandishing his signature _anti-freak_ pistol. In response, Heinrich aimed his weapons at the bluenette, who aimed his gun at Murdock. All the deranged boy in the spotted tie did, was whistle a single note, as if impressed.

"Have a bit a _temper_, do we?" he asked with a smile. "I wouldn't try it, Phantomhive. Those guns that Mr. Strumer posses currently _aren't the same as the ones that he fought you with last time."_

"You're not the only one with access to_ anti-freak technology, 'Guard-Dog'_." Heinrich said with a smirk, never breaking his fighting stance. "Meet _Romulus and Remus_, my guns. They fire _nine millimeter Parabellum bullets, all magnesium-tipped, coated in silver, and blessed_, just like the _'bayonets' _on the barrels. It's going to hurt a _hell _of a lot worse when I shoot and cut you, now!" he boasted, yet his smirk wavered when the bluenette chuckled at him.

"That's all fine and dandy if you were up against a vampire, or a werewolf, _'War-Dog', _but demons, are an entirely _different class_." he smiled, turning his head slightly to look down on the German. "Things like crucifixes, silver, and holy water_ don't work on us_. You all should have done _better research."_

Without another word, Heinrich's legs muscles tensed before propelling him forward toward the bluenette. He swung his arm at the boy, slashing while shooting, but the boy only dodged the bullet while stepping out of the way of the man's attacks. Ciel got a good look at Heinrich's face in the close proximity, seeing the shear anger, hatred, and sadness reflected in the man's emerald eyes. It was only for a fleeting moment, but he saw it. With the handle of his pistol, he struck the German in the face, causing him to stumble back a bit. When Heinrich looked up, there was a red mark where he hit, and blood dripped from his lips where they had been cut on his own teeth. If he was in pain, he didn't show it. Heinrich still maintained that image of loathing and determination. For some reason, the bluenette couldn't help but look at the man and smile a melancholic sort of smile.

"Victor would've been happy to see you so determined, Heinrich." he said, unfazed by the German's battle stance. "No, I'm sure he _is _happy to see it, yet somewhat sad to see you suffer."

"Don't you _dare _use his name so casually!" barked the "_War-Dog", _bearing his fangs. "Victor was a million times the man you will never be, _demon!"_

"How odd for you to say that, after all, _Victor_ is now _me_." the bluentte said, eye glowing crimson as the German gave him a confused look while still maintaining his anger. "Victor's soul is, and will always be _mine_ since the day he died. He came to me after saying goodbye to you, and told me to end his life. Since I'm a demon, _I granted his wish_."

"_You... didn't_..." Heinrich said weakly, his voice almost a whisper. He lowered his weapons for a brief moment to simply stare at the bluenette, wide-eyed.

"_I did." _Ciel replied, lowering his weapon as well._ "I devoured Victor's soul. If you killed me, you would be killing Victor as well."_ The German furrowed his brow and grit his teeth, his mouth forming a pencil-thin line arched into a frown as he tightened his grip on his weapons. He knew what he had to do.

Quick as a whip, he raised his guns again and fired, his bullets piercing his target in almost every vital organ. He didn't lower them for a second, knowing that it wasn't likely that the boy would die from that. _Heinrich had shot Murdock, shocking the demonic duo._

"I still hate you." he said to the bluenette, keeping his eyes locked on his target. "I will never forgive you for what you did to Johnathan and Victor. I will always despise you, no matter what, but still,_ I can't kill Victor_. Consider yourself _lucky."_

"Right." said the bluenette, raising his weapon and aiming at the former treasure-hunter. "_Alois, get ready!"_

"_Right-O!"_ answered the blonde menace, readying his own weapon, the _Kaspar _pistol, with a salute.

They knew that Heinrich's shots wouldn't kill Murdock, but that still didn't prepare them for what they saw. The boy with the purplish-pink hair _smiled _as blood trickled down his face from the hole in his forehead, and stained his uniform where the German had shot his torso. A chuckle bubbled up from the boy's throat before he began to regenerate. Those same thorny-vines that tore him apart at every moment sprouted from the flesh-wounds, pushing the bullets out of his body while intertwining and weaving together, forming new tissue. They were green, mixed with the dark crimson of his blood, and were simply covered in the stuff.

"_That is so fucking gross..."_ Alois said, unconsciously lowering his weapon as he watched the scene.

_ "Focus, Alois."_ the bluenette reminded him, making him raise his weapon toward the now cackling boy, ready to fire.

_ "You know, it's scientifically proven that laughter can help dull pain."_ said Murdock, his voice grainy and strained. The vines started to finish patching him back up, smaller, fiber-like ones beginning to form the skin to cover the wounds."_But even if I laugh all the time, it still hurts."_

_ "I'm glad I get to fight you myself, though." _ he said, tensing his leg muscles and propelling him forward toward Heinrich. The German moved to dodge, successfully doing so with his absurd speed. That, however, changed when vines sprang forth from Murdock arm, tearing through his own flesh and uniform, before striking the War-Dog down. They sent him flying across the field, scratching his skin with their many thorns, only to land several yards away in a heap. Murdock smiled, turning his attention back to the wide-eyed bluenette.

_"It wouldn't be any fun if I didn't take care of this personally."_

* * *

**A/N: Lesson of the day: MURDOCK IS FUCKING INSANE.  
**

**I imagine it would be pretty easy to be fucked up like that after being in excruciating pain 24/7, so it's plausible for "Old-Murdock", who was obviously not insane, to become "JESUS-CHRIST-WHAT-THE-FUCK-IS-THAT-Murdock".**

**Yeah, and he was made that way with a "Holy-artifact". It's kind of a social-commentary on religion and morality, in a way. It's kind of like saying that someone is preaching something, and by the way they do it, not following their own teachings. Like how wars have been waged over religion, in order to spread their message and convert "heretics", and by doing so, they blatantly ignore the message of their God. You cannot defy God, for God. That's just ridiculous.**

** Murdock is a "Living-Holy-Weapon", and yet his heart is not in the right place, making the Demons the "good guys". Also like historic wars over religion, he is using the guise of "holiness" for his own selfish desires. Historically, it's money, as people would claim to kill for God, and to "save" a people who didn't want saving, but in reality, it was for land and wealth. In Murdock's case, it's revenge. He doesn't even try to disguise that fact. He doesn't have to, because he's a "Monster of God". He is still "Divine", even if he doesn't act it, specifically because of the coins. No matter how cruel, or how sick, twisted, and violent he acts, he will always be considered "Divine", and that's fucked up.  
**

**It's not a concept that I came up with, as another "artifact" known as "Helena's Nail" appears in _Hellsing,_ and they mention the Silver Coins that are corrupting Murdock. It does similar stuff, but because Murdock does not have ALL of the "artifact", it's effecting him differently, and thus he is also less powerful.**

******I sneak A LOT of social-commentary in here, in case you didn't notice. That's what writing is about, I think. When you can take a topic of social or cultural significance, and bring it into perpective in your story, and force the audience to really think about it, you give your work a whole new depth that captures the audience's attention.  
**

******There's your "Hateful Tip" for today.**

******Again, also do that with your OCs. Take something that everyone kind of worries about on some level, and really bring it out in your character. It makes them believable, and it makes the audience really care about them, because they can relate. All of the Seven have a "Universal Worry", or a "Emotional Quest" of sorts, like I've said. I've hit some harder than others, but I'm going to hit all of them before this ends. **

******And for the love of God, don't make them "goody-two-shoes". Characters who are "good" and "nice" all the time are boring, because people don't act like that. Everyone is selfish, or acts like kind of a dick sometimes. If your characters are black and white, that's not right. Humans are "Grey". Your villains have to genuinely believe what they're doing is "right" under whatever form of twisted logic they follow, in order to make them compelling. Your heroes have to struggle with their morality, because that is what defines "good and evil". Is what they're doing truly "right"? Or is it actually "wrong"? Have them struggle with their own ethics and beliefs, the beliefs of society, the bliefs of their peers, and the actual reality of how things are. It's a lot more interesting that way. It makes the audience think, and that boosts the entertainment value. **

******Ah damn, another long one... Sorry... I got carried away... I just start talking about this shit and CAN NOT shut up...**

******The battle continues, my duckies!**

* * *

_******CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"For the demonic duo-pretend that gay marriage is okay. Who would propose between you two, and who's wearing the dress? Who would you invite, and would it be big or small? For the seven: if you got invited to Ciel and Alois's wedding would you go?"** by CiaranMichealis_

_Ciel's Answer:"Wh-what?! (Why does everyone keep asking about marriage?) Well, I don't know who would propose between the two of us... Alois probably would, but I... Also... Might... *ahem* A-anyway, I'm am most CERTAINLY NOT wearing a dress. Alois would if he felt like it, but it is my understanding that the dress is not necessary with weddings between men... (I think women, too, but I'm not sure...) I wouldn't invite a lot of people or want to make a big scene... Maybe just a few friends and close acquaintances. The others would show up even if they weren't invited, so they would be there anyway. Maybe Sir Midford? Ugh... I dunno... Stop making me think about this!"  
_

_Alois' Answer:"Hmm~? I dunno~! I know I would propose~! Ciel might, depending if he was having one of his 'insanely dapper, gentlmanly moments'. I dunno if I'd wear a dress. I know Ciel won't, but I dunno if I would. Depends on my mood, I guess. (That, and I don't want to be permanently labeled 'the girl'.) Ciel would most likely do the planning. I'm not good at that kind of shit. The guys would be there, Amelie and Charlotte too, probably, Sebastian and Luka definitely, and I dunno who else. Maybe Nigel and Lawrence. Can Demons even get married, anyway? Y'know, 'bound together in holy matrimony before the eyes of God', and shit? That's brilliantly ironic."  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm probably going to end up being the one to design their wardrobe for the occasion, anyway." _

_Audrey's Answer:"Of course I would go. Showing your support on such occasions is what friends do." _

_Daniel's Answer:"Fuck yeah! When I'm Prime Minister, I'll make that shit legal so we can get drunk and marry the shit out of those two little poofs! I bet Kris would be the flower girl..."  
_

_Preston's Answer:"Can demons even get married? Isn't that supposed to be a 'holy event', or something? Anyway, I would go, because they're my friends. I also wonder how a bachelor party works if both parties are men... Just sayin'. I dunno if I would go to that. I bet Daniel would insist on hiring a stripper..."  
_

_Travis' Answer:"I would be happy to go in order to support them."  
_

_00000000000000000000_

_Question: **"So Alois! Luka starts liking Ciel way more than you and is always by Ciel wanting to play with him and help him in what ever way possible and he is ignoring you! Your reaction? What do you think about that Ciel?"** by Thiiis Guuurl_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I wouldn't mind it. I would feel bad for Alois, though."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"LUUUUULKAAAAAA! Y U DO DIS?!" ***sobs***  
_

_000000000000000000000_

_Hypothetical Question: **"Alois: What would you do if you found Lizzy kissing Ciel? Lizzy: What would you do if you found Alois and Ciel being very touchy and intimate with each other?"** by yoyohobo_

_Alois' Answer:__"BITCH IMMA GUT YOU LIKE A GODDAMN FISH DON'T YOU TOUCH MY MAN ASDGFALDKGHAL CIEL IMMA KICK YOUR ASS FOR LETTING HER KISS YOU I'M NOT EVEN FUCKING JOKING OMG YOU ARE RELATED THAT IS SO FUCKING GROSS"** *cries*******_

_Lizzy's Answer:__"OMGWTFBBQ CIEL WHAT ARE YOU DOING ARE YOU CHEATING ON ME WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT WITH TRANCY HE IS A BOY WHAT IS HAPPENING WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS YOU NEVER TREATED ME LIKE THAT CIEL ARE YOU A HOMOSEXUAL TELL ME I NEED TO KNOW ASDKAHSGDLKGHA"** *cries*** _


	232. The Butler Did It

_CLANG!_

The sound of metal striking metal was heard as Sebastian fought with his designated foe, which was taking far longer than he would have liked. This angel wasn't going to be backing down any time soon. His silverware was useless, as the woman simply blocked it with her ruler.

He heard gunshots coming from elsewhere on the field, and turned to investigate, seeing that Heinrich was now somehow fighting with the demonic duo. However, he also observed the German getting sent flying before landing with a mighty thud. At least that was one less enemy that they had to worry about. He smiled at the thought.

Then, the butler's smile faded as he felt sharp pain, piercing his lungs. Sebastian looked down at his chest to discover that the angel had stabbed him with her metal ruler. He looked up to see her face, stern and unapologetic.

_"You shouldn't allow yourself to get distracted so easily." _she said, pulling her weapon out of the man's chest.

"You're absolutely right, miss." Sebastian replied, smiling as he clutched his injury. "I can assure you that_ it won't happen again_."

With that, he threw some more of his knives, which were easily blocked by the angel's ruler. However, she didn't expect the man to charge her as she did, with all the speed and grace of a gazelle, and attack her at her side, which she left wide open.

The angel winced at the knife in her side, watching for a moment as it dyed a good portion of her white outfit crimson. She stumbled off of Sebastian's knife, and griped her side in order to stop the bleeding faster. Miss Clark looked up at the butler with angry eyes.

"You shouldn't get so distracted, either." the demon said with a grin.

"Why do you hinder me, demon?" the angel asked, standing up straight whilst still gripping her injury. "Your master is not human. You gain _nothing _from protecting him. Your demon-ethics do not apply here."

Sebastian actually had to stop and think about that. Even though he was ordered to stay by the bluenette's side until he devoured his soul; even if the boy was now a demon, he could still walk away, couldn't he? The only thing tying a demon to a contract are ethics and the desire to have an identity._ An identity. Was that why Sebastian stayed?_

"Sebastian" was only "Sebastian" if Ciel made him that way. Without the bluenette, the butler was no one. He was no one until he found another. Still, he had that as long as he was still tied to the boy, correct? Couldn't he simply walk away? The only thing tying them together was that contract, and it wasn't as though the black-butler was forced to do any of the things that Ciel told him to. Only ethics, and ethics could be ignored.

Yet there was something more to this, and Sebastian knew it. Admittedly, he had grown somewhat attached to the Phantomhive boy over the years, as though he were family. He didn't quite know why, but he still somehow cared for the bluenette. He cared for all of the residents of the Phantomhive house, actually. Even Alois, who was responsible for his imprisonment, was cared for, and not just because the Phantomhive boy did. Sebastian also held great fondness of Luka, and Charlotte, who was a former resident. He had taught those three personally, each responding in different ways, much to the man's intrigue. They were like his students, or even, his children, on some level. Yes, somewhere in his long empty demon's heart, he cared for all four of them, as if they were family. It was somewhat unnerving how very _human _that was of him.

Perhaps, after spending over a century in the guise of _"Sebastian, the butler of Phantomhive_", he indeed began to slowly take on this identity as his own. That was who he is now. Sebastian cared now, it was far too late for him to escape now.

_ "You wouldn't understand."_ he said with a smile, not quite sure how to even begin to explain himself. "Quite frankly, I don't believe it is any of your business in the first place."

"Very well then. _Keep your secret_." the woman replied. "You will serve your lord, and I will serve _mine."_

White wings sprouted from her back, yet still somehow miraculously managed not to ruin her clothes. Her angelic wings flexed a few times, preparing for battle, feathers rustling. Sebastian chuckled, noticing that they were quite small in comparison to most angel wings he had seen.

"Those don't look like they'll do you much good." he remarked, readying more knives_. "How are you going to get yourself off the ground with those?"_

"I'm not, _because that isn't their purpose_." the woman replied, giving the demon a mean expression.

"Then what are they for?"

The butler's question was answered when the woman suddenly appeared right in front of him, bringing a great gust of wind with her. They were for _propelling her forward,_ not _flight._ His eyes widened for a moment in surprise before he came back to his senses. Miss Clark held her ruler in hand, and prepared to strike. Sebastian dodged, and not a moment too soon.

A loud _boom_ was heard as she struck the air. It only lasted an instant, but everyone could see clear as day what extended from the angel's weapon in that short second; _Lightening. _Sebastian was almost struck with lightening of a divine nature, which would with no doubt harm him. His eyes widened as he watched the angel turn slowly, showing her face again to him.

Broad, golden lines spanned upward from her arms, and across her cheeks and forehead, reaching towards the luminescent halo that hovered over the crown of her head. This was no ordinary angel. This was a sort that Sebastian's eyes had never seen before in all of his time on this earth. Seeing this, she smiled.

"I'm not like other angels, Mister Michaelis_. I'm a higher class_." she said, pointing her ruler at the man. "I am an _Archangel._ Don't take me lightly."

Angels, like demons, exist to many religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Within the documents created by these particular three, there were different classes of angels described. "Normal" angels, and Archangels. The archangels are more powerful than their lesser counterparts, making them far more formidable opponents. Their abilities varied, adding on to the standard skill sets of the more significantly divine, but this particular archangel could fire pure angelic energy in the form of lightening. As much as he hated to admit, this could prove to be problematic for Sebastian. If Miss Clark hit him in just the right location, she could actually be the _death _of him, and that simply would not do.

The Sensational Seven watched as the man got serious, taking a fighting stance, his face losing all sense of earlier playfulness. They completely began to ignore Cameron, as he has beginning to lose his strength. He simply couldn't fight either Kristopherson or Travis pinning him to the ground, and was thus rendered stationary.

_ "Get... Off... Me..."_ he whined, causing a few of the Warwick boys to glance at him briefly before turning back to the action on the field. They were all itching to join, somehow, so a few of them went out and dragged Heinrich out of harms way. Bones looked over the unconscious German to see if he was injured, having a little medical expertise due to his family's field of work. It would appear that Heinrich only seemed to have a minor concussion, along with a few scrapes and bruises. Cameron watched as the boy treated him, mostly by propping his head a certain way and keeping it still, but eventually, that got boring, and from his position on the ground, he couldn't even see any of the action taking place on the unlucky rugby field.

_ "C'mon, Kris, let me go..." _he said again, getting the faux-blonde's attention.

_ "No, I'll let you back up when I damn well feel like it_." Kristopherson replied, looking away from the boy.

"I was only trying to protect you..." the Tamworthian said.

"Well, some job you've done with that." said the boy in the pink tie. "You've only made things worse, getting us even more involved."

"I didn't know Murdock was going to bring you here!"

"And that suddenly makes trying to _shoot _my friends _'okay'!?" _Kristopherson asked, looking down at the Tamworth boy, his tone angry. "I'm sorry, but_ on what fucking planet does that make sense?!"_

"He's a _Grim Reaper! _The kind that _kills_ people! Why the bloody _hell_ would you want to be around that?!" Cameron asked.

"_Excuse you_, but that's not how Grim Reapers _work_. It's more of a _job, _than a species." Kristopherson said. _"Moreover, it's not your job to decide who I want to hang out with, either."_

"Come on, Kris, we can work this out._ Let's just make things go back to normal..."_ Kristopherson paused, looking away from the other boy for a moment and shook his head before turning his gaze back to Cameron.

"Okay. _When this is over_, _everything will be back to normal_..." he said, giving the Tamworthian a condescending look. "...and it's going to be back to normal _without you."_

The rest of the boys looked at each other and tried their best not to laugh. So much for Kristopherson not being the "_dominant_" one. Their focus quickly shifted back to the field however, with the sound of thunder and a bright, sudden flash of light. Their eyes widened at the sight before them. Sebastian was collapsed on his knees, blood dripping from his lips and dying the clothes covering his stomach crimson. They wrinkled their noses at the smell of burnt flesh.

"_Know your place, demon."_ spoke the archangel, straightening her posture. "You don't belong on earth. You belong _beneath_ it. You're beneath me, and the humans, you _weak, pitiful _creature. You're too weak to stand without a human master, and the fact that you have a master of one of your own kind makes you all the more _pathetic_."

Sebastian coughed, straining to look up at the angel. His vision was blurred, and his body felt numb from the electric current. He furrowed his brow, listening to the woman's harsh words. A strange feeling bubbled up inside of him that he hadn't felt in a long, long time. _Sebastian was angry._

"_You're wrong..." _he said weakly, his voice strained, almost a whisper. "The young master... isn't like any demon you know of..." He placed his hand on the ground, pushing his knuckles against the earth in and attempt to force himself upward into a standing position. "It's unheard of... A _demon_ that genuinely acts as if he were _human_..."

"_You're_ the one who is _weak_." he continued, grunting and wincing as he stood, clutching his stomach. "You follow a _psychopath_ simply because he has a few _coins..."_

"He is a divine _instrument of God_! He is _worthy _of being followed!" Miss Clark replied, her tone angry.

"Is that so? You could have fooled me... His _actions_ aren't holy in the _slightest_..." Sebastian said, his ability to see returning. "You're breaking several commandments, here. _'Thou shalt not kill', _and, oh yes, _'Thou shalt have no gods before me'?_ You aren't any better than _me._ In fact, you're a_ hypocrite, _and a _bad_ one."

_ "Enough talk!"_ the archangel shouted, raising her weapon. "_This ends now!"_

A loud _bang _was heard, echoing throughout the field. Miss Clark felt a piercing pain in her hand, and she dropped her ruler. She turned her head to the sidelines, so see Audrey standing there with the gun that he had taken from Cameron.

Before she could react, the reaper-boy fired several more shots, emptying the clip into her being and dying her crimson. She took a few steps back, furrowing her brow, outraged by the boy's feeble attempts at killing her. She looked back up at him, arched over and clutching at her wounds, but before she could utter a single threat, the boy had ditched Cameron's gun, and picked up one of _Heinrich's, _before firing again. When that one was empty, he picked up the man's other gun and used that.

"_You insolent brat!"_ she screamed when the boy finally stopped firing, as he took a magazine from one of Heinrich's leg-pockets and reloaded the weapon in his possession, before putting it off to the side and doing the same with it's twin. _"There's no way those pathetic human-made weapons could have any effect on me!"_

_ "_I didn't _expect_ it to." Audrey replied, pushing the safety button on the gun in his hand_. "I was just distracting you."_

The archangel's eyes went wide for a moment before she felt a horrifying amount of pain. She screamed in agony as Sebastian stood right next to her now, gritting his teeth with sweat accumulating on his furrowed brow from the pain in his hand. Light flashed, sparks flew, and his hand burned and bled as he gripped the angel's halo. He summoned his remaining strength and ripped it away from it's position atop the archangel's head, causing it to shatter into countless pieces.

Sebastian cocked back his good hand, and propelled it forward, piercing the angel's chest, right where her heart was. He pulled it away again, leaving the woman to gape at her wound, wide eyed, mouth open with blood dripping from her lips. Miss Clark fell to her knees, before collapsing into a heap, devoid of life.

_ "Rest in peace..." _the butler uttered before falling over himself. He would just have to hope that the demonic duo could handle themselves on their own as he was carefully dragged off the field by the rest of the Warwick boys.

* * *

**A/N: Bravo.  
**

**I had trouble writing this, because Sebastian is just so _damn_ hard to write for, so that's why it's late. He's just too much of a _devilishly perfect_ butler! (Oh God, I should be _slapped_ for that...)  
**

**It's probably gonna be late tomorrow, too, because I'm gonna be out-and-about tomorrow. Gonna go make me a bank account and shit.**

**On a related note, I won't be able to update most of next week, as much as I hate not to, because I'm going to L.A. to visit some relatives. **

**You just can't write shounen-ai in front of your Grandma... It's uncouth...**

**My dad keeps askin' me "so whad'ya wanna go do while we're there? They've got roller-coasters, we're gonna go to the beach... is there anything else you wanna do?"**

**My reply was as follows: "What am I supposed to do while you guys are _riding roller-coasters_ and prancing in _big puddles of water_ and shit? That sounds_ boring_. Oh! Can we go to _the Museum of Natural History?!_"**

**I was completely serious. I hate roller-coasters, (amusement parks in general, actually,) the ocean sounds boring as hell, I don't want to go pet a dolphin, either (because they're fucking RAPISTS), I don't want to go see the Dogers play baseball because I hate sports, too (I like fencing, soccer, and rugby. That's it), and I don't want to go see a live taping of a TV show that I most likely wouldn't even watch on TV at home.**

** The Museum seriously sounds more fun to me, and I'm _18._ My dad is _50. _He responded in the following way:**

** "What the FUCK is WRONG with you?"**

**I have the sense of adventure of a certain blue midget cyclops, that's what.  
**

**I feel like I'm on the wrong side of this arguement, somehow... I'm not complaining about going to L.A. I want to go, but not for any of the obvious reasoins that one would want to go. I like museums, aquariums, and the like, much more than I like standard "fun" things. I just like things that are more cerebral, is all. That's just my area of interest. I'll still go, to be polite, but they shouldn't be surprised when I sit off to the side while we're at the beach, and start drawing by myself.**

**FUCK YOUR BIG PUDDLE. I DO WHAT I WANT.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!  
**

* * *

**_CHARACTER SHET I HAD FUN ONCE AND IT WAS AWFUL  
_**

_Question: **"i have a question for the 7and Luka: what's your type of girl?"** by miniDcupcakes  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer: "...Seriously?"_

_Audrey's Answer:"One who has similar interests, of course, because if I can't hold a conversation with her, there's going to be some serious problems. I don't especially care what she looks like, as long as she's got a good personality."  
_

_Daniel's Answer:"A cute one, who's fun to hang out with. Duh!"  
_

_Preston's Answer:"I'd really like a smart girl, if you can believe that. One who knows what she's talking about. She'd probably have to be able to put up with my 'geekdom', as Kristopherson or Daniel would call it, also..."  
_

_Travis' Answer:"I like girls who're sort of free-spirited, and aren't afraid to speak their minds."  
_

_Luka's Answer:"Uhm... I dunno... One who's nice, and who's pretty, and fun... I hope she likes pokemon!"  
_

_00000000000000_

_Question/Threat: **"Cameron MUST answer to the upcoming threat! Alright, if you dare hurt Kris or make him anymore emotionally confused I will end you in any way I can! I know that you're prob'lly tryin' to look out for Kris, but upsetting him isn't the way to do that. Alright, so after that kind of rant I just wanna ask Alois...so how was it being on top that one time and can you PLEASE tell EXACTLY what happened to get Ciel to agree, or even OFFER TO."** by ThatGirlMallie_

_Cameron's Response:__"Wha?! Why!? I wasn't trying to hurt him, and I didn't mean to upset him! I was just trying to keep him out of trouble! Why doesn't anyone understand that?!"_

_Alois' Answer:__"Hm? Well, I gotta say, it was pretty awesome (but also extremely embarrassing because I had no fucking clue what I was supposed to do). I think he just got curious, but he immediately tried to deny it, saying something like, 'Well, you're always on bottom and going on about how you could if you wanted to! It's only fair every once in a while. Hurry up an decide before I change my mind!' while we were getting a little frisky, only he said it all flustered and stuff. It was so goddamn cute-" _

_Ciel: "IF YOU SAY ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT IT, I WILL FUCKING STRANGLE YOU WITH A PAIR OF YOUR STUPID BOOTY-SHORTS LIKE I OUGHT TO RIGHT NOW!"_

_Alois:__"Alright, but we need to come up with a safe-word first- OKAY, OKAY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I WAS JOKIIIINNNNNGGGGG~!"  
_


	233. Getting Down To Business

_"Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars._

_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars. _

_In other words: Hold my hand. _

_In other words: Darling, kiss me~!"_

Murdock sang his beloved tune, his voice somewhat straining a bit in places due to the pain that he was in. The vines that sprung from his arm twisted and squirmed as if they were possessed, making an odd _chirping _sound as they moved. He looked to the demonic duo, eyes wide and grin wider.

_ "Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forever more. _

_You are all I long for; all I worship and adore._

_In other words: Please be true. _

_In other words: I love you~!'_

After finishing his song, he began to slowly walk toward the boys, the vines repairing the body that they had damaged. His hollow, verdigris eyes were so dull, that nothing could be reflected off of them. The demons knew that he was looking at them, but they weren't entirely sure if Murdock was actually _seeing _them.

_ "What a shame..." _he said, snapping the lads back to their senses. "It looks like your butler has offed poor Miss Clark. Pity. _I could've still used her_."

"And you're supposed to be some sort of _'holy weapon'?" _Ciel asked, furrowing his brow and giving the boy with oddly-coloured hair a disgusted look. "You obviously don't give a damn about God's teachings." Murdock only laughed.

_ "Religion has nothing to do with it, silly goose!" _he said, coughing as the thorns cut into the flesh just beneath his skin again. "I just want _revenge. _I have _no interest _in what a silly _storybook_ says about _morals."_

_ "Well said."_ spoke the blonde menace, his lips curling into a smirk as his eyes glowed crimson. He tried to force his will into the thorny vines within the other boy's body, just as he would to the ones planted within the earth or in a pot or vase. Sweat accumulated on his forehead as he strained, but the most Murdock did was twitch with mild discomfort.

"I take it you can control plants?" asked the former treasure-hunter. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you _won't be able to manipulate these_. They're tied to the coins, which are holy artifacts. A _demon _will never be able to wield them."

"Then I'll make _my own!" _the blonde said, releasing his focus on the vines within the other boy's body. He took a strong stance, spreading his arms before moving them forward as if he were hurling the evil vines from their place in the ground below to Murdock's torso. They pierced his flesh, stabbing into his ribs, causing the former treasure-hunter to wince. His twisted grin returned shortly after, however, and the blonde's own vines burst into flames, starting from Murdock's chest and spreading toward the blonde, causing him to lose focus completely. What hadn't burned already rotted away when he did.

"_Let me show your how it's done." _Murdock said before hunching his back and gritting his teeth, grunting from the pain that he was in. His divine, thorny, vines sprang from his upper back this time, shredding his dress-shirt and the blazer of his uniform as they targeted Alois.

They barely missed the blonde, scraping against his leg and forming small cuts, that sure took their sweet time healing. In retaliation, the bluenette fired several shots at Murdock, emptying his magazine into the former treasure-hunter's head before reloading. How on earth the boy was still standing, it wasn't entirely clear.

Most of his face was gone, save for his nose and one of his eyes. The other eye had been struck, and bits of it's mangled remains as well as the socket they sat it were visible for all to see. Bits of skin and flesh hung from his face, some by mere strands of tissue. His teeth were visible, as his cheek on half of his face had been cut open when it was deeply grazed by a bullet. Now, one couldn't tell if he was frowning or smiling. His face was now hardly a face, yet he didn't seem bothered in the slightest. In fact, he directed his vines toward Ciel, preventing him from firing again.

The _hissing_ sound of steam escaping filled the air as it rose from the boy's disfigured visage, as well as his shaky, wheezing breaths, and the otherworldly chirping of the vines reassembling him. They weaved together, forming muscle-tissue, while thinner ones formed his skin, and fashioned him a new eye. The remainder of his dress-shirt and blazer fell off of his shoulders, as it was now shredded to ribbons, and soaked in his own blood. Ciel could now see the source of Murdock's power, the seven out of thirty silver coins, as clear as day.

With this, he took precise aim, ceasing his breathing so that he was less likely to move and botch up the shot. The bluenette pulled the trigger, his bullet cutting through the air at speeds invisible to the naked human eye as it struck the silver that was peeking out through the former treasure-hunter's skin. It continued to spin on contact, causing sparks to fly, before finally being deflected by the holy relic.

"_Good show!"_ said Murdock, mockingly. His face was now mostly there, the only things now mostly missing being part of his eye, and part of his cheek. Regardless, he was still able to gloat. "However_, you could do better!"_

It was amazing how fast Murdock could be, given the pain he is in. Ciel simply blinked at his words before he was standing right in front of the bluenette. Murdock cocked his arm back, before striking the boy's face with his fist, sending him flying.

"_Ciel!"_ called the blonde menace, panicking. The moment he turned his head to watch the bluenette land on his feet, however, his back was struck by a massive conglomerate of vines, sending him flying as well. Alois, unlike Ciel, did not land on his feet, and instead broke his fall with his face.

_"Alright... I really don't like this guy..." _he said, sitting up and rubbing his head. He looked up at Ciel. "So, what's the plan, man?"

_ "I haven't decided yet." _the bluenette replied, still thinking about how he could possibly defeat this _monster of God_. "So far, it's _'don't die'."_

"_That's a very good plan." _the blonde said, standing up. "But that's going to be difficult as long as he's got those coins."

"I know, that's why I tried to _shoot _them."

"But if their _'holy relics', _or whatever, aren't they _indestructible?"_

_ "Now, _you bring this up..." the bluenette snidely remarked. Alois was right, however. They were somehow going to have to separate Murdock from those coins if they're going to kill him. Ciel now knew what he must do.

"I believe it's time we got _serious, _Alois." he said, his eye glowing red.

"Oh, goody!" replied the blonde menace. "I do love it when it's time to get_ serious_."

Black flames engulfed the demonic duo, burning away their human guises and replacing them with those of demons. They ignored the stares they got from the rest of the Sensational Seven, and simply focused on the task at hand. The flames died down, revealing two demons, ready for battle.

"Hide your tail, Alois. Don't let him exploit that weakness." ordered the bluenette, to which the blonde replied:

"_Yes, my master."_

* * *

**A/N: Murdock, you're so gross...**

**I swear to god that I have Charlotte's hairstyle right now... I put it in a ponytail, because having long hair in the summer is like wearing a fucking SCARF, and my bangs just automatically did that weird thing her hair does in my drawings of her... Only mine's even crazier...**

**Oh my god, poor Daniel! The latest batch of comments and questions... You guys are mean... (But it's just so damn funny...)**

**It's as though you're like,_ questioning Daniel's sexual preferences,_ or something~!**

**Anyways, Questions?**

**"Question for Hateweasel: how are you so awesome, funny, and smart?!" by alextheartist**

**Because baby, I was _BORN THIS WAY._  
**

**Just kidding~! I really don't think I'm that great. I just do whatever, y'know? I try to write the story I'd kinda like to read, basically. As for the A/N's, I just ramble on like I would in a serious conversation with my friends. I'm honestly surprised people read them at all!**

**Being "funny" is a skill that I didn't know I had until the end of middle-school. A lot of my sense of humour, and my "smartness", comes from the fact that I just think a lot. Making observations and analyzing data make up the majority of both of those things. I do it for fun. Maybe I should give tips about that sometime... Huh...  
**

**Anyways, next question~!**

**"Hate weasel if everyone from this series (all way to the beggining ) just appeared in front of you what would you do also I do believe heinrich seems to obey yolo... This is bad very bad" by Wooimmafox1305**

**YOLO, YOLO,  
**

**You Know, **

**You Only Live Once~!**

**(That IS a song, for realz.)**

**Anyway, I would one: Freak the fuck out, and two: swear to use my power to create life for good.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET NO YOLO  
**_

_Question: **"Everyone except for Daniel plus Sebastian, Amelie, Charlotte and Nigel must finish the sentence. Daniel is a..."** by ThatGirlMallie  
_

_Ciel's Answer:"...A moron." _

_Alois' Answer:"...A closeted homosexual in denial."  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"...A perverted pillock whom I debate on slapping across the face daily."  
_

_Audrey's Answer: "...A party animal."  
_

_Preston's Answer: "...A probable gay."  
_

_Travis' Answer: "...A little bit odd."  
_

_Sebastian's Answer: "...A strange human..."  
_

_Charlotte's Answer: "...A bit wild..."  
_

_Amelie's Answer: "...GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY." _

_Daniel's Reaction to the above answers:__"Well, fuck you, too..."_

_0000000000000000000000_

Question: _**"Sebatian, I gotta question for you...When Ciel and Alois have a kid one day (I mean COME ON! In all eternity they'll never have a child? Me think they will) how old would that kid grow up to be? Like would it stay a child, grow up, or what? I WANT TO KNOW! Daniel, what would you do if you woke up in bed naked with Kris? Kris, same for you with Daniel."**_ by TheMoonAndStars

_Sebastian's Answer:"Oh my... Ahem, well, since demons can change their shapes, I imagine one of them could become female and make that possible... Anyway, it would most likely be the first 'natural' birth of a demon in several thousand years, as most demons aren't 'born'. We simply wake up that way without memory of who we are. Lust is also a human emotion, so demons don't feel the need to reproduce sexually. Since it's a 'natural birth', I would assume that the child would live for a very long time. It could even possibly grow to be several Milena old. Demons age mentally, even if they don't physically, and thus, when the child reaches mental maturity, it would be able to simply change it's form into that of an older individual.  
_

_I don't expect them to reproduce anytime soon, however. In all fairness, they're still quite immature for that."_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"WHAT?! W-why D-DANIEL?! H-how the hell would we end up like THAT?! H-he's not even gay! Moreover, HE'S A FUCKING MORON!"  
_

_Daniel's Answer:"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! WHY WOULD THAT EVER HAPPEN!? I DON'T EVEN! I'M NOT A BOOTY-BOINKER! OH GOD, DON'T MAKE ME PICTURE HIM NAKED! I AM SO CONFUSED!"  
_


	234. Crown Of Thorns

"Whoa..." gawked Preston, setting his sight on the demonic duo in their diabolic forms for the first time.

It was the first time for nearly all of them, except for Audrey, who had seen them in this form on more than one occasion. Kristopherson had seen Ciel's, but not Alois' provocative form. Daniel, Preston, and Travis had seen neither of them. It was completely foreign, and odd to see ones friends, who you knew quite well in such a light. It was as though the very air around them had changed. It wasn't an ominous atmosphere they radiated, heavens, no. They simply seemed to has this more primal, and more "honest" air about them, as though they were somehow more comfortable in this form.

The boys gawked at the demons, staring at their horns, tails, pointed ears, and wardrobe, taking it all in. Especially Alois' attire, they gawked at, but were too flabbergasted to actually comment on. Even Daniel, for once, was silent. Meanwhile, the demons on the field were sure to hide their tails from this menacing threat. That menacing threat who only responded to their transformation by whistling a single note.

"Now _that _was pretty wicked!" Murdock said, clapping his hands. "You should always be sure to look your best on the day you die. _Remember that, children_."

_ "Who the bloody hell is he talking too?"_ Alois asked, placing a hand on his hip.

"_Who knows?_ The man's a _loon."_ replied Ciel.

"Heh, but even with those_ smart outfits_, you're not going to die in a very_ dignified _manner." Murdock continued, blatantly ignoring what the demonic duo had just said. _"I'll make sure of that."_ He winced slightly as he tensed his muscles, preparing himself for an attack. He swung his arm at Ciel, who promptly shot him in the face before distancing himself from the crazed man.

"Alois! Use _Kaspar!" _the bluenette barked, and the blonde responded accordingly, taking out his own aniti-freak pistol. He, too, fired upon the former treasure-hunter, both boys knowing full-well that it most likely wouldn't have the desired effect. What they did discover, however, is that Murdock's body could only take so much damage at a time.

The more injury that the duo inflicted on him, the slower his regeneration ability was able to work. Murdock fell to his knees, completely winded, coughing up blood, but that was hardly noticeable due to the amount that already accumulated on his skin. He looked up at the pair, brow furrowed, eyes wide, and mouth open as he panted. Finally, the boys stopped firing, taking the opportunity to reload.

_ "Alright... No more messing around..."_ Murdock said breathlessly, his voice cracked and strained. He stood up again, the vines beneath his skin wriggling and squirming as he prepared for his next attack. He stopped, however, when he few piercing pain in his chest.

He looked down to see the bluenette's hand lodged his in pectoral and he choked, forcing back his screams of agony. While he wasn't quite "human" anymore, he still had the pain tolerance of one. Ciel clenched his first, grasping an area where the vines seemed to converge, before trearing it out, ripping the vines along with it. The bluenette took several steps back, distancing himself from his foe as the boy with oddly-coloured, purplish-pink hair clawed at his wound, and released the screams that he had been holding back so well. They came out in almost chokes and gurgling sounds, as he tryed to shift between screaming, coughing, breathing, and wheezing.

Vines squirmed and twisted about stemming from the bluenette's fist as they began to rot and die. They wrapped around his arm weakly, as if they were begging for their lives, before turning brown and withering away. Soon, all that was left in Ciel's palm was a single, bloody, silver coin. He opened his hand and stared at it for a moment before looking up at the former treasure hunter again. Was if his imagination, or did her look _older _now?

It wasn't his imagination. Murdock had appeared to have aged a few years, his appearance altering only slightly. However, his left arm, the one with the gloved hand seemed a bit thinner than it had before, the disfigurement crawling up from the boy's black glove. Was this part of the effects of him losing power? This was why he had to_ devour the souls of demons. _His body began to deteriorate, otherwise, due to the lack of all thirty coins. Removing them seemed to accelerate the effects. Ciel looked to Alois, who nodded, understanding what needed to be done.

They fanned out, surrounding Murdock on both sides, like wolves chasing prey. They both ran at the boy, cocking their arms back before launching them forward, aiming for the coins in the treasure-hunter's chest. It would appear that his body had gone into shock, as he stopped screaming all together, and froze. Now was their chance.

Or so they thought. Murdock raised his arms, directing one at each demon, before the thorn-ridden vines ripped his flesh, forcing their way out of his body and striking the demons, sending them flying backward. Ciel landed on his feet, while Alois simply _landed._ They stopped to examine their foe's actions for a moment.

Murdock had his head angled slightly toward the ground. His eyes were wide, yet he was obviously not _seeing._ Sweat accumulated on his brow, mixing with the blood of previous wounds as he simply stood there, vines wriggling, squirming, and twisting as if possessed with a life force of their own. They were. They were possessed by the coins embedded in the boy's body. Finally, Murdock looked up at the boys, jaw slacked, with an expression on his face that was seemingly blank and yet somehow angry at the same time.

_ "We need to get those coins out of him." _Ciel said to Alois, believing it to be safe to reveal his plan, seeing that Murdock wasn't entirely "home" at the moment.

"Gotcha." replied the blonde. "I think we're going to have trouble getting close to him with those vines in the way, though."

"Do you want to be the _distraction, _or the_ assailant?"_ asked the bluenette, looking over to his demonic companion.

"You're the_ 'big, boss-man'_, you tell me."

"You're good _at distracting people_, so I'll rip out the coins."

"Why did you even ask in the first place?" Alois inquired, readying his gun. "Well, good luck on your _kamikaze_ mission."

_"Just don't die."_

_ "That goes for you too, darling_."

With that, Alois began to fire, directing the Murdock's attention to himself. He was careful to avoid the thorns that seemed to inflicted wounds that took much longer to heal than usual. He did flips and cartwheels, jumping out of the way while shouting taunts and shooting at the boy all at the same time. In the mean time, Ciel was waiting for the perfect opening for him to strike.

"_There!"_ He lunged, and aimed for a coin lodged in the former treasure-hunter's abdomen.

His eye widened when Murdock moved, turning his attention to his new attacker. He raised his arm, or what was left of it and wasn't replaced by vines, and prepared to bring it crashing down on the demon's skull, only to have more projectiles enter his own. Ciel looked off to the side to see Audrey and Heinrich pointing their guns at them, both being careful as they fired, so they wouldn't accidentally hit the bluenette.

"What the _fuck_ are you staring at, _'guard-dog'?!" _shouted Heinrich, snapping the bluenette back to his senses. "_Kill that thing!"_

With Murdock missing his eyes, and part of his face once more, he couldn't see Ciel when he tore out yet another coin, causing Murdock to scream in agony. This time, however, the demon didn't back off. Instead, he cocked his free hand back and pierced Murdock's torso again, tearing out yet another coin. With that, Murdock was down to four coins.

He wasn't faring too well, either. Now, his arms were getting thin, and starting to turn an odd shade of greenish grey. They were now mostly torn to shreds, in the first place, being replaced by the thorns and vines. They were now moving within his body at an alarming rate, mimicking the appearance of panicked snakes beneath his skin. The poor boy's body had gone into shock, so that he could no longer even feel it. All he could do was stand there with a surprised look on his face. It was too the point where it was the vines that were keeping him standing, not his will. Murdock was gone. It wasn't he who was fighting, anymore.

He was coughing up more blood than should even belong in a human body in the first place. The power he was given simply kept replacing what he was losing. As the vines began to force their way out of his mouth, they cut into his throat so that he wouldn't be able to scream even if he wanted to.

This is what the divine had done to him. Somehow fate had decided that it would be he, a young man in his prime who had done no major ill-wills, who would bear this agony. He was no longer a man. He was no longer a weapon, either. Now, he was just a pitiful being who was doomed to suffer a slow and agonizing death, for nary a single good reason.

From the little bit of life left in Murdock's eyes, Ciel was able to see all of this, as the former treasure-hunter looked upon him pleadingly. No longer, did he desire revenge. Now, all that Murdock desired was for his miserable life to end. From the look in his eyes, Ciel could register what Murdock's mouth could not utter:

_ "Kill me."_

The Phantomhive boy nodded, and dashed toward Murdock in order to free the boy from his suffering. Yet, against his wishes, Murdock's body moved in order to defend that life that was forced upon it, swinging his arm in order to swat the bluenette away with the massive conglomerate of vines that now served as hands. In response, the bluenette put up his arms in order to brace for impact, but it never came.

Wrapped around Murdock's bundle of greenery was the greenery of another boy, one who was known to the students of the academy who's rugby field they fought on as "the blonde menace". He looked up at the bluenette with a smile. sweat trailing down his face. Obviously, restraining vines with vines was a difficult task.

"_Ciel! Grab the coins!" _he shouted. For some reason, the bluenette was easily distracted today.

Ciel cocked his arm back before piercing the other boy's shoulder, ripping out the coin, as well as it's roots before repeating the action with his free hand. Murdock didn't scream this time. in fact, he hardly moved, or made any attempt to put up a fight. He was done. With all of his willpower, he forced his body to stay still as the bluenette tore into his flesh and ripped out those accursed silver coins one by one.

At long last, he was down to one. One last coin before Murdock was free, and Ciel achieved his victory. Upon tearing out that last coin, the vines attached to it cut as they were forced out of the boy's body, no longer able to keep it standing, or even _keep it together._

Murdock fell. He fell with his face looking up towards the blue sky with a smile on his face. He smiled, even though he lay dying. He smiled, even though his innards were now bare for the world to see. He smiled, even tough he didn't obtain his revenge. Murdock smiled because he had gotten what he had really wanted: an end to all of the pain and suffering that he was subjected to at every single moment that made up the past fifty-eight years. Now, as he enjoyed the numbness that was brought on by death, he smiled in a way that he hadn't for the last fifty-eight years, it was a peaceful, serene smile. It made him look relieved, happy, and at peace with everything and everyone in this sickeningly cruel world that slowly and tortuously killed him.

Everyone watched as Murdock's body began to turn into dust. It turned grey, and began to crumble, caving in on itself. He was simply dust; Dust without a funeral. He scattered as a breeze came in, whisking him away to God-knows-where.

There was nothing left of Murdock Springfield. There was no body; _no soul to collect_. The holy artifact of Rome had _destroyed him completely_. There would be no afterlife for Murdock, of any sort.

_ "God doesn't exist." _is what the demonic duo believed. If God did exist, he was cruel and unjust, thrusting these ill-fates upon innocent human beings for seemingly no good reason. Why make something, only to destroy it? Why make something, only to _torture _it? Did God get some sort of sick kick out of watching his "_children" _suffer? God doesn't exist. The Devil doesn't, either. All that the demonic duo was sure of, was that they existed. Their friends existed, Sebastian existed, Luka existed. Everyone who they associated with existed, and could very well be the only beings worth believing in.

* * *

**A/N: Give those duckies some violence. Duckies love violence. **

**More about what happened to the others next time. Give those duckies some funny shit. Duckies love funny shit.  
**

**I didn't update yesterday, and was late today, because we're leaving for L.A. tomorrow, and we've been getting ready. (Actually, we're going to stop in Tulsa, OK and spend the night, because that's where the airport is, and and we have to get up at 4 a.m. to make the goddamn plane. NEVER let your relatives order the tickets for you!)**

** I'm sick of it, already... If travel wasn't such a pain in the ass, I would probably do it more. (Add a "wink-wink" and a "nudge-nudge" to the end of that sentence. You know you want to... Oh God, I should be so ashamed...)**

**I've had enough adventure for one day...**

**_"Question for HateWeasel: Sebastian drew stuff with Luka in one of the chapters, what do you think the seven would draw, answers from the seven?" by Scones_  
**

**Ciel would probably draw dogs or something, while Alois would draw his friends. Kristopherson would sketch fashion designs, while Audrey would probably draw skulls and grim reaper-y stuff. Preston would draw various animals, while Travis would draw mostly bunnies. Daniel would draw almost anything, from something as innocent as super-heroes, or rude like crudely-drawn cartoon dicks. (A lot of really immature guys draw those for some reason, and then get mad when you point out how gay that is. It's weird.)**

**And now, for some DLTD trivia: Kristopherson Edition**

**Kristopherson has Equinophobia. In other words: He's deathly afraid of horses. He was almost trampled by one when he was six, and has been afraid of them ever since.**

**Kristopherson doesn't speak in a stereotypically "gay" way. He actually speaks in a Welsh accent, but only _sometimes_, from being on the sets of many movies with his dad that were either shot in Wales, or had many Welsh extras, when he was little. His accent is typically English, but occasionally he'll slip into Welsh when he's excited or angry, especially when he's scolding Daniel or Alois.**

**He has a pet cat. It's a persian named "Bedivere".**

**His name is "Kristopherson", meaning "son of Kristopher". His name actually tells you what his father's name is...**

**He's named after "Kristofferson", a character from _The Fantastic Mister Fox,_ which was my favourite book in elementary school. I checked it so many times out of the school library, that the Librarian recommended that I just buy my own copy.**

******His "associative colour" was not always pink. Originally, it was ORANGE, so in early colour pictures of Kristopherson, he's wearing orange, and not pink. It was changed to pink as a last-minute decision, and it turns out that it worked MUCH better.**

******I don't know when I'll get to post next, but I hope it's soon! **

******I'll see you in about a week, my duckies~! *cries***

* * *

_******CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: "**To Kris: for one thing, good job! You stood up to your nutcase boyfriend (ex?)! I'm really proud of you! Why did I ever hate you? Anyway, do you think your supernatural experiences will help with your fashion line in the future? (Also, I would TOTALLY buy your clothes! Really!)"** by Ciaran Michealis  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"You hated me because I was acting like a twat, that's why... I think they've been effecting it a lot, lately. I've been making outfits based on vampires, and full moons, and everything demonic and dark. Lots of red and black. Seeing Ciel's and Alois' demon forms, though... Oh man, I'm gonna end up staying all night deisigning again..."  
_

_00000000000000000__  
Question: **"Say, sebastian, have you ever considered using kitchen knives as weapons? They're sharper than dinner knives (or whatver you call those) AND they're shiny. :3"** by Honeycloud Of RiverClan  
_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"I have, but the bulkier handle on the kitchen knives make them far less aerodynamic..."  
_

_00000000000000000_

_Question:** "Question for Alois and Ciel's reaction to this question. Alois: Ciel tied up? your reaction.**" by sebastianthedemonbutler_

_Alois' Answer:__"Well, my immediate thought would be to wonder as to how the hell he ended up like that. Then I'd probably just tickle him to see how he responds."_

_Ciel's Answer: "I know what the implication is, here... I'm not into that... Perverts..."_

_0000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Since I must torture Daniel. Daniel, aren't you so happy that Kristerpherson is open now? Now you don't have to worry about stealing someone's boyfriend ;) oh BTW don't worry sweetie, everyone who joins the club gets A free t-shirt** **Kris: what would your reaction be if Daniel saves your life for some reason and then kisses you!"** by theotakuat221b_

_Daniel's Answer:__"Why would I be happy about that? I'm glad he's not in a relationship with that asshole anymore, and I won't get pissed off whenever I see his face, but why would I care if he's single? Wait... Oh... OH! I don't want to go out with Kris! He's a nice chap, and is really fashionable and all, but I just don't swing that way! I'M NOT A HOMO! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE T-SHIRT! I WANT NO PART OF KRIS OR HIS ASS AND BUSINESS!"  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! That's really sudden, isn't it?! We're good friends and all, but that's kind of invasive! Th-there's no way he would, anyway... He's got my sister..."  
_


	235. Everything Back To Normal

Over the next few days, things settled down immensely. Sebastian was still recovering from his injury as the divine lightening took quite the toll on his body. He was able to move around just fine, but became somewhat winded whenever he walked up the stairs. It made him wonder if that is how it felt for humans.

Whenever he saw that the butler was having difficulty, Luka was sure to try his best and help. He pushed on the back of the man's legs in order to "assist" him in getting up the stairs, and helped with various chores, like making beds and cleaning up. While he didn't like to receive help, Sebastian simply let the boy do as he wished, unless it was dangerous, or he didn't think that the young boy would be able to do it right.

Sebastian was somewhat ashamed that he let himself end up like this, but everything turned out alright in the end. He did, however, start to wish that Luka hadn't kept that CD that his master was sent. The Macken boy had been singing that song over the past few days, and listening to it on repeat. Sebastian was told that it was simply something that young children did, but it was somewhat annoying. _Especially when he caught himself humming it as a result._

Things were still pretty much business as usual at Warwick, as well. The rest of the Sensational Seven teased the demonic duo about their demonic forms, especially Alois' for obvious reasons. The blonde menace, however, was used to such ridicule from Ciel's teasing, and was thus simply able to ignore it. The subject that everyone refused to touch, however, was the topic of _Cameron._

As much as they would love to, and desperately wanted to tease Kristopherson about it, they were fully aware is that the subject was most likely sensitive at the moment, therefore they withheld their comments. It was Kristopherson's first breakup, and it was a _bad _one. Yet, somehow he didn't seem upset about it at all. It was as though it never happened.

The Seven sat at their usual claimed territory in the cafeteria, oddly silent. No one spoke, as the one subject that they were at least mildly curious about appeared to be taboo. The silence was obviously starting to get to the loudest two members of the group, collectively referred to by the others as "the dumbass duo", Alois Trancy and Daniel Westley. The two picked at their food and sat with the sort of restlessness that one might see in a young child that's forced to sit still at the dinner-table.

_ "Bored!"_ Alois shouted suddenly, causing Preston to jump. The others hardly reacted, as they expected one of the pair to say something eventually. "Somebody say_ something!"_

_ "'Something'."_ Ciel answered jokingly, causing the blonde's bored expression to turn into a pout.

"Oh, so you're a _comedian_ now, are you?" Alois asked, turning his head in order to better show the bluenette the displeased look on his face.

"No, I'm a _demon." _spoke the bluenette. "There's no one here named _'somebody',_ so I wasn't entirely sure who you were trying to address."

_ "You're such an ass..."_

"Sometimes, I think arguing is like _flirting _for you two." said Daniel with a grin. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively when the two boys looked at him.

"Only _sometimes." _Alois replied with a giggle. In return, Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as he saw Kristopherson in the corner of his eye.

The boy in the pink tie was acting a bit odd in his gestures, playing with his bangs as they hung in front of his face with an odd expression, one that gave him the appearance that he was deep in thought. In fact, he hardly looked like Kristopherson, at a glance, due to the fact that the usually faux-blonde hadn't bleached his hair in several months, rendering it dark brown, with platinum blonde tips. The others noticed the Westley lad's sudden silence, and followed his eyes, immediately thinking the same thing. Kristopherson_ wasn't _acting like his usual self. They knew this, but were still hesitant to say anything.

_ "What'_cha thinkin' about, _Pinky?" _Alois asked, obviously not reading the atmosphere at all. His sudden outburst caused the attention of the others to violently shift from Kristopherson to the Blonde Menace, as they looked at him either questioningly, or with a cautioning expression, which was blatantly ignored. Kristopherson himself, however, jumped as he looked up, confused before registering what the boy had asked.

"_Nothing." _he replied with a sigh, twisting a lock of hair between his index finger and thumb. _"I was just wondering if I should bleach my hair again soon..."_ His friends simply stared at him for a moment, making him feel somewhat self-conscious. "_What?"_

"Oh, nothing." Daniel answered with a small snort. "We just thought there might be something actually _wrong _with you, or something."

"Oh, and _why's that?"_ asked Kristopherson, arching an eyebrow. He already knew the answer, but was curious as to whether or not anyone would actually bring it up.

"We all were worried that you might be a bit upset about breaking up with Cameron..." said Preston, before Daniel could reply with a less sensitive and more offensive version of that statement.

_ "I'm not upset_." said the boy in the pink tie. "It's just a little_ shocking _to find out that he was a little _crazy."_

"I wouldn't say he was _'crazy'." _spoke Audrey. "He was just fed the_ wrong information _by the _wrong people,_ and acted accordingly. He might've been pretty cool, if it weren't for that."

"Are you mental?!" Daniel demanded, grabbing the reaper-boy's shoulders and shaking him lightly. "The bloke wanted to_ blast your bloody head off!"_

"Audrey has a bit of a point." said Ciel, forcing the politician's son to stop his actions. "His overall _intentions_ were _'good', _but the way he tried to execute them _wasn't_. He will see what he_ wants _to see, and nothing else. That will never be _changed."_

"You could say the same for _us,_ though..." said Preston, jumping as he suddenly obtained the attention of the others.

"...I mean, not a _bad_ way!" he added hastily.

"So, what you all are saying, is that I _shouldn't_ have broken up with him?" asked Kristopherson.

"No, I think what we're trying to say is that we support your decision, and are here for _moral support_ if you need it." said Alois, oddly picking up on the heart of everyone's intentions, here. There was a long pause, where all was silent. The Miles lad's friends simply nodded during this pause, agreeing with the Trancy boy's statement. Their silence wasn't broken until Kristopherson snapped from his confused and somewhat troubled state in order to speak.

"So... _Should I bleach my hair or not?" _he asked, earning a snort from the Westley lad.

"Do whatever you wanna do. _It's your head."_ said Audrey.

"Yeah, if you bleach it enough, _you might go bald~!" _joked Alois.

_** "B-bald?!"**_

"Calm down, Kris..." interrupted the bluenette bringing order to the situation, as per usual. "He's only _joking..."_ As comforting as that was, the formerly faux-blonde's cheeks began to heat up as the other boys began to chuckle at him.

"You gits! _You pictured it, didn't you?!" _Kristopherson demanded, leaning forward slightly with one hand on the table in front of him, and one on his head, as if to protect his precious hair.

"_N-no_..." Preston lied, in between chuckles.

"How could we _not?!" _Daniel asked, being the only one to laugh with his hand _away _from his face. "That image is just too hilairious!"

"_Daniel, you twat!" _

"If I was, then you'd never_ check me out_, huh? That would be _perfect!"_

"Dumbass, then you'd have a bunch of _straight _guys after you!"

_ "Ladies_, please..." began Audrey, holding up his arms as he interrupted the pair's bickering. "...you're _both pretty."_

"Oh no! _Audrey's_ gone over to the_ queer side, _too?!" Daniel asked, his volume way past "appropriate".

"You can't say that, Dan." replied the boy in the skull beanie. "_You've been dancing that line for as long as I've known you."_

_"I AM NOT GAY!"_

"It's okay, Danny." Alois said._ "Coming out is the first and most difficult step any homosexual can take."_

_"I FUCKING HATE EVERYONE!"_

"Oh, so you're trying to be _Ciel, _now?"

_ "...I don't talk like that..."_ the bluenette interrupted. _"...Do I?"_

* * *

**A/N: I'M BACK, BITCHES.**

**Actually, I got back from L.A. yesterday, but passed out after taking a plane to Pheonix, Arizona before switching planes and taking yet ANOTHER (and much longer) flight to Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was then a two-hour drive home, at which I passed out upon arrival sometime around 1 a.m. **

**Semi-related: I love those conveyer belts that you walk on in airports that help you get around faster. Walking on that shit made me feel like _SONIC THE HEDGEHOG._ It was subtly badass. **

**The only souvenir I brought back was an issue of the _New 52 TEEN TITANS_ that I got at _Universal Studios_ (Because you can by comics there, apparently). Also, A GODDAMN SUNBURN.**

**MY SKIN IS COMING OFF ASDLKGHASLDKHGALDSKGHALKH!**

**Eh, so anyways, this is what my brain barfed up after about ten days of not writing. I think I need to get back into the gist of things, so please bear with me! **

**I missed you so much, my duckies! I will continue to post more DLTD, and hopefully, It'll make some goddamn sense~!**

**Oh! And I was rereading one of the latest chapters, and noticed a mistake! In chapter 230 (I think?) Preston said something like _"...And you're only sixteen?"_ when talking to Kris about his Juijitsu. According to the DLTD timestream, Kris is actually _SEVENTEEN,_ not sixteen. My bad.**

**BECAUSE I STARTED THIS BEFOre I LEFT: DLTD Trivia: Audrey Edition**

**Audrey's mother is actually Asian, making him half. He is one of two members of the sensational seven who are biracial.  
**

**He's ambidextrous.**

**When he's at home, he wears his glasses, and doesn't wear his hat. You can actually see his suffers from chronic hat-hair...  
**

**He actually gets along very well with his step-father, Mister Baines, as the man has been in Audrey's life for as far back as he can remember.**

**His surname, "Baines", literally means "Bones", which was completely intentional. **

**"Audrey" is actually a girl's name, but it suited him so well, that I couldn't bear to change it.**

**Until the next chapter, my beloved little duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET WE BE BACK MUTHAFUCKAS  
**_

_Question: **"Question for Alois: How perverted is Ciel when he gets that way? Question for Ciel: Same question to you but with Alois?" by sebastianthedemonbutler**  
_

_Answer by Ciel:"When he's at his worst, he's only slightly more perverse as he was when we first met..." _

_Answer by Alois:"It's still kind of odd to see him act perverted. Pleasant, but odd. Sometimes, he'll just crack a joke or two, but whenever he does it, you can never seem to counter due to their cleverness. It's like he thinks five steps ahead, when it comes to arguing. If you must know, when he's at his** absolute worst,** we're usually naked, obviously." _

_00000000000000000000_

_Question: **"To the seven, especially Ciel and Alois: how did you react to Sebastian coming that close to being defeated? Also: Sebby! You're so awesome!" bu CiaranMichealis**_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I must say that I was shocked, and a little worried. After the fact, however, I've** finally** found something to mock him for." _

_Alois' Answer:__"That was pretty scary, actually! When Sebastian was almost beaten, I really didn't think we could've won!" _

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Honestly, it was kind of scary. I didn't think that was even possible!"  
_

_Audrey's Answer:__"I thought that if we didn't do something, anything to help, we would all be totally screwed. So I shot the angel, and that's why I'm probably going to hell!" ***laughs***  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"I can't remember what I thought. I think I was just internally screaming the word 'fuck' over and over again."  
_

_Preston's Answer:__"I was scared that we were all gonna die! Sebastian was the only thing between us and that murderous angel!"  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"I was scared for many reasons. I was scared for myself, and for my friends, since Sebastian was the only one protecting us from that angel. Same for Ciel and Alois. If the angel joined their fight, they would have died as well. I was also really scared that Sebastian himself was going to die. I'm really glad he's alright. He's a good guy."  
_

_00000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Daniel, sweet, sweet Daniel, You walk in on Kris nude and masturbating, what's your reaction? Kris, How do you react? by Freehugs101**_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"First of all, who the hell does that without locking the door? NOBODY. Secondly, who the hell completely strips down to do that? NOBODY. Thirdly, who the hell does that while their friends are over? NOBODY.  
_

_On the hypothetical event that I were a complete **idiot** who did any of those three things, I'm not going to give an accurate answer on that, because I don't even want to imagine that scenario. DON'T EVEN MAKE ME IMAGINE THAT SCENARIO. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?"_

_Daniel's Answer:__"ASLDKGHALSDKGHALKDHGLADKJGADKhgALLKASDHGLKAHDLGKA H!" ***DIES***_

_00000000000000000000000_

_Question: __**"**_**_Daniel, just because I believe you would have the best reaction, I want you to read an M rated fanfiction between- wait for it- Spongebob and Squidward! Wahahaha! Your reaction?" by Leilathegreat_**

_Daniel's Answer: "NOPE, NOPE, NOPE. NOT DOING IT. NO WAY. FUCK YOU. FUCK THESE QUESTIONS. FUCK NO. FUCK, FUCKITY, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK. I'M OUT, WANKERS."_


	236. Out And About

It was an abnormally quiet weekend at Phantomhive manor. No one was shouting, or running throughout the hallways. There were no meetings to attend, murders to solve, or terrorists to catch. Yes, it was a relatively peaceful weekend for the Phantomhive household, and as such, was the perfect opportunity fro the bluenette to launch a plan that he had been plotting for quite some time, but hadn't the opportunity to do so.

Ciel walked through the hallways with purpose, treading the path from his office to the room of the blonde menace. As per usual, he didn't bother knocking, mildly startling the Trancy boy for a split second before the lad realized it was just the bluenette being his usual, "_I am the man of the house"_ self. When he turned to face the Phantomhive boy, however, he found himself being attacked by a jacket.

"Get ready. We're going to be leaving in a little bit." Ciel stated plainly after throwing the blonde's jacket.

_ "Leaving?" _Alois echoed, tilting his head slightly. "_For where?"_

_ "Just for an outing_." the bluenette said, turning on his heel before walking back toward the door. "We'll be taking _a taxi,_ and it will be here in a few minutes..."

"Is this your way of _asking me out on a date?" _the fair-haired demon asked, smiling when the other lad suddenly froze. He turned his head ever-so slightly; not even enough for the blonde menace to be able to see his eye. Alois' grin never wavered, however, as he could see the bluenette's ears turning red. He could only imagine the embarrassed look on the other boy's face at that moment.

"..._Maybe..." _Ciel replied, turning his head to face the door again, in an attempt to ignore the giggling that the blonde on the other side of the room was emitting.

_"I'll be down as soon as possible, then!"_

Alois was absolutely giddy, even as the bluenette silently crept out of the room, knowing that the usually certain Phantomhive boy was dreadfully embarrassed. It was embarrassment that he couldn't escape, even as he walked down the stairs into the foyer to wait on his blonde beau. It was there that he came across an all-too-familiar face.

With a small, almost inaudible grunt, Sebastian stood up from his crouching position near the stairs as he polished the wooden railing. He offered his young master a smile as greeting as the bluenette aproached. He looked the lad over, noting his appearance was not that he took when simply hanging around the house. Instead, the lad's wardrobe gave the man clad in black the correct assumption that he was going out.

"Is there somewhere that you wish to go, my lord?" asked the man, chuckling at the bluenette when the boy arched an eyebrow in response. "You're dressed for going out on the town, aren't you?"

"Just to the museum." replied Ciel, continuing to make his way down the steps while maintaining his previous pace. "You don't need to drive. We'll just take a Taxi."

"Oh, so it's _a date_, is it?" the man teased, giving his signature sly grin. "It's no trouble at all for me to drive, my lord."

"You should be _recovering." _the lad said quickly. "Besides, we wouldn't want you _slowing us down_ all day."

A smile tugged at his lips as he witnessed the butler's eyebrow slightly twitch in annoyance. It absolutely tickled the bluenette to finally have a way to thoroughly bother the butler after all of these years. It relieved him somewhat, to know that the man had limitations, even if that meant not having an "_invincible"_ pawn at his disposal. Sebastian kept up his usual facade, continuing to smile even though he was irritated.

"Very well, young master." he said as the boy passed him on the stairs. He then proceeded to crouch down once more and resume his previous actions, fulfilling the chore of maintaining the manor's magnificent appearance. He looked up again when the bluenette called for his attention once more.

"Oh, but if you're so desperate to get out of the house for a little bit, you can take Luka to the zoo." Ciel said, turning to smirk at the man. "That is, _only if you feel up to it."_

"_Consider it done." _Sebastian replied, doing his best to ignore the lad's mocking expression. Shortly after, the bluentte left, leaving the butler to his chores.

Moments later, he heard the thunderous _thumping _of the blonde menace excitedly making his way down the stairs. He didn't even have to look up to know it was Alois. It was obvious. Not to mention that the lad confirmed this suspicion on his own upon opening his mouth.

"So, what's on the agenda for the day?" he asked, latching onto the Phantomhive lad's arm once they were out the door.

"I was thinking that we should have lunch, and then make our way to _the British Museum." _replied Ciel, simply allowing the blonde to cling to him like some sort of baby koala.

"Ooh! So we can actually_ look around _this time?" Alois jokingly asked, recalling his first time at the museum during the whole _"Simon Says_" escapade.

"Yes. There will be no _serial bombers _involved." the bluenette answered with a slight smile, recalling how he had to nearly tear the blonde menace away from exhibits, as they were short on time, trying to solve Simon's ridiculous riddles and save Preston.

It was odd that the blonde held interest in historic artifacts, while simultaneously not at all. He had missed many things in his absence, including many historic events and ancient discoveries unknown to the people of Victorian era of England. So much had changed. So much had happened; things that were thought impossible, such as two world-wars and ground-breaking advancements in technology. The evolution of machinery was remarkable, considering that just past the demonic duo's seemingly "final" encounter_ the bicycle _was considered a world-changing mode of transportation, changing warfare and personal transportation as everyone knew it.

Alois also found himself looking forward to setting his eyes upon the artifacts from _before_ his time, described to him by the bluenette on the taxi ride to the restaurant. Armour from the gladiators of ancient Rome, mummies from old Egypt, statues and sculptures from Mesopotamia and ancient Greece, weaponry of steel and bronze, religious relics of gold, paintings on everything from parchment to stone, all spanning thousands of years of human history, and he knew nothing of them.

To suddenly gain access to such knowledge and sights to one who a "proper" education by modern standards was virtually unobtainable was an amazing thing. _Of course_ Alois was excited. He was excited to see things that mere mortals from his era never could, and he was excited because Ciel seemed uncharacteristically lively as well while describing these things to the blonde menace.

The duo continued to talk and joke with one another even as they entered the restaurant seemingly without a care in the world. It was entirely uncommon for them to be able to go out and have a good time for the simple matter that there always seems to be some serial killer, or some mad bomber threatening the city. No meetings to attend, drug or prostitution rings to bust, or assassins who want them dead, or some supernatural force that also wants them dead, today. Instead, they were blessed with a rare day of peace from all of this that day. It was a most welcome and highly pleasant change of pace.

Yes, it would appear that there was nothing to interrupt the demonic duo, that is, until they passed a certain lad on the street. The boy did a double-take, suddenly noticing the two boys who were far too deep in their own conversation to notice him as he walked along, hardly paying attention, himself. He watched them for a moment as they talked and laughed, noting the unusual, more relaxed air about them. When he saw the demonic duo walk into the restaurant, hand-in-hand, he smiled and reached into his pocket, digging out his cellphone before scrolling through the contacts. Finally, he selected the name of the person he wanted to call, and placed the handheld device up to his ear, pausing to listen to it ring for a moment before the person on the other end picked up.

"_Hello?" _a familiar voice answered, snapping the first lad back to his senses.

"Hey, _Kris?_ It's _Dan_." the son of a politician greeted, his smile audible to the pink-loving Miles boy. "You'll never guess who I just saw on the street acting all _lovey-dovey~!"_

"Why do _I_ need to be informed about your _stalking habits?"_ Kristopherson asked in a snide tone.

_ "Very funny, Miles_..." Daniel answered, his words dripping with sarcasm. "It was well disturbing, though! Ciel was _laughing! And flirting!"_

"Wait, wait, wait, _Ciel? _Are you _sure _it was him?"

_ "Positive._ He was wearing an eye-patch, and had _Alois hanging all over him_.It's _definitely _Ciel."

"So you found them on a date?" Kristopherson asked in order to clarify what the son of a politician was saying. "Why's that weird?"

Daniel answered with a question of his own. "Have you _seen_ Phantomhive?" he asked into the phone. "I always figured that the cyclops had the _romantic capabilities of a gargoyle!"_

"Well, then maybe it's not a date. Maybe they're just out _shopping _together."

"People who are out _just _out shopping don't have that _aura_ about them..."

"_What in blazes are you talking about, Westley?"_

"They have _the aura!" _Daniel loudly declared, causing Kristopherson to briefly move the phone away from his ear while the lad shouted. "You know,_ that sort of atmosphere that every romantic-comedy couple has when they're being flirty!"_

"How would you even_ know _that?"

_"I have a little sister. 'Nuff said_. Now, get your ass down here! You _need _to see this!" Daniel said. "I'm gonna call the guys and get them to come too!"

"So... You want us to _stalk_ Phantomhive and Trancy?" asked the boy in pink.

"We're all friends. _It doesn't count."_

And with that, he hung up.

* * *

**A/N: There is no possible way that this will end well... **

**Why does Daniel call Kristopherson first thing? BECAUSE THEY'RE BROS. **

**Oh man, I'm just giving DanXKris fans more to work with! I really don't do that on purpose. I honestly didn't see the possibility of Daniel being gay until readers started pointing it out to me. His perceived "gayness" was completely unintentional. I don't know if he is or not, yet. **

**So, the ships are still free game. It's basically, whoever provides to me the most legit evidence and reasoning based on what I've written so far, and is able to sway me with that, wins. **

**Admittedly, I do have ships that I kind of lean toward, but haven't decided on. I just can't tell you what they are, because that'd be giving spoilers~!**

**Speaking of that weird-ass Westley kid...  
**

**DLTD Trivia: Daniel Edition**

**Like Kristopherson, Daniel isn't an only child. While Kristopherson has Anastasia, who is a year older than him, Daniel has a 25 year-old brother named "Nathan", and a 13 year-old sister named "Samantha". _He doesn't really get along with either of them._  
**

**Daniel is the only member of the Sensational Seven who is left-handed, and the only one with dimples.**

**He has a nut allergy, and that's _not a euphemism for something._**

**His eyes are supposed to be green, but on more than one occasion, they've accidentally been coloured brown. Oops...**

**Originally, Daniel was supposed to be the "painfully ordinary one" of the seven, which is why his design is somewhat simple. That is also why his name is "Daniel", chosen specifically because it's a name that you could hear anywhere. His concept was then changed to be that of a somewhat stereotypical teenage boy. He has also been somewhat based on _Stephen Colbert's_ on-screen persona on _The Colbert Report_. As for what his makeup is now, I have no idea. Daniel is just... _Daniel..._**

**Oh, and I also got a question...**

**_"How long does it take you to type up a chapter?" by Honeycloud Of RiverClan  
_**

**Depends. _How distracted am I?_ It can take anywhere from an hour, to five, maybe more. It all depends on how distracted I get while typing. Unfortunately, I usually have the internet open while doing so, so distraction is imminent. **

**Oh! And as for questions, I remembered getting more, BUT THEY'VE BEEN BURIED UNDER COMMENTS I GOT WHILE I WAS GONE! I can't find them! If you asked a question while I was in L.A., and I haven't answered it yet: I'm sorry... I lost it... I tried to find them, I really did...**

**_Anyways..._Until the next chapter, my duckies~!  
**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"To Daniel: You do realize being gay doesn't have to mean you want anything to do with another guy's junk. IT CAN BE FLUFFY. To Luka: What was your reaction when Ciel, Alois and Sebastian came home after the battle? And WHY ARE YOU SO FREAKING ADORABLE?! Sweetie, you've got to be one of the cutest..." by CiaranMichealis**  
_

_Daniel's Answer:"I don't care! That's still part of it! I don't wanna **cuddle** a bloke, either! Don't tell me about 'feelings' and shit, either! I DON'T WANT FEELINGS. FEELINGS ARE FOR GIRLS."  
_

_Luka's Answer:"I'm 'ah-door-able'? Anyways, I was real scared when I saw Sebastian! He was in real bad shape! We had to call Doctor Ackerman and everything! He's doing better, though, so that's good. I'm gonna do my best to help him out while he gets better! This is no time for Pokemon!" _


	237. Fancy Meeting You Here

"So tell me..." began Audrey, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as he leaned up against the door of the taxi, his cheek pressed up against the window. "..._Why_, exactly, are we doing this again?"

"I don't know, but next time,_ I call the front seat!" _answered Preston, unable to move his arms.

The rest of the poor sensational seven had somehow been convinced to meet Daniel at his last recorded location, and were now crammed in a taxi cab as they pursued the demonic duo. Audrey sat on one side of the backseat, while Travis sat on the other. Daniel and Preston were crammed in between them, while Kristopherson sat in the front passenger seat, keeping a watchful eye on the demonic duo's taxi, and pointing out which way the driver needed to turn in order to follow it.

"We're following Phantomhive an Trancy on their date, duh!" said Daniel, clarifying the situation to the others for what felt like the millionth time. "C'mon, haven't you ever wondered what they're like when they're _alone together?"_

"Most of us _aren't perverse enough to think about that, _Daniel." said Audrey, jabbing the politician's son in the side with his elbow in order to relieve the temporary claustrophobia he was getting from the others being that close.

"You should _respect people's privacy_, Daniel." added Travis.

_ "Not like that!" _barked the Westley boy, causing the other's ears to hurt. "I mean like, _'lovey-dovey' _and stuff."

"_Why would you wanna see that?" _asked Preston. Daniel answered with a question of his own.

"Think about it. Have you _ever_ seen_ Ciel _act like that?" he said, moving his eyes instead of his head in order to look at the others. "He's always as cold as ice! Don't you want to see if he can show some _emotion?"_

"So... You're recruiting us to help you get _blackmail material?"_ asked Preston.

"_Naturally."_

Suddenly the Taxi made a sharp turn, causing the lad's in the backseat to sway with the vehicle, crushing each other. Audrey had it the worst, since they all were sent toward his end of the vehicle. The _backseat boys_ Let out a collective grunt in both pain and surprise as the wind was squeezed out of all of them, but Travis, who was on the end opposite of Audrey.

"The bloody heel was that!?" demanded the Westley boy, rubbing his side after the vehicle straightened out again. Kristopherson looked back at the others from his front seat position.

"Sorry," said the pink-loving lad, "But I think I figured out were they're going. We're taking a shortcut."

"Where are they going?" asked Travis.

"Think about it: If you were Ciel, and you were planning a date, _where would you go?" _Kristopherson paused as he allowed the others to dwell on that thought for a moment. As if rehearsed, they all spoke in unison as they found the answer.

"_The museum."_ they said, knowing the bluenette's personality.

Speaking of the Phantomhive lad, let out a sigh at that moment, noticing that the cab that had been tailing them had turned off. _He could have sworn he saw the five semi-normal lads in it. _He sunk down in his seat, somewhat, relieved as he felt a hand on his.

"What is it?" asked the blonde, noticing the other boy's mannerisms.

"_Nothing." _Ciel replied, turning his gaze to the Trancy. _"I just thought I saw something. _I think I really needed this day off."

"Uh-oh, you're _seeing things_?" the blonde asked jokingly.

"Could be, but then again, _it's kind of hard to see with this eye-patch, sometimes_." the bluenette answered in a similar manner.

They soon arrived at their destination, and exited the vehicle after paying the driver. Then, they walked up the steps of the _Parthenon-looking _building, or rather, Ciel walked while Alois practically _skipped_. His excitement was almost infectious, as the bluenette even seemed livelier about the whole venture. He chuckled at the blonde looking around the building's interior, gawking at the architecture before finally at the actual exhibits. Alois had simply never been inside a building quite like that one before.

_ "It's like a palace!" _he absent-mindedly commented, taking in the sights of the large, open rooms with massive columns holding up the ceiling. It was so tall, that even if all of the sensational seven stood on top of each other's shoulders, they would never even begin to come close to touching it. Throughout the complex, treasures from all parts of the past littered, attracting attention. It was all there, just as the bluenette had told him.

"I believe that most palaces don't have_ mummies _in them." the Phantomhive lad said in response, allowing himself to be tugged along by the other boy.

"That's a_ good thing_." replied the blonde. "If they were in palaces, no one else would be able to see them!" He pouted when the bluenette gently nudged him away from placing his hands on the glass cases.

_ "They get mad when you do that." _Ciel warned.

"Who does? _The mummies?"_

"No, _security does_."

It was at that moment that the blonde menace finally noticed in somehow inconspicuous guards stationed around the area. Most of them were looking at him disapprovingly. With a frown, Alois simply stuck his tongue out at them tauntingly. It had been a while since the bluenette had last seen the other boy act so childish. He had almost forgotten how _cute_ he thought it was.

_ "Jesus Christ!"_ the blonde shouted suddenly, snapping Ciel from his ponderings.

Quickly, the bluenette looked up, and followed the other lad's index finger in order to find out what it was that was so distressing. He furrowed his brow and rolled his eye, causing the blonde to grin at his trick. Alois had simply found _a painting _of the biblical figure.

"Oh! _That was a good one, Trancy!" _called a familiar voice, alerting the demonic duo's attention. There in front of them stood a bot about the age that they appeared to be, with dark, hair of an odd greenish tint that framed his face in the front, and stopped halfway down his neck in the back. He offered a friendly smile to the other lads. "I didn't expect to come across you two here~!"

_ "Lawrence?" _asked Ciel. Neither of the lads had seen the boy in a long while, and it was odd to see him in a public place out of the blue. "_What are you doing here?"_

"Getting _inspired_, of course!" the eccentric actor said in a dramatic manner. It seemed as though flowers had appeared out of nowhere, when he did. "_Devil Butler_ is over, so I'm looking for work. I've gotten several offers to be in a few films, but all of them are set in different time periods that I'm not too familiar with, and what better way to learn about them than at a museum? So, _here I am!"_

"What time periods are those?" asked Alois, tilting his head.

"Well, one of them is called _'Code: Zero', _and is set in this sort of _futuristic setting_, and the other one is called _'Attack Of The Titans', _and is set in _medieval Germany_; I have an audition for that one _tomorrow_." Lawrence replied. Both titles sounded_ far too serious _for the actor, but then again, _pretending to be something you're not _is what_ acting _is all about, isn't it? "So, what brings _you two_ here?"

"Oh, wait, is it _a date?" _he asked after being answered with an awkward silence. "It _is _a date, isn't it? _Whoops_, so sorry for interrupting! I'll just leave you two to it, then!_ See at school on Monday~!"_ Just as quickly as he appeared, he vanished after waving goodbye, leaving the demonic duo puzzled as to what was the point of that whole exchange. Little did they know, however, about the shady bunch that lurked in the nearby shadows.

"_Dammit, Lawrence!" _said Daniel, his voice hushed so that the demons might not hear. "_You ruined the atmosphere!"_

"_Why are you mad about that?" _asked Audrey. _"It's not like they were doing anything interesting._

"_Besides, aren't you a fan of his movies?"_ added Preston, causing the politician's son to flinch. The other's simply tilted their head at Daniel's behaviour.

"_Dan accidentally found 'Devil Butler' fanfiction on the internet, and can't look Lawrence in the eye ever since." _clarified Kristopherson. The other's simply looked at the Westley lad sympathetically before Audrey finally said:

_ "You poor thing..."_

_ "SHUT UP!"_

* * *

**A/N: We just got LAWRENCE'd!  
**

**Yeah, I dunno why I did that... I guess I just missed Lawrence.**

**And then, _Code: Geass_ and _Attack On Titan_ references... **

**Here's MY question for you guys:**

_**So, if Lawrence gets a part in one of those rip-offs, which would you rather it be?**_

**None of the characters are aware that they are in a fanfiction based on an anime, and most of them don't watch anime, so I can get away with that shet.**

**THAT'S JUST HOW I ROLL.**

**Ah, I didn't update yesterday. I just couldn't find my words. That vacation has got me actin' all wonky for some reason...**

**Also,**

**DLTD Trivia Time: Preston Edition**

**Preston is one of the two only members of the Seven Sins who is biracial, the other being _Audrey._ Preston looks more like his mother, who is Indian, but his father is actually _Iranian._ That's why his surname, _"Omid"_ is Persian, not Indian. It is his _mother_ who owns the Technology company, otherwise known as _"SOMA Electronics"._ "Soma", being her maiden name. **

**Preston is afraid of heights, and is the only member of the Seven who has never ridden on the _London Eye._**

**It has been noted that he is quite good at Ping-Pong.**

**He gets along with Audrey and Ciel very well because of their similar interests in science fiction, and he also gets along well with Travis, because Travis is very laid back like the other two. He sometimes butts heads with Daniel, Kristopherson, and Alois because they are the more flamboyant, and overall "wilder" members of the group, but still thinks they're fun to have around, because of it. **

**He hangs out with Audrey and Travis often, even outside of school.**

**Preston was named "Preston", because it supposedly sounded "very British", also after the canine villain in "Wallace and Gromit in: A Close Shave".  
**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question(s): **"To Luka: 'Adorable' means really cute sweetie. Anyway, what do you do while Ciel and Alois are at school? Do you think you'll get to go to school? To Alois: Have you ever watched Hetalia? To Ciel: Lizzie comes back as an angel and says she still loves you. Reaction?"** by CiaranMichealis_

_Ciel's Answer:"Why does the universe seem to hate me?"_

_Alois' Answer:"Yeah, I saw a few episodes on Netflix. Britain looks** familiar,** somehow, and France SOUNDS familiar..."  
_

_Luka's Answer:"I do all sorts of things! I get lessons from Sebastian, and Ciel said that if I do well, I should be able to start school next year! I wonder what it'll be like... Oh! I also help Sebastian around the house and stuff, and sometimes we'll go into town on errands! I like playing with the buggies at the market. It's real fun! He'll also colour with me, too, sometimes. He really likes to use the black crayon. I wish I could just get a whole box of those just for him."  
_

_0000000000000000_

_Question: __**"Question for Luka: Besides Alois and Ciel, who of the seven do you like best and why? Also can I hug you? You are ADORABLE! Why must you be so kawaii?!"** by Emipandachan_

_Luka's Answer:"Big brother says I'm not supposed to hug strangers, but I'll give you a hand hug! You just take opposite hands, and put them together like you're giving someone a high-five, and then you wrap your thumb around the other person's hand. See? A hand-hug! Jim taught me, so if you ever feel awkward with a normal hug, you can use a hand hug!  
_

_Travis is real fun to play with. When we were at the beach, we went looking for seashells and found a whole bunch! He also told me all kinds of things about animals. Like, there's this lizard called a camel-lion, that can change colours to blend in with it's environment and stuff!_

_I dunno what 'Kah-wah-ee-ee', means..."_


	238. Pleasant Memories

It was a rare day where the Phantomhive lad had no meetings to attend, no missions to carry out, and no cases to solve, yet for some strange reason, he was finding it difficult to enjoy himself to the fullest. He found himself distracted every now and again by the sinking feeling that he was being _watched. _It didn't feel like a_ threatening _sort of presence, but it kept following the demonic duo, and had been for most of the day. He could just sense it.

_ "Maybe I really am going crazy..."_ he thought, rubbing his forehead while the blonde menace was oddly reading the plaques next to the various exhibits for clarification on what they were.

"Hey, _hey,_ _Ciel!" _he called, snapping the bluenette from his thoughts. _"What's this word?"_ Ciel walked over to the blonde, leaning closer in order to see the plaque better.

"Which word are you talking abou-" The blonde cut him off with a quick peck on the lips, startling Ciel a bit. He blinked a few times, looking at the giggling, grinning boy in front of him.

_ "I lied." _Alois said simply, causing the bluenette to blush.

"If you wanted a kiss, you could have just _said so..." _the Phantomhive answered, trying to maintain his dignified manner in a moment of slight embarrassment. They were in public, after all. He rolled his visible eye as his companion continued to speak, making hand-gestures.

"But surprises can be so much more _fun, _sometimes! Besides, you're _cute_ when you're surprised."

"I'm not _'cute'_..."

"Oh, yes you are. _Very_ cute. In fact, I'd say that you're the_ cutest little Satan ever!"_ Alois playfully argued, latching onto the bluenette's arm and leaning on his shoulder. _"But that's just my honest, if not somewhat biased, opinion."_

Suddenly, the Phantomhive boy's face felt somewhat warmer from hearing that statement. With a sigh, he looked away before giving the blonde a simple "Whatever", causing the other boy to giggle his usual, girlish giggle. Little did he know of the odd individuals who were shadowing them. The rest of the Sensational Seven were beginning to become bored.

"So, instead of seeing Ciel act, in _Daniel-terms_, _'lovey-dovey',_ we've seen him act like _Kristopherson _instead." Audrey began, his tone patronizing. "Yep, this venture was_ totally _worth it."

_"I don't act like that." _the pink-loving lad said defensively.

"How was _I_ supposed to know that _Lawrence_ would be here? He's totally _cautious_ now! He's not going to act flirty if he _thinks someone's watching!" _argued the son-of-a-politician.

"We _are_ watching..." spoke Preston.

_ "That's beside the point..." _Daniel answered.

"So, what _is _the point, Dan?" asked Kristopherson.

"The point is, he's acting _like a Kristopherson_, and it's not_ my fault!"_

"I _don't _act like that!"

"I bet _Cameron_ would know, huh?" teased Audrey, causing simultaneous "_oohs"_ to be uttered by the other lads.

"_Sod off, Audrey."_ Krisopherson snapped.

"I bet you did whenever_ he _tried to kiss you~!" Daniel jested, nudging the pink-loving lad in the arm with his elbow. Kristopherson, in response, furrowed his brow with a frown as his cheeks turned pink.

"We_ never _kissed, _dumbass." _he said, his tone more than just mildly annoyed.

"No way!" Daniel began before suddenly pausing as he noticed something strange. "Hey... Did it suddenly just get _colder_ in here, to anybody else?"

The other boy's nodded, before the colour faded from their faces. They're eyes focused on the area behind Daniel. He felt his stomach drop as he felt an_ evil force _behind him, sending the group waves of malice. When he turned his head to see what it was, he saw the most frightening thing that he had seen in a while. _Ciel had seen them_, and the face he was making could send chills down the spin of The Devil, himself. All they could do was smile nervously and wave, before turing to leave as casually as their nerves would allow them.

"Whoa,_ that's _a new face..." Alois stated, looking at the bluenette, gaining his attention. His smile was almost cat-like when Ciel faced him, feeling both amused and some other unknown feeling that could only be compared to the rush that someone gets when faced with a somewhat dangerous situation. "Do I even want to know?"

Ciel took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. "No._ No, you don't_."

"_I can already guess..." _the blonde said. "What a bunch of creeps. Let's be sure to diss them at school, later."

"Sounds like a plan." replied the bluenette, looking down at his watch. It was now starting to get a tad late. "We should hurry._ There's one more place that I wanted to take you, today."_

"Alright. Where's that?" asked Alois.

"_It's a surprise_." His companion answered with a small, yet coy, smile. It was one that made butterflies stir in the pit of the blonde's stomach. Little did he know, however, that he would soon be in a place that brought back memories.

The sky above London was cloak that shrouded the city, the lights radiating from the many buildings making stars invisible, lost within it's blueish-black weaving. The lights themselves reflected off of the taxi windows, the many shades of yellow, red, blue, green, and all the colours in between, along with white, whizzing by as the lads traversed through town, and across one of the many bridges over the Thames toward their destination. It never ceased to amaze Alois, this modern city. No matter how much time had passed, he never could get over the initial spectacle of it all. To him, it was beautiful, even with all of the ugliness he and the bluenette found hidden within it's darkest streets._ It was amazing what time could do to something he had thought he knew so well. _

He was torn from his mesmerization as the cab lulled to a stop, indicating the journey's end. He looked at the bluenette briefly, who only smiled at him briefly before stepping out of the vehicle, the blonde soon following after. Immediately, it slowly sank in as to where he was. It was a park that he recognized-, a famous one. He looked up and smiled as he remembered, seeing the tall structure before him.

_The London Eye._

Hand-in-hand, the demonic duo ventured toward it before climbing into the capsule and ascending into the sky. Just as the city was a sight to behold from the ground, the sight from above never got old either. The buildings were now so far away, their many lights glittering and standing out against the darkness, all collecting together to put on a wonderful display. The people on the ground got smaller and smaller, eventually looking like miniatures before becoming mere specks on the well-lit ground. Boats of all sizes sailed the Thames river, but were all so small that it looked as though you could pick them up and balance them in your palm, or crush them with a gentle squeeze.

_ "Beautiful..."_ the blonde absent-mindedly whispered, his free hand placed against the glass as he looked out. He looked over at the bluenette, smiling so wide that his cheeks hurt. This was such a familiar setting, one that both boys remembered well.

"_I love you." _Alois said, wrapping his arms around the bluenette and resting his head on the other boy's shoulder. With a gentle smile, Ciel returned the gesture.

"_I love you, too."_

* * *

**A/N: Does this fluff please ye, duckies? **

**More later. Dunno how soon. Just..._ later._**

**Oh, and remember when I mentioned that Daniel had siblings? Pictures of them on my deviantart. Just sayin'.**

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! FANFICEPTION ALERT!  
**

**There's a new fanfiception of dis fic, called _"Saftey Issues"_, and it's by CiaranMichealis, so you can check that out~!**

**Here's a link (IF IT SHOWS UP ASLDKGHALSKDHG DAMMIT, FANFICTIONNNNNN!):**

** s/9489372/1/Safety-Issues**

**Yup~! The fact that anyone would even consider making a fanfiception of my fic makes me feel all tingly inside~! (Ego boost, much? HateWeasel, you asswipe.)**

_**The parenthesis are being mean to me...**_

**Several of you have asked for permission to write some, and the answer is always "YUS". My only condition is that you tell me where to find it, so that I can read it! I'll also post a link on here!**

**Anyone think it would be weird if there became a DLTD section for fanfics? Like, the names of OCs would become options and stuff? Website idea! ! OHMAGAW!**

**Anyways:**

**DLTD Triva: Travis Edition**

**While Travis doesn't talk much in a group, one-on-one, he's quite chatty.  
**

**He has several pets. A golden retriever named "Midas", a tabby-cat named "Sylvester", several rabbits, a duck named "Mercutio", and a fish called "Wanda". Obviously, he likes animals, and as such, volunteers at the local animal shelter. He has run into Sebastian several times there on cat-adoption-day, and gets along well with him.**

**His father, a professional wrestler, is not allowed near the rabbits because he frightens is also quite fond of the outdoors in general, like his mother, and is a member of the Warwick Academy Gardening Club.  
**

**He, like Preston and Ciel, can play an instrument. While the other two play the violin, he can play the piano.**

**He's the only member of the seven to have "attached" earlobes. **

**While most people find him similar to _Mori_ from _Ouran High School Host Club_, he is actually loosely based on _Sakaki,_ a character from _Azumanga Daioh_.**

**Of every character in DLTD, Travis' design has changed the most, and continues to do so. **

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"So Daniel, I have a question for you. How were those fanfics?"** by SisterOfScarletDevil  
_

_Daniel's Answer:"I HATE THE INTERNET."_

_000000000000000000_

_Question: **"To Ciel, Alois, and Sir Arthur Kirkland: what would you do if one day you walk into a HELLSING meeting and everyone has Arthur's caterpillar eyebrows?"** by IggyLikesToExplode_

_Ciel's Answer:_**_*SNORT*_**

_Alois'__ Answer:** *Giggles***_

_Arthur's Answer:__"THEY ARE NOT 'CATERPILLAR-EYBROWS'!"_

_000000000000000000_

_The Author's Notes were super-long, so the rest of the questions will be answered next time..._


	239. Jesus

London, England, the nation's capital and cultural hub, is home to many important people. Actors, remnants of old nobility, and among other things, politicians. Yes, unlike most of the members of the Sensational Seven, Daniel Westley lived in town, rather than on the city's outskirts in perhaps one of the city's more lavish apartment-buildings, but certainly not the most expensive one. After all, his parents did make the least amount of money as the other's.

It was large, certainly more so than anything the "commonwealth" could afford, as his father might put it, as the man didn't seem to understand what it was like to be "ordinary", in an economic sense. He wasn't an idiot, but he simply didn't comprehend things he had never seen himself, and opening his eyes to see them was difficult for him, as he was a somewhat conservative man, and his home was decorated accordingly. Yes, this was the home that Daniel lived in, with his father, mother, and younger sister, Samantha. At one time, his brother lived there with them, but he had moved out to attend the London Metropolitan University, a fact that Daniel didn't entirely mind, since the oldest child of the Westley household was perhaps his least favourite person to deal with on the face of the earth.

But, for the next few weeks, it was just he, and his sister, as their parents had left for their third honeymoon, or some nonsense of the sort. Now, the two didn't mind, but Daniel often had difficulty understanding his sister, as they didn't hold much in common. First of all, Samantha was a thirteen-year-old girl, while Daniel was a sixteen-year-old boy, and secondly, the girl was a bit of a bookworm, which Daniel was not. Top of her class, and well-read with a sharp wit, Samantha wasn't exactly Daniel's first choice for company, thus, the lad had sent for reinforcements.

He opened the door, immediately feeling a rush of relief at the sight of the rest of the Seven. The other lads were dressed in their usual out-of-school casual clothes, with backpacks containing more garments such as these attached to them, as they would be spending the night. Most of them wouldn't have agreed to do so had the Westley lad not _begged_. On the way over there, Travis had likened him to a rabbit, as the boy might die if he didn't receive enough attention. The others laughed at that comparison, and would have even if the boy in question was present.

"Welcome, welcome~! Daniel greeted, motioning for the others to enter in an overly dramatic manner. "Man, I'm glad to see you guys! I've been going crazy with nobody else around but that-, that-, that _thing!"_

"Your sister is not a _'thing', _Dan." said Kristopherson, "I imagine she's just like any other younger sibling."

"Aren't _you _a '_younger sibling'_, Kris?" asked Preston.

"Only by _one year.._."

"Your house is so_ plain_..." Alois said, vocalizing his thoughts, as per usual. "Did _not _expect that."

"_I_ didn't decorate the place, you know.." said the son of a politician.

"_Thank God..." _added Kristopherson.

_ "Quiet, queer." _snapped his ever-so _gracious_ host, shutting the front door. "So, what do you all wanna do? Play a game? Watch a movie? _Have Kris criticize your fashion sense?"_

"Ooh! If we're going to play a game, can it be a_ Nerf battle to the death?" _Alois jokingly asked, only to be answered by all of the others aside from the other demon in the room with a "_No" _in unison.

_ "You invite us over without a plan?"_ asked Ciel, unused to visits being so casual.

"Well, sorry for not being all stuffy, mister grumpy-trousers." the Westley lad said, waltzing into the living-room and plopping onto the couch.

"That reminds me," began Audrey, "does anyone else think that Ciel looks kind of like_ 'grumpy-cat'?"_

"Bones... That comparison_... It's beautiful!" _said Alois, inviting the bluenette to introduce his hand to his own forehead. "We could always play _'Truth or Dare'~!"_

"Hell no! I am _not_ leaving with a _pink stripe _in my hair _again!"_ protested Kristopherson.

"But that's the _fun _part!"

"A movie sounds alright." spoke Preston, attempting to provide a resolution.

"Already on it." answered Audrey, already examining the Westley's DVD collection. "_'She's The Man'? 'Miss Congeniality'? 'Chocolat'? 'Snowcake'?" _he listed off before turning to their host with a confused look on his face. "What's with all the _chick-flicks,_ mate?"

_ "Those _belong to my sister and _my mom_." Daniel said, crossing his arms. "The _good stuff _is a few shelves down." Heeding the lad's words, Bones crouched down slightly and skimmed through the movie titles on the spines of the boxes while Kristopherson felt slightly embarrassed internally for actually _owning _a few of those movies.

_ "'Shaun Of The Dead', 'Resident Evil', 'Se7en', 'Skyfall', 'Casino Royale', 'Kick-Ass'..."_ Audrey called, before his finger stopped on one box in particular. "_'Devil Butler'?"_

"Oh, yeah. That's the one _Lawrence_ is in, isn't it?" asked Preston. "Didn't he say they're not making a third one?"

"Yeah, but he says he's gotten offers for other movies, so I'm sure he'll be fine." Ciel replied.

"Has anyone else even seen it?" inquired Audrey. "I haven't."

"No, _Daniel's _the one who finds _'mentally scarring' fanfiction _of it." said Kristopherson.

"That was an _accident!" _protested Daniel. "_NEVER AGAIN." _

"So, _what's the plan, man?"_ asked the pink-loving Miles lad.

_ "I dunno, bro_. Bones, just throw in a movie." answered Daniel, gesturing to the reaper boy to do so.

"Okay. Who wants to see if Lawrence can act _serious_?" asked Audrey.

By now, the lads knew that the plot of the movie was roughly based in what was found in that diary that was found at Trancy manor and now resided somewhere in Kristopherson's possession. According to Daniel, who had watched the extra features on the DVD, the writer got the idea for the movie in "a book he found when he was running around in an abandoned house as a kid." He had left it there for the Sensational Seven to come across, so the movie was based off of what he could remember. Admittedly, the lads where at least a tad bit curious as to how someone else interpreted what the Seven had known as truth.

As such, that was the disc that went into the player, and the lads gathered around, some seated on the couch while others sat in the floor for what they thought was going to consist of mostly making fun of Lawrence's performance, Daniel's liking of the film, and the demonic duo fro having this supposed piece of rubbish based on them. It wasn't to be, however, as the movie actually started. Lawrence was oddly stoic, and almost _lifeless_ in the first scene, where he would summon the demon that would become his butler after several months of captivity. The actor was filthy, his eyes almost hollow and his face paled, and his movements imitating those of a nearly-starved person. The seven knew it wasn't real, but that didn't make their concern disappear.

The image of Lawrence, or his character in the film, _Cecil,_receiving his contract mark made the lad's skin crawl, especially those of the demonic duo, as it seemed so realistic. Apparently, Lawrence was actually a very good actor, and was able to convey things as if he really felt them himself. Supposedly, the role was difficult for him, however, as in the movie, a contract would eventually begin to cause the holder's body to deteriorate, and he had to spend most of the movie acting as though he were ill. Partway through the movie, he began to lose his sight in his remaining eye, and was blind by the end. He had to face his nemesis, _Alphonse Tracy_, while unable to see, and the boy was able to get away, leaving way for a sequel. The final scene was of Alphonse conversing with his own butler, _Claus,_ telling him how he wouldn't give up, even after Cecil had slammed a vase against his head, breaking it and giving him a small scar on his face, because of what his butler had done to _his brother_, a character not mentioned until then. It ended suddenly after that, leaving the viewers with questions to be answered in the sequel. When it was over, the lads simply looked at each other.

"It was surprisingly _not horrible_." said Ciel, being as positive as he could about the film. It was odd to see elements from his own life portrayed in such a drastically different manner.

"Yeah, I didn't see a lot of that coming." Alois added. "It's _similar,_ but it's not really us at all."

"Yes, Alphonse wasn't nearly _deranged_ enough to be _you _from back then."

"So I had a few _issues _to work out! That's pretty normal!"

"Alois, you_ gouged your maid's eye out..."_

"...And I _regret _my decision, Ciel. People change."

"I'm surprised that was actually _Lawrence_ playing Cecil!" said Preston, directing the subject elsewhere. "It didn't seem anything like him!"

"I guess there's just a ton that we don't know." answered Audrey. "It's pretty cool that he can do that, though. The whole tragedy of the whole thing was pretty cool, too."

_ "See?" _demanded Daniel, almost gloating. "I _told_ you it was good!"

"Oddly _high-brow _for you, Dan." said Kristopherson. "_Good job."_

"If there's something you want to say, Kris, why don't you just_ say it, _instead of _imply it?"_ Daniel retorted, shooting the Miles' lad a dirty look. His attention, however, shifted elsewhere in the room, as he saw movement. "Hey! Get out, _Sam!_ You're not _old enough _to be watching this stuff!"

Samantha Westley was, as mentioned earlier, the brains of the household, regardless of her young age, and was heading toward the kitchen with a book in hand. She had brown hair, in a shade similar to her brother's which was lighter that Kristopherson's when it wasn't bleached, and it was also parted to the right in a similar fashion, flowing downward before beginning to morph into curls before it ended just past her shoulders. Her eyes were green, just like Daniel's, but her chin was less square, and she lacked dimples. She was dressed neither effeminately, nor in a masculine manner, but rather quite androgynous, the most "girly" accessory on her person being her flower-shaped earrings. In response to her sibling's remark, she simply looked in his direction with a patronizing expression on her face.

"Well, you're not_ sophisticated enough _to _fully grasp everything there is to it_, so I don't see what the problem is." she said, causing the boys to snicker at their friend. "_You_ were the one who didn't understand why Cecil thought Alphonse was behind everything until _I _pointed it out to you."

_ "I did so!_ I was just _testing _you!" Daniel protested while somehow whining at the same time. "What are you doing, anyway? _Girls aren't allowed, here!"_

_ "I guess Alois should leave, then." _said Audrey, grinning as the blonde menace retaliated by giving him a rather mean look.

"So... I'm not allowed to go get_ juice _anymore?" asked the younger Westley.

"Just get your damn juice and leave this _den of manliness!"_ answered Daniel, earning the ridicule of the others. He frowned again when his sister silently walked into the kitchen as though she were ignoring him. Their parents had left him in charge, but as always, Samantha never took him seriously.

He opened his mouth to shout after her, but then he heard a sound that made his stomach drop. The jingling of keys being forced into the front doorknob, and whistling of a particular tune that he had come to hate over the years. Quickly, he got up and bolted for the door, leaping over the back of the couch with a certain degree of athleticism that the others were unaware he possessed.

_ "Fuck!"_ he shouted. "_Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!"_

"What is it?" asked Ciel, wondering what could possibly spark such a reaction from the lad.

"You won't find out, if you're _lucky!"_ Daniel shouted as he desperately tried to slide the latches on the door that were unable to be opened from the outside, which were usually only locked at night, but it was too late. The door swung open, knocking him flat on his behind. He looked up, growing increasingly agitated by the chuckling of the person in front of him.

The man was in his twenties, and wore a reddish-orange, short-sleeved flannel shirt over a white t-shirt, and a pair of black jeans. His hair was light-brown, and swept to the right, spiking upwards in the front, but leaning. His blue eyes were laughing, which was visible, even behind his glasses which frames were thick at the top, but thinned out at the bottom, and his smile was wide, dimples prominent as he laughed at the younger boy. This man was Daniel's most hated enemy, Nathan Westley. Before he could even begin to protest, Nathan was already inside, making a forcible removal impossible.

"Hey, _Danny,_ how's everything?" he asked the younger lad as he stood up. "Still hangin' out with that _queer kid?"_ While he may have been joking, he was still offensive, and the demonic duo had begun to understand why Daniel didn't want to let him in.

"Still acting like a _total twat,_ _Nat?"_ asked Daniel, furrowing his brow. "The bloody hell you want? Whouldn't you be, you know, _not here?"_

_"Mom and Dad told me to check up on you and Sam_." replied Nathan as he walked into the living room. "Oh! So you're friends are over, huh? What's up? I'm Nathan, Danny's big brother. Call me _'Nat'_, everybody does. ooh! Is that the liquor cabnet? They moved it since the last time I was over!"

"Isn't drinking around a bunch of eleventh-graders kind of _tacky?" _asked Daniel, trying to gain an edge on the situation. All the others could do was watch, as none of them were entirely sure how to handle the situation. The only ones who had ever met Nathan before were Travis and Kristopherson, and they didn't like the man, either. Even still, that didn't mean they knew how to deal with him.

"I _would _care, but_ I'm older than you_, so I _don't have to listen to you_." the oldest Westley said rummaging through th cabnet. "Damn, they have the expensive stuff.. Hey, any of you want some?"

"_GO. HOME. NAT."_

_ "Psh." _Nathan scoffed, ignoring the boy's orders. "Oh, c'mon, Danny. Don't be a puss. _A little bit never hurt anybody."_

"We're underage!"

"So? _I'm_ not gonna tell, so who's going to find out? Y'see, Danny? This is why you're not good with girls, it's because _they don't think you have any balls!"_

_ "Ahem,"_ interrupted Ciel, having heard quite enough. "Have you considered that Daniel just might not have _interest_ in alcohol?" he asked, earning a confused look from Nathan.

"You look like a pirate." he answered, spouting the first thing on his mind before turning to his brother. "He looks like a pirate." he smiled and turned back to the bluenette.

"Well, what about _you?" _he asked finally, gesturing to the Phantomhive boy with the bottle in his hand. "Let me guess, _Captain Morgan_, right?"

"I haven't been offered by the host, so I'm not inclined to ask. _It's rude_." Ciel said with a bored expression. "Personally, I'm not a fan. It smells far too strong for my tastes. I prefer wine."

"You drink?" asked Preston, his face somewhat shocked.

_ "Where I'm from, it's common,_ in moderation." replied the bluenette, referring to the time period he was from.

"_We have wine, too." _said Nathan, holding up another bottle.

"_NAT!"_

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but _Daniel's right._ It's kind of tacky to be drinking with a bunch of kids who're much younger than you." said Kristopherson, causing the oldest Westley to arch an eyebrow.

"Oh, _you're_ that _Miles _Kid." he said, squinting his eyes. _"I didn't recognize you because you didn't bleach your head."_ Kristopherson furrowed his eyebrows at the rather insensitive man, noting that he replaced the word "_queer" _with his surname after discovering his presence.

About half an hour later, the four of the Seven had given into the older Westley's pressuring and taunting, and had decided to try the wine, against their better judgement. Ciel and Alois, who were accustomed to sampling such a drink, knew when enough was enough, even though with their odd biology, it probably wouldn't have made any difference, and began to question whether the others were really fairing alright. Preston, Travis, and Audrey, paid absolutely no mind to Nathan's taunts, and were thus labeled "pansies", but didn't seem to give the slightest care about such an opinion, and continued to converse with the others, and even expressed some concern for Daniel and Kristopherson, as their speech had begun to slur. While the Miles lad liked to pretend that he was brighter than Daniel, and for the most part, was, he expressed the same amount of resentment for the older Westley as the younger did, and felt his ego become bruised with every sentence that Nathan spoke.

"You guys_, I think that's enough." _Ciel said finally, noting the other lad's cheeks reddening from the alcohol. "_You don't want to make fools of yourselves, do you?"_

"I didn't expect the _little ankle-biters_ to hold their liquor, anyway." Nathan said, hardly even tasting the drink anymore.

"_Sod off, Nat!" _Daniel said, consciously trying to articulate his words to hide his slight tipsiness. That said, he was doing much better than Kristopherson, who was starting to sway a bit from his upright, seated position in the floor.

"Look at him~!" Nathan teased, pushing up his glasses with his index and middle finger. "I guess gays really _don't _drink."

_ "That's the wrong stereotype_." Kristopherson said, his words sloppily strung together unintentionally. "_The stereotype is that we don't drink beer."_

"Even while _tipsy_, Kris is cynical as ever." Alois said with a small grin. "I was almost hoping that he would be acting much worse."

"Why would you want _that?"_ asked Audrey.

_ "Because it might be a laugh_." the blonde menace replied simply. "Y'know, rambling on and on about weird stuff and hangin' all over people, _like this_." he added, latching onto the bluenette in a playful manner.

_ "_Like_ hell _I would." spoke Kristopherson, attempting to sit up straight.

"Would you with _Cameron?"_ Daniel asked teasingly, grinning as he caused the pink-loving lad to frown.

"_Hell no."_ he answered plainly. "I don't even know what I saw in that guy._ The only thing we had in common was that we both like men."_

"_Aw, is Krissy upset?" _asked the younger Westley lad with a smile. "Do you want to talk about _feelings?"_

"Hey, _Danny_..." Nathan interrupted, his face serious all of a sudden.

_ "What?" _Daniel snapped.

_ "Are you a homo?"_

"_NO,_ and for your information, _Nat,_ I _have_ a _girlfriend."_ Daniel said objectively. For some reason, his tone reminded the others of a certain bluenette.

"Oh! Well _that's_ news!" the college student declared with a big grin. "So? Is she pretty? _You get lucky yet?"_

In that moment, a terrifying aura appeared around Kristopherson. He wanted to punch this guy off for talking about his sister like that. He wanted to punch this guy for insulting him, earlier. He wanted to punch this guy for so many reasons, yet he just couldn't find it in him to do so. He simply clenched his fist and sat there as he listened to the two brothers argue while his friends simply sat in the room awkwardly as they did so. Finally, one of them did something.

"_That's enough_." Audrey said, standing up and taking the bottle out of the college student's hand. "You're the older one, here._ You should be better than this_."

Nathan furrowed his brow and stood up, towering over the much smaller boy, and said: "_What was that, huh?"_ His voice was intimidating, but Audrey didn't show it. The only evidence of this feeling was in his eyes, which were hidden behind his bangs. The older lad's fist was clenched, and looked like it wanted to strike the boy. It could have at any moment, but was stopped when another voice called out to him.

"Nathan~!" called the voice of a much younger girl from the doorway of the kitchen. Samantha held up a cordless phone to the other's attention. "_Mom wants to talk to you."_

"About what?"

"I'm not sure. _All I did was tell her what all you've done today while over here_." the girl said with obviously feigned innocence. "She sounds mad."

"Sam! Why I oughta-!" Nathan didn't get to finish the sentence as the girl shoved the device in his face. His mother was able to hear that. His tough-act immediately washed away as the man listened to the furious voice on the phone.

"W-wait! Listen, mom! It wasn't _my_ fault!" he said, trying to plead with the woman. "They asked me to, I swear! Please believe me, Mommy!"

_"'Mommy'?" _the other's snickered as the man's younger siblings grinned, bumping fists in a celebratory manner.

It wasn't common for them to be on the same side, but when it happened, they could always get their parents on their side, so while Nathan was usually (and wrongly) considered to be the "mature adult", if one of the others were to point out that he was misbehaving and acting badly toward the other, their parents knew that it was serious. While Daniel and Samantha didn't always understand each other, they could always count on the other to help in the fight against Nathan. While the others celebrated the eldest of the Westley siblings leaving, Kristopherson let out a sigh in relief, pausing to glance over at Samantha, who was now seated on the edge of the couch reading her book.

_ "'Frankenstein'?" _he said, reading off the book's title and stirring the girl from her focus.

"Huh? Yeah. It's one of my favourites." she said. "Did you know that the author was only _nineteen _when she wrote it?"

"Really? No, I didn't."

"Well, she was." The girl turned her gaze back to the pages of her book. "She wrote another story when she was twenty-seven, called _'The Last Man', _but it wasn't that well received. People say that it was just bad timing."

"That sounds like something _Audrey_ would say." replied the Miles lad with a slight chuckle. It died in his throat when he saw the girl's face, her lips bent in a small smile, and pink subtly dusting her cheeks.

"Wait a minute..." he said, lowering his tone wo the others wouldn't hear. "Do you... _Like Audrey?"_ he asked, knowing that the tow had met a few times when Audrey would come over and play video-games. Samantha's brow furrowed and she cleared her throat, burying her face further into her book..

"_No."_ she said plainly. "What gave you _that _impression?" She raised her head slightly to look at Kristopherson. "What about you? _Do you like my brother?"_

_ "No."_ he answered, the word leaping right out of his mouth. "No offense, but he's _too much of an idiot."_

_"I know_. I was just _wondering."_ And with that, the conversation ended.

Kristopherson's vision was still somewhat blurry, and his words didn't sound right, but he could still _think_. He didn't feel like moving or talking much, so he quietly sat there, watching the others play _Halo_ and listening to them converse. He was about to fall asleep, but then he heard an odd fragment of conversation.

"Hey, Alois, I was wondering, do you have any _lad-mags_ or anything you're hiding from Ciel?" Daniel asked, seemingly out of the blue. As to how the conversation turned to pornography, Kristopherson didn't know. He was just glad that Samantha was too into her book to catch any of it. "I'm pretty sure everybody has something, but I dunno if you _Victorian types _do, so I was just wondering."

"Well, actually, back in the day, porn was a pretty big thing." Alois answered casually, not even bothering to look away from the screen. "While everybody was all prim and proper on the outside, prostitution and porn were big money-makers. Probably because everybody's so repressed and stuff. Because I was the Queen's Spider, I came across quite a bit of it, myself. I'm pretty sure Ciel did, too." The way he spoke on the subject so comfortably without feeling awkward in the slightest sent a chill down the others spines. It seemed as though his old self was emerging. "I dunno what modern ones look like, though. I did read a page or two of _Fifty Shades Of Grey_ before they started sealing them."

_ "Alois," _Ciel interrupted, placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Let me tell you about _the gospel,_ because _clearly_, _you need Jesus."_

_ "Oh, fuck you!"_

"Not in _my_ house, you're not, Trancy..."

* * *

**A/N: Oh...  
**

**Hell, I dunno what teenage guys talk about when girls aren't around. I'm not a guy. IT COULD HAPPEN(?)**

**Yeah, that was basically because I couldn't find a place to end it, and _I wanted to use that joke so badly..._**

**Ironic Preacher-Ciel. He found Alois that questionable, apparently. That's probably going to be one of my favourite Ciel-lines...  
**

**Anyways...**

**FANFICEPTION ALERT!**

**This one's called _"Devils in Heaven"_, and it's by _theotakuat221b_, and it's a DanXKris fic. They did a really good job at writing my characters in character, so I'm gonna let the fact that their username references my arch-nemesis slide... (for now...)**

**Link-y link:**

_** s/9492855/1/Devils-in-Heaven**_

**DLTD Trivia: You Got Lawrence'd  
**

**Lawrence found it incredibly difficult to play Cecil in _Devil Butler 2,_ because his character could neither see, or walk, and spent quite a bit of time in a wheelchair. This made the scene where Alphonse died hard to shoot, because he was supposed to be blind and crawl around looking for Alphonse. (They teamed up about halfway in to defeat Claus, Alphonses butler. Without Alphonse, Cecil couldn't get around, as he had to use him as a crutch. His wheelchair broke.) He also had difficulty getting along with his costar and former friend, Walter Hackett because of their falling out.  
**

**Lawrence can only play serious roles. He has auditioned many times for teen romantic-comedies, but failed miserably every time, despite his personality.**

**Lawrence's name comes from a ficticious manga from the manga "_Mishounen Produce_", that the main character is obsessed with. The protagonist of that manga's name was _"Lawrence"_, and the name of it was a romance called _"Lawrence And Rose"._ While several aspects of Lawrence's character were modeled from _Tamaki Suoh_ from _Ouran High School Host Club,_ his appearance resembles a comglomerate of several male characters from _Mishounen Produce,_ and even references it several times. The "making roses bloom in people's hearts" being a "skill" that the male lead, _Kousei,_ has. Basically, Lawrence is_ one big manga reference. _(I've discussed this in several PMs, but got some details wrong. I haven't read this manga in forever!)**

** Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"for Daniel: pick between kris and Preston you have to pick one"** by Love And Hiphop  
_

_Daniel's Answer:"Pick one for what? It depends on what it is. If I need help with homework, it's Preston, but if I need fashion advice, it's Kris. What do you want from me?"  
_

_0000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Alois, why is your brother so freaking adorable?! Why can't my brother be like him? I'm jealous"** by Maddy_

_Alois' Answer:__"I dunno. He was just **born that way**."_

_0000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"YESH U DO ARTHUR, YESH U DO. And Daniel, WTF Y U HATE INTERNET?! I'm gonna marry it! TT ur so mean! EVERYONE, WE MUST BRING THE BROWN-HAIRED-BASTARD TO JUSTICE! GET UR FINGERS AND KEYBOARDS AND START TYPING HIS NIGHTMARES (perv questions)! FOR THE SAKE OF FANFICTION! AND MARRYING POPTARTS! XD"** by Light Umbreon_

_Arthur's Answer:__"They are not! They're just ordinary eyebrows!"  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! I JUST DON'T WANNA ACCIDENTALLY SEE GAY POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORNNNN! WHY THE HELL WOULD ANYONE MARRY A POPTART?! STOP TELLING PEOPLE TO HARRASS MEEEEEEEE!"  
_


	240. That's So Gay

"Well, you caught me." Daniel said as the lads sat in his living room around a few boxes of pizza. "I have a brother, _and he's a wanker_."

"I didn't know you had siblings at all, Dan." said Preston before nibbling on his food.

"Well, with siblings like _that_, who would _want_ you to?" Daniel answered with a frown. "Samantha, I can deal with. Nathan, _no can do."_

"What about your parents?" asked Alois, curious as to what they were like for his own, personal reasons. He wanted to know what having parents was like, to an extent.

"They're hardly ever home." said Daniel, wiping some pizza sauce off his face with the back of his hand. "Mom is, sometimes, but we never talk much, and Dad's always busy with work. When he's not, he and mom take off."

He spoke casually about it as if he didn't care, but the rest of the seven had simply never realized. Perhaps his excitable personality was simply a result of his lask of attention from his parents while his defensiveness was a result of his brother's harassment, or so the bluenette could piece together. It was oddly heavy for the Westley boy; unexpected.

"It can't be as bad as not knowing who they are." the politician's son continued. "I kinda feel for ya, Audrey. I can't imagine what that's like, not knowing your real dad."

"That, and your dad's a grim reaper." said Preston, offering the Baines lad a comforting smile. "Do you have any clues, yet?"

"Nope. _None." _replied Audrey.

He didn't sound offended, but his voice held a sort of subtle sadness to it, concealed by his usual demeanor. It did bother him, it really did. Not knowing was far worse than knowing. To him, it felt like a piece of himself was missing, a very important one. His biological father was a reaper, like himself, and Audrey felt somewhat alone in a world of mostly humans. Ciel and Alois shared some of this, being demons, but he wanted to know more about grim reapers, his kin.

He got along well with his "human father", but he wanted to know who his real father was, and why he didn't know him for so long. He at least wanted a name, or a face to tie the title of "real father" to, but there was nothing. There was nothing-, _no one _to explain to him what he was, which was like not knowing _who_ he was. No one to tell him why this part was missing. No one to help him fill this void he felt somewhere in his heart. Audrey was laid back. He was laid back so he wouldn't be bothered-, so he _couldn't_ be bothered, but he was, and his eyes were evidence of that.

"My mom won't tell me anything. The subject is apparently _taboo_." he continued, looking up. His green and yellow eyes barely visible from behind his hair.

_ "For real?" _asked the Trancy lad. "Even after what happened at camp?"

"Yeah. She's still kind of upset about it. She doesn't like the supernatural world, still, and getting her alone to talk about it is hard. My dad-, my _step-dad_, is usually talking with her about this and that, and he doesn't know anything about it."

"So he has no idea about any of it?" asked Kristopherson, resting his head in his palm. "Is it awkward to be around him now that you know?"

"A little. We're still pretty close, though." replied Bones, taking a bite out of another slice of pizza. "What about you and your parents? They still pretty cool with your '_gayness'?"_

"They claim to have known before _I _did." replied Kris. "They were pretty uncomfortable when Cameron came over, and I can get why, but they were okay with it."

"You said that 'the only thing you had in common was that you were gay'." said Preston. "You still hung out and dated?"

"I know, it was _stupid." _said the Miles lad, rubbing his forehead. "But it was... Kind of nice to be around someone else who was, y'know, _gay_. Trancy and Phantomhive are alright and all, but it's... just _not the same_, somehow..."

"So you just wanted another person to relate to. There's nothing wrong with that." spoke Ciel as he, too, understood how that felt, and Alois was evidence of that.

He wanted someone from his own time to talk to, and Sebastian just "_wasn't the same_". It was illogical, and irrational, but that's how he felt. Slowly, but surely, the bluenette was getting used to _feeling_ things, something that he had denied himself for many years. It was awkward for him at times, but he was able to understand people better because of it.

"I know, but I feel so _stupid_ for it." Kristopherson said, folding his arms.

"Don't worry about it, Kris, you're still our favourite '_sassy gay friend'_." spoke Daniel with a grin. "By the way, did you hear? It's now _legal for you to get married _and everything."

"Really? I thought they weren't interested in debating it." said Ciel, having kept up with his politics. He earned a few grins and whistles for it, and crossed his arms across his chest with a frown and a blush.

"Yeah, so now Alois' dream of being _'Mrs. Phantomhive' _can now be real!" Daniel replied, teasing the demonic duo. "Her majesty gace it the royal stamp of approval, and the bill cleared parliament. It should be taking effect sometime next summer."

"Who says I'm going to be _Mrs._ Phantomhive!?" Alois demanded, his voice almost a whine has his face flushed.

_"Daniel did, weren't you paying attention?"_ said Audrey. "It's alright, Alois. Well all know your the _'girl' _in the relationship, and _wish the both of you happiness_."

"Guys, I think you _killed Ciel."_ Travis spoke up, indicating to the obvious discomfort written across the bluenette's face, and expressed in his body language as he sat in his place on the couch, attempting to casually hide his face in his hand.

"It's rude to push people, you know. _They'll make that step when they're well ready to_." said Kristopherson, his face slightly pink as well. "I heard that America was making a big deal about it, so maybe that sparked the sudden interest."

"That's what I was thinking." Daniel replied. "What about _you_, Kris? Are you happy that you can finally marry _Prince Charming_ some day?" he teased, causing the Miles lad to shift uncomfortably.

"Of course I am. It'd be nice, but I'm not exactly in a _hurry, _or anything. Whatever happens, happens. Don't you all feel the same about marriage? We're like,_ fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen_, right? _I'm pretty sure we've all got time_."

"_Some, more than others." _joked Audrey, gesturing to the demonic duo. "Hey, Preston, you gonna eat anymore pizza?"

"Huh?" the Indian lad said simply, sitting up at attention. "Ah, well, no._ My parents usually only limit me to two_, so..."

"You _seriously _need to stop doing whatever your parents tell you." the reaper boy said, putting another slice of pizza on the other lad's plate anyway. "It's _weird."_

"They just want what's best for me, so it's fine." Preston answered, simply staring at the food in front of him.

Preston always did _exactly_ as his parents instructed. He took violin classes every week,had a specific diet, he even made friends with the Sensational Seven specifically in order to secure future potential business partners. Perhaps this was why the boy always seemed a little nervous. He was always trying to please his parents. That whole incident with the "Simon Says" bomber only made it worse, too. While the others could see the logic behind the Omid's thinking, that didn't make it right.

He didn't like trying new things, and he didn't like adventure; why, he was still unsure if he was entirely alright several of his friends _not being human_. The only reason Preston would ever consider doing so was if he stood to gain profit, somehow, either in future business assets, or otherwise. He wasn't afraid to introduce himself to new people if he thought they would be useful to him. Despite all of this, the others had grown on the boy somewhat. Perhaps being in their presence didn't simply just give him potential material gain. Perhaps he had begun to feel some form of kinship with them, he didn't know. He had become more open and talkative, which was something that_ hadn't _changed for _Travis._

Travis Sullivan was simply a lad of few words. He didn't like things that were unnessecary, including talking, in many cases. He liked to avoid confrontation when at all possible, and was quite content to listen. He knew he couldn't live like that forever, though, especially when those "unnessecary" conversations seemed to be so much fun. He was quite comfortable talking one-on-one with the others, but then again, that was a situation that called for it.

_ "It's still weird."_

"Fine." Preston said, picking up the pizza and took the biggest bite out it that he could before setting the rest back down on the plate and shooting the Baines lad a victorious look.

"Well, at least we all now know _how much stuff Preston can fit in his mouth."_ He nearly choked on his food at the words of none other than the blonde menace.

"Damn, Trancy, that was _mean_." said Daniel with a laugh while the Indian lad managed to get his food down without accidentally suffocating.

_ "What the fuck, Trancy?!" _he demanded, huffing to catch his breath.

"I'm sorry_, I'm sorry."_ Alois said, putting his hands up in surrender, but his massive grin never wavering. "I couldn't help it._ The joke had to be made_."

_ "Says the kid who deep-throated a Popsicle at the beach..." _added Audrey.

"_I did not!"_ argued the blonde, playfully punching Bones in the shoulder. "I ate it _normally!"_

"There is _no bloody way." _said Daniel. "Did you see _Ciel's face _while you ate it? Oh yeah, that's right, _you did _because you _made eye-contact."_

The other lads let out a simultaneous "ooh's" and whistled at that statement. All the demonic duo could do was blush and shift uncomfortably in their seats. That is, until Ciel formulated a counter-attack.

"I'm sorry,_ but it appeared that you seemed to be watching rather intently as well_, Daniel." he said, smirking ever-so subtly as the grin on the Westley lad's face suddenly faded. "_Care to explain?"_

Daniel's face immediately heated up at the taunting and teasing of the others that followed the bluenette's words. He furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to defend his honour. _"I WAS NOT!"_

"Are you _sure?_" the Phantomhive boy asked, arching an eyebrow._ "_Your preferences seem to be getting more _questionable _everyday, Daniel."

_"I AM NOT GAY!"_

"I'm sorry to interrupt," spoke Kristopherson, "but are we seriously just going to _ignore_ the fact that_ Ciel basically just admitted to fantasizing while watching Alois eat a Popsicle?"_

The conversations that took place in that large, London apartment that evening were no doubt, of an extremely questionable nature...

* * *

**A/N: *facepalm*  
**

**When you don't know how to end it; DIRTY JOKES.**

**I'm starting to run out of ideas. There' a lot of stuff that I wanna do, but I'm saving it all for the end, like who Audrey's dad is, whether Kris will ever get a boyfriend... Y'know, stuff that you've been waiting for, and requesting for awhile...**

**I'm trying to drag this out for as long as I can, so if ya'll have any suggestions...**

**Eh, I'm out of character trivia, so have some music that I think would appear in DLTD if it were an anime. All of them are on youtube.  
**

**_"Comme un Enfant"_ by _Yelle:_ appears in the background whenever Amelie is being... well, _Amelie_...  
**

_**The Hellsing "Bonus Track": **_**Appears during the scene when Ciel meets Sir Hellsing at the hotel in chapter 196. It doesn't have a name, just "Hellsing bonus track".****  
**

**"_Wondaland"_ by _Janelle Monae_: Appears in during the "mall scene" in chapter 3.**

**_"Homicide_" by _999:_ Appears after Ciel and Alois receive the "Boogeyman case" in chapter 70.**

**"_Run and Hide"_ by _The Ninja Dolls:_ Potential opening theme for the first arc.**

**Oh, wait, question for me...**

_**"How do you feel now that your story is one of the best in the Kuroshitsuji Fanfiction Archive?" by MidnightWhispersInTheDark**_

**It's one of the best in the Kuroshitsuji fanfiction archive? Huh...**

**I actually did some looking into this since you mentioned it, and I'm ranked number 6th in most reviews, overall, but I'm not even in the top 100s when it comes to follows and favourites; not by a long-shot. In the Cielois section, I'm number one in most reviews, and 4th in favourites, so I have that. It still kind of stings being beaten by porn. (Like, weird shit, too... *shudders*) Porn always gets more views...**

**Soeaking of which, I've lost several hundred daily-veiws from my absence, and can't seem to get it back up to the average. Probably because I haven't been updating daily... I've been trying, but I just haven't had any good ideas! This filler is the best I've got! *cries* I feel like I've let people down...**

**Oh! Just a reminder! My deivantart username is "wimpyninja", so be sure to look me up for some more DLTD stuff! (A few of you asked)**

**Anyways, until the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Oh! Just an FYI: Even though they answer questions an stuff, none of the characters are aware that they're in a fanfic, and don't even know what Kuroshitsuji is. KTHX.  
_

_Question: **"Okay so here's mah question, and this time it's for that Luka cutie!: Deary, there's someone cuter than you and his name is Honey-senpai. What is your reaction?"** by Light Umbreon_

_Luka's Answer: "Okay?"_

_00000000000000000_

_Question: "**Alois, what's your favorite Lady Gaga song and why?**" by White Bloody Queen_

_Alois' Answer:__"Probably 'Judas'. Dunno why. It just makes me wanna dance!"  
_

_0000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Dan and Kris: which one of you is the 'girl'?"** by IggyLikesToExplode_

_Daniel and Kristopherson's Answer: "**WE AREN'T TOGETHER."**_

_00000000000000000000000  
_

_Question: **"Everyone guess what! Alois is pregnant! What's your reaction? (This is for the seven, Sebastian, Luka and Ciel) Also what is your reaction Alois when you find out your pregnant?"** by TheMoonAndStars_

_Ciel's Reaction:__"Wh-what?! O-oh, well, so I-I guess I'm a father then, right? (What do fathers even do?! I can't remember!)" ***internally panicking (He'll get over it...)***  
_

_Alois' Reaction:__"What the fuck? What the fuck?! WHAT THE FUCK?! HOLY SHIT THERE'S SOMETHING INSIDE ME! ASDLKGAHDG! WHAT DO I DO?! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! Oh, wait, I know how this happened... BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?! I'M NOT MATURE ENOUGH FOR THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!" ***externally panicking(**  
_

_Sebastian's Reaction:__"Congratulations, young master. It would appear that there's going to be a new heir to the Phantomhive household after all! Would you like to get started on the preperations, now, or do you need a moment to calm down?"  
_

_Luka's Reaction:__"WOT?"  
_

_00000000000000000000000_

_Question: "So Daniel, what you would do if you had to choose between being Kris' boyfriend for a week or go streaking in the middle of a busy mall for an hour? No backing out!" by SisterOf ScarletDevil_

_Daniel's Answer:__"WHAT?! Uh... uuuuuhhhh... uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh..." ***muttering to self* **"Let's see... If I take the second option, I could get arrested, not to mention ruin my dad's career and utterly humiliate myself. With the first option, I have to go out with Kris... Uuuuuhhhh... It's... It's only a week, right? I wouldn't have to, y'know, kiss him, or anything, right? Right? Uuuuuuuuuhhhh... Kris is my best mate, so he probably wouldn't get mad if I dated him for that reason, maybe... He'd understand, right? Uuuuuhhh... if I **absolutely** had to pick between those two, Kris would probably be the better option...** BUT I'M NOT GAY." *cries in corner of woe***  
_


	241. Reminiscence Of A Certain Bluenette

London, United Kingdom, year 1999: the city was nearly destroyed as the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization faced one of their greatest enemies since Dracula himself, _Millennium._ Members of Millennium had their roots in Nazi Germany, and had lost nearly all affiliation of the political party who was once the shining beacon of hope for a financially recovering, post World-War I Germany, and was then transformed into a den of insane, undead warmongers, banded for the sole purpose of creating one thing, and one thing alone: _destruction_; destruction on such a magnificent scale, that the only word that can possibly be used to describe it was "_sublime". _Bodies were piled up in the streets among ruins and rubble, rendered bloody from bullets, broken glass, or from simply being ripped to shreds by Millennium's forces. Those men were no longer men. They were beasts in the guise of humans. The freak-chips that were implanted within them gave them almost vampire-like powers, without making them entirely so. They were like ghouls with human-level intelligence, and with strength that no mere human could handle. That was Millennium. They were insane. They were deadly. They were destructive. _I sincerely regret not arriving sooner. Perhaps then, I could have served greater aid in defending my home_.

The burden rested almost entirely on Sir Hellsing's shoulders. I was our of the country on a mission for the Convention of Twelve. When I returned, hardly any of them were left. All that remained were Sir Hellsing, Sir Islands, Sir Walsh, and Sir Midford. Sir Shelby Penwood, father of the current Sir Penwood, died while taking out a horde of Millennium's forces. I recall him being a nervous man, so I was certainly surprised upon hearing this, yet proud that he died for what he believed in. It was after the events of that single night in 1999 that almost the entire conference would be replaced, bringing in new faces, such as Sir Penniworth, Sir Smith, Sir Kirkland, and, of course, Old Sir Penwood's son. It feels somewhat odd referring to him as "Old Penwood", _since I'm older than him. _

I had only arrived in time to help pick up the pieces. One of my biggest regrets was not being in London that night. Over one million people died that day, and that's only counting the locals. Perhaps if I had been there, the number could have been lower. I have proven useless when I was needed most, and that will be a permanent mark on my family name. I will never admit this aloud, but I am truly glad it was Sir Hellsing who handled the situation. Even though she will ridicule me for this failure of mine for as long as she will live, I'm almost certain that she was perhaps the only one who could have stopped those monsters in my absence.

It took over a month to gather the death toll, and even longer to clean the streets of rubble and debris afterward. I was on the scene personally, to examine the commanding Zeppelin of Millennium's forces, and, although I feel it is entirely inappropriate, I was glad I was. It was there that I found one of the most fascinating items I had ever laid eyes on, and one that would later aid me in one of my greatest achievements: _it was a book._ This seemingly useless piece of print was old; extremely so, but it held secrets that were vital for Millennium's freak-technology. They wanted to create artificial vampires, and this book contained secrets of the dark arts that weren't meant for man to know. Even if they read it, there was no way they could possibly understand it. It was a spellbook, one for those with demonic powers.

At first, I was skeptical. How could I not be? This book suggested that one could play God and bring the dead back again. As I read it further, however, it all actually seemed _plausible_.

Now, as a demon, I've lived a long time, consuming, making contracts, and shuffling from one day to the next, but what was the point of it all? I took souls for the single purpose of maintaining a seemingly purposeless, and incredibly _boring_ existence.

I knew no friend, but only Sebastian, who was a _butler_, hardly a "_friend"_. Humans were food, and wouldn't understand my "_supernatural_" self. They didn't want to. It wasn't their "normal". All I could do was parade around in front of them, remaining invisible in plain sight, and as such, I couldn't feel comfortable with casual conversation with _them_. I couldn't understand them, and they couldn't understand me. Actually, this barrier had existed_ before, _even while I was _human_, actually. I'm... disturbed, I'll admit. I could never understand how people could feel so content blatantly ignoring the ugliness that this world had to offer. That was like ignoring reality itself. Becoming a demon made this worse. It was hard to try and be part of a reality that I_ wasn't supposed _to exist in. I couldn't talk to anyone. I couldn't discuss things with other people like I wanted to. Now, I was never exactly a "_social butterfly_", but humans are by nature, _social creatures_, and I am somewhat _human at heart._ I wanted someone to talk to, to discuss things with, to have a decent argument with, _anything! _Never would I have even begun to have imagine how maddening one-hundred years would be almost _alone._ Sebastian never felt it. He still doesn't quite understand my "human" self, the part that I hold onto _for my own reasons_.

At long last, after that long, excruciating one-hundred years of silence, I had finally found a cure for my boredom. Little did I know that that book would be the gateway for all kinds of new thoughts, feelings, and situations for me. Excitedly, I tore through that book, reading everything there was to know. Looking back on it, that must have been how _Doctor Frankenstein _felt, as I, too, found a way to create life. That power I would have gained would be something that no human could handle, in fact, I'm not sure if I, myself, could have handled it when I was mortal. At last, I decided to go for it. I would gain that power, and I would at long last alleviate my boredom, but then it hit me: I was lacking something absolutely vital to this new-found plan_. I was missing a soul to summon. _

One thing. It was one single, solitary thing that kept me from my goal. I'm not sure if I can remember the last time I had felt so depressed. The closest thing I can recall is _despair,_ but not _depression_. What was I going to do now? I had lost the thing that had made me feel _hope, _something I had not felt in ages. What was I going to do after that? Well, it's simple: find a solution. _A Phantomhive does not know defeat._

All I had to do was find an item that could link a "deceased" soul to the mortal plane. I'd imagine that there were many souls floating around in Limbo, but finding one with a mortal connection would naturally be difficult. It took me several months to find the answer, as I had to try and recall every single "_supernatural"_ artifact that I had ever come in contact with. My efforts proved fruitless, as I ran out of ideas from this life, and had to venture into my past, human, life. At first, my thoughts traveled to the _Lævateinn,_ the sword that was once housed within the body of _Hannah Annafelloz,_ but that wasn't useful to me at all. It would have simply never worked for my purposes.

Then, my thoughts traveled from Miss Annafelloz to the memory of_ that _day; the day I stopped being human. How nostalgic it was, allowing those memories to flow back to me. As I recollected them, it felt as though one memory in particular slapped me in the face. It was when _Alois took over my body._

Now, that..._ that was not pleasant in the slightest_. The feeling of having my memories overwritten, and intertwining with his was incredibly _invasive_. Perhaps that, though, is the reason that we get along so well. I'm able to understand how he thinks, and why he acts the way he does after experiencing life from his eyes. Ironically, _I was the very thing that I was looking for._

Yet, I didn't want to _damage my own soul,_ so I would have to try again. Remembering that day, and how he possessed me, however, I found it. _It was his ring._ His ring housed his soul at one point, and could possibly connect the mortal plane an Limbo to call it forth. All I had to do was find it.

Naturally, I looked in the last place I remember seeing it, the clock-tower behind the Trancy estate. Venturing there, I was oddly saddened, seeing the place for the first time in one-hundred years. Alois was my enemy, but it those days trying to hunt him down were some of the most exciting I can remember. Somehow, I found myself yearning for them, even as I was beginning to have _second thoughts._

Alois was my _enemy_. I wanted him dead, and I succeeded with that. Now, I was going to _bring him back?_ That was ridiculous. I_ knew _it was ridiculous. What was I going to do with him after resurrecting him? I hated him, so what possible use could I have for him? I reasoned that at the very least, I could scare him with the fact that I could kill him at any given moment if I felt like it, and use him as _a pawn_. I _smiled _while imagining that face of his being frightened of me, something that I wouldn't be able to bear today.

The interior of the clock-tower was filthy, as expected. It was full of cobwebs, and everything was caked in dust. The metal gears of the tower that had long since ceased turning were encrusted with a coating of ugly, reddish-brown rust, while other pieces turned green from oxidation. It was somewhat amusing to see Sebastian so disgusted with the amount of disrepair, but it certainly wasn't amusing in the slightest to try and find a small ring within it all.

It was ugly. It was old, dusty, rusted, and lacked any and all shine. It was almost debatable whether or not we could actually use such a dingy piece of metal. Finding that ring was nearly impossible, and when we finally did, it was somewhat disappointing, but somehow, it was miraculously restored with polish.

The Trancy ring was obviously well-made to survive the passing years, too well-made to be worn by any _real_ Trancy. I felt a slight twinge of satisfaction knowing that it ended up in Alois' hands. Part of me felt as though he deserved it, but my pride would never allow me to acknowledge that at the time. It's still quite amazing how much he has grown on me in such a short amount of time.

For the first time, it feels like someone actually understands me. My past, my pain, the way I think, the way I carry myself and why; I suppose we technically have _Claude_, of all people, to thank for that. I almost regret ever becoming enemies with him in the first place, yet I know we would never be able to live like this had we become friends at the start. Had we progressed the way we had during Queen Victoria's reign, or even, _several years ago_, for that matter, we would never be able to be together like we are now. I would never be able to love him, or even be with him. As much as I hate to admit it, (_and I really do_,) that idiot has managed to win me over.

My house is no longer feels like just a house. It is no longer deathly quiet or lonely. It's alive, and always bustling with Alois, Sebastian, and Luka living here, and "_The Sensational Seven_", Charlotte, Amelie, and various others coming to visit, occasionally. It feels like a family, almost. It's odd, but... I think I might _like_ it that way.

My house is no longer _just _a house. Now, I believe, it is a _home_.

* * *

**A/N: Well, in'nt that sweet?  
**

**This was originally supposed to be about, like, "Ciel's Memorabilia-room", as suggested by _Suzanna, _but that somehow turned into this, so, I'm sorry for the weird recap... Maybe we'll actually see that, someday. Who knows?**

**Don't expect the first-person perspective to stay, either. It's gonna go right back to third. I just felt like it flowed better with Ciel narrating. **

**Oh, and he's not breaking the fourth wall, or anything. He doesn't know he's in a fanfic...**

**Anyways, Now that you lovely, lovely ducky-fol have provided me with suggestions, I might be able to do this, still. **

**Hooray~ for not failing~! Viva la DLTD~! (?)**

**Until the next chapter, my dear, sweet, little duckies~!**

***EDIT: I forgot to mention that the stuff mentioned in the beginning is all from _Hellsing._ So, spoiler alert? I tried my best to explain it the best I could without giving too much away...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC IN A YOUNG BOY'S(?) HEART I'M JUST KIDDING HAVE SOME SEXUAL HARASSMENT  
**_

_Question: **"i have a question for Ciel: why are you such a pervert? Alois: your reaction to Ciel's question."** by sebastianthedemonbutler  
_

_Ciel's Answer:"I'm not a pervert. You didn't see how he was eating that thing. I'm pretty sure there is no way that most people couldn't keep their minds out of the gutter while seeing that..."  
_

_Alois' Answer:"I'm not sure if it's so much as 'being a pervert', as it is 'being stuck in eternal puberty'. I just like calling him a 'pervert' because it annoys him. Honestly, I was just trying to keep my popsicle from melting onto my hand, but bothering Ciel is good, too. Bringing out the horny-teenager in him is just a natural skill of mine, I guess."  
_

_000000000000000000_

_Question: **"QUESTION FOR LUKA: Would you ever want to go to school? I know it'd be a bit weird, but I would think you'd enjoy learning about things like your big brothers."** by Nitishu_

_Luka's Answer:__ "Yup! Ciel says that __if I do good with homeschooling and catch up on modern stuff, I can start elementary school next year! Seeing other kids could be real fun since I never got to play with others much 'cause I'm an orphan, and it's kind of weird being around Jim and Ciel's friends, 'cause they're all older than me. We won't be in the same building or anything, but I'll still be a Warwick Gryphon, too!"_

_000000000000000000_

_Question: **"for the 7: You walk in on Kris and Daniel. *wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, say no more* Reactions?"** by Confessions-of-a-Animaholic_

_Ciel's Answer:__"O-oh... Well... Sorry for interrupting... (not my house, at least)" ***Closes Door* **_

_Alois' Answer:__"Oh, sorry... (I totally knew it. Preston owes me ten pounds!)" __***Closes Door***_  


_Kristopherson's Answer (because he insists on "defending himself"):__"I would NEVER sleep with Daniel! He's not gay, and **he's a moron.** I have **standards**, you know!"  
_

_Audrey's Answer:__"Oh... My bad..." __***Casually Closes Door***_

_Daniel's Answer (because he claims he "has to"):__"ASDLKGAHDSLGHADLKGJALDKH! NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE! I AM NOT GAY! I'M NOT! I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS! LALALALALALALA! NOT LISTENING! I AM DEFINITELY, **DEFINITELY** NOT GAY! Oh God! Don'tpictureit, don'tpictureit, don'tpictureit, don'tpictureit, don- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGHHGHGHGHHGHG! I PICTURED IT! YOU HAVE FAILED ME, BRAIN! MUST. DISSINFECT. EVERYTHING!"** *Cries Hysterically In The Corner Of Woe*** _

_Preston's Answer:__"S-s-s-sorry!" ***Hastily Closes Door*** "(guess I'll be owing Alois that ten pounds, then...)"  
_

_Travis' Answer:__"Oh... Pardon the intrusion..." ***Silently Closes Door***  
_


	242. It Always Sneaks Up On You

Only those with two things are allowed into Warwick Academy: social and economic status. The only exception would be grades, but that, however, is such a rare occurrence that it is hardly even worth mentioning. That said, education is of a higher importance than luxury at Warwick, thus it's students are treated to the best education money can buy, as teachers mold pupils into intelligent, cultured pioneers of tomorrow.

Still, there may be one or two students who pass under the radar. Take Daniel Westley, for example, son of Barbara and Richard Westley. The latter of which is a politician, and is thus well read, his son, however; _not so much_. Daniel had the worst grades of all three Westley children, and wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box. His words often left openings for his friends to tease him, he wasn't the best at making decisions, and he was oblivious to many, many social cues.

Yet Daniel's intention's were often good. No matter how rotten he felt on the inside, he'd often force a smile to grace the faces of his friends at his antics, all the same. Recently, he had come across a new dream of his, something he had never even considered to concoct. He wanted to enter the world of politics in order to pave the way for all future supernatural/human relations to be mostly positive, knowing full-well, that even two of his friends, who were demons, would have to kill eventually in order to survive. Like always, he shoved the negative afterthoughts to the back of his mind in order to focus on the good. He wasn't partial to planning, so he had no idea how to accomplish this plan, but he knew he was going to succeed, somehow. Until now, he has just been making things up as he goes. In fact, _he still does._

_ "Oh, so you bleached your hair again?" _he asked his friend Kristopherson as he sat down in his usual seat next to the boy before the bell. The boy in the pink tie simply looked up from the design he was sketching in his notebook to look at the boy.

"Huh? Oh, _yeah..." _he replied, twisting a lock of his freshly faux-blonde hair between his thumb and his index finger. "I didn't really care for the whole _'natural look'."_

"Me neither. It made you look _plain."_ the Westley lad said, reclining in his seat. "Blonde really suits you better. _It's more fun_." He looked over at the other lad's drawing. "What's that? Looks _demon-y."_

"Just a random idea I had. Actually, a lot of my designs have been_ 'supernatual-centric'_, lately. I'm trying to base it from a werewolf, actually..."

"Werewolf _dresses? _What is the world coming too?"

"I know, right? I'm trying to see if I can in corporate a _full-moon_, somewhere, but I just can't figure out _where."_

"Why not add spots? Like, yellowish polka-dots on it? There's your moon. In fact, there's several!" Kristopherson looked up at the brown-haired lad with a patronizing sort of expression that could only ask what was wrong with the boy.

"_'Polka-dots'?" _echoed the boy in the pink tie. "_'Polka-dots'? _Who the bloody hell wears _polka-dots?"_

"I dunno. Why? What's wrong with them?" asked Daniel.

"The fact that that will look like _absolute rubbish."_

"Well, excuse me, _'Princess'." _the Westley boy said sarcastically. He turned to leave the faux-blonde to his sketching.

It wasn't as though Kristopherson minded the nickname. He was called things like "Princess", or "Pinky" all the time by the Westley boy, and now simply ignored it. He busily sketched away, silently drawing a yellow spot on the dress with great reluctance, but decided that one simple accent was enough, and was exactly what he needed. He leaned back in his oen seat to admire his handiwork, only to jump when Daniel suddenly started talking again.

_ "Hey Kris! Ever wonder how 'ordinary people' live?"_ asked the Westley lad, startling the Miles boy.

"Aren't _we 'ordinary'?" _Kristopherson asked in response.

"No, no, I mean the _lower classes."_ Daniel replied. "Politician's are always criticized for not knowing what it's like to live on a lower budget! Haven't you ever wondered what it's like?"

"Not really. _Where exactly are you going with this?"_

"I just realized that if I want to be popular with the public, I gotta sympathize with them!" Daniel declared, oddly making a good point. He was right. It was a common thing for people in the upper class to not understand in the slightest what it's like for the rest of the population. His unusual point, however, was destroyed upon his next suggestion.

_"I wanna give it a try." _he said with an absurdly serious face. "Yeah! When I get to college, I'll find my own job and rent an apartment all on my own! It'll be easy! Then when I graduate, I'll be able to fully appreciate the-, hey, what are you doing?"

Daniel ceased his chatter when he looked over, and saw the faux-blonde messing with his pink phone, accessing the school's Wi-fi. He was on _Google_. After playing with it for a while, he finally answered.

"Let's see, with only a high-school diploma and absolutely zero work-experience, the best you'll be able to get is minimum wage, which appears to be about four-ninety-eight per hour..." Kristopherson began, not even bothering to look up from his handheld device. "Now, if you worked for five hours a day, you would earn_ twenty-four-ninety_. For a seven-day work-week, that still comes out to only slightly over _one-hundred and seventy-four pounds _a week. Now, the average cost of rent per week in London is, oh look,_ over four-hundred pounds! _And you've still _yet to pay for food and utilities."_

"You shut up, you... _You..." _Daniel said, trailing off. "_Just shut up, you."_

_ "Just trying to help out my idiotic friend."_

"I'm not an idiot! I just need a plan! Oh! I know! What if I found a roommate? Y'know, to split the bill? I'll just find a _'Watson' _to my _'Sherlock'!"_

"You're too idiotic to be Sherlock, though..."

_ "I am not!"_

"How's it going, you all? Gaying up the place, are we~?" Greeted the blonde menace in his usual fashion. He plopped down in his seat, soon followed by the Phantomhive lad, only offering a small nod as his greeting.

_ "I'm not a homo!"_

_ "You have absolutely no right to talk, Trancy."_ answered the boy in the pink tie, resting his chin in his palm.

"Why not? I'm not '_gay'. _I only like Ciel~!"

"So, you're _pansexual?" _asked Kristopherson, arching an eyebrow.

_ "'Ciel-sexual'?"_ added Daniel.

"Whoa, there! _You lost me with your hip, young, lingo, there, kids."_ Alois said jokingly, not understanding what the boy had just said.

"If you don't know, then _never-mind..."_ said the Miles boy, causing the blonde menace to arch and eyebrow. Alois turned his attention to the bluenette gentleman who had entered the room with him.

"Hey, Ciel, what does pa-"

_"I don't know."_ the bluenette interrupted, hearing the conversation. "All we can assume is that_ Kristopherson may be a pervert_."

_"You're _the pervert, Phantomhive!" the faux-blonde argued, pointing at the demon accusingly. "Not even _God himself_ wants to know what _'Satan' does behind locked doors!"_

"I thought it was _Alois."_ Daniel said with a grin on his face.

"_Hardy-har-har, _mister Westley." said the blonde menace. He opened his mouth once more in order to add onto his sarcastic remark, but was cut off by the sound of the bluenette's phone ringing.

"Sorry, I thought I turned it on vibrate." the Phantomhive boy said, pulling the device out of his pocket. The look on his face immediately shifted from disinterest to irritation in the blink of an eye, as he read the name of the person calling him.

"From the look on his face, I'd say it's _Sir Integra." _Alois said, an amused grin gracing his face. He waved his hand back and forth in order to shoo the boy off. "Go on, answer your little phone-call, _dear."_

"Aren't upset that your man is getting calls from 'other women'?" asked Daniel, earning a mean look from the bluenette as he stood up.

"Don't even _joke_ like that. It's _disgusting_." the bluenette said before turning to walk out into the hallway, pressing the button to answer his phone at the same time. "_What?"_

_"I hope you don't use that tone with anyone who might hold it against you, Phantomhive_." the woman said, commenting on his greeting. "I apologize for calling you during school hours, but I have a little problem that requires your _'expertise'."_

"What's this? _You _asking _me_ for _help_, Integra?" Ciel asked, his tone patronizing. He immediately kicked himself once he realized that he casually called her by name. He didn't want to give anyone the impression that they might actually be "_friends_", as Alois put it.

"I'm not playing games, Phantomhive, this is _serious_." the Hellsing woman replied, her voice stern with a distressing amount of hidden worry, able to snap the bluenette to attention. "I'm talking about the possibility of an attack on London, similar to the one performed by _Millennium! _This isn't a time for _petty squabbling"_

This, of course, caught the boy's attention. His eye widened, remembering the destruction that took place on that day. Bodies among the rubble, torn to pieces, if not reanimated as ghouls; fire as far as the eye could see; skyscrapers, workplaces, homes, lives: all destroyed. He had arrived toward the end of it all, and it looked like hell on earth. The shear scale of obliteration was of an ego-crushing magnitude. It was sublime, and he was powerless to do anything about it, let alone stop it. It made his heart ache to see his home in that condition. Ciel Phantomhive was not a sentimental person, but in that moment, however fleeting, he felt a pang in his heart to see that. The destruction was far worse than any of the many times that his manor had been destroyed, greater than when that hermaphroditic angel attempted to destroy it. These people were masters of annihilation. Ciel had many regrets, far too many than he could count, but not arriving sooner to save his home on that day was toward the top of the list. Immediately, his tone changed.

"I understand." he said, the very air around him changing. "What is it that you need me to do?"

"My people have come across a peculiar series of murders." began the Hellsing woman, wasting absolutely no time. She would never admit it, but she, too, was fearful of that day happening twice. After all, _it took her left eye_. "At first, it appeared to be a routine case, but then we saw signs arrising similar to when Millenium was emerging. Vampires appearing with more frequency, ghouls being created from people who are obviously virgins, like nuns, and even _children. _The ghouls do not die when the vampire dies, which it usually does, seemingly within a few hours of creation. Autopsies have also uncovered primitive chips, similar to the _freak-chips _implanted in_ Millennium _soldiers."

"A _copycat_, perhaps?" asked the bluenette, averting his gaze from a student he didn't know walking into the classroom.

"Most likely." answered Integra. "It is not my specialty, figuring out where criminals will strike next, and there's no way in _Hell_ that I'll leave an investigation up to incompetent, ordinary detectives."

"So, you want me to find this copycat for you before any real damage is done, is that correct?"

"Yes. You're the only one I can trust with this, Phantomhive."

"Alright." Ciel replied, unsure of how else to respond to that. He wasn't used to the woman acting this way. "I'll get this done as quickly as possible."

And with that, he hung up, letting the hand with his phone in it, fall to his side as he leaned against the wall. He ran his other hand through his bluenette hair, and let out a sigh. He hated it how these things sneaked up on him, randomly occurring on otherwise normal days. Eventually, he forced himself to walk back into the classroom and take his seat-, or at least try to, as there was that student he didn't recognize standing in front of it, arguing with his friends.

"What do you mean _'this seat is taken'?_ There's no one here!" the boy asked, putting his hand on his hip.

"He had a phone-call, and had to take it outside." explained Kristopherson. "Believe me, _you don't want to mess with him when he gets back."_

"Yeah, he's the 'scariest kid in school', by popular vote." said Audrey, pulling a black memo-pad out of his blazer pocket, checking his notes on what people are saying around school. "Since you didn't know that, and I don't recognize your face, you must be new here, right?"

"So what of it? There assigned seats in this class, or something?" asked the boy.

"No, it's just that _Satan_ sits there, and he's standing right behind you right now wondering what the _hell _you're doing in front of his seat." said Alois, casually pointing to the bluenette, causing the boy to follow his finger. When he turned around, he saw the bluenette standing there, giving him the "_ice-beam"_. His challenger simply stood there for a moment, firing back a look of his own before conceding.

_ "Fine._ _Sorry for bothering you." _he said. With that, he walked away, taking an empty seat next to Lawrence across the room. The other's simply watched him as Ciel finally sat back down.

"The hell was that about?" asked Daniel, earning a shrug from the others in response. Everyone except for Ciel, who simply sat and stared into space with a more serious look than usual, if that was possible,

"_What is it?" _asked Alois, noting the bluenette's look. That with the knowledge that he received a call from Sir Hellsing, whatever it was, it definitely wasn't good.

"_I'm going to have to prevent one of the greatest catastrophes to ever hit London from happening again..." _the bluenette said, rubbing his temples.

Oh, how he wished these things wouldn't sneak up on him.

* * *

**A/N:Bum, bum, BUM!  
**

**Lots of foreshadowing in here, including for things that won't be happening for a looooooooong time.**

**Ah, I missed you all so much! I've been busy helping Chesnutghost make his new place look less like a seriel-killer's hideout. People wear me out. Cleaning wears me out. Inhaling dust and filth wears me out. Every time I've come home, lately, I've been too worn-out to write anything. I might have to go back tomorrow and help, too! *cries***

**I WANT TO STAY HOME BY MYSELF AND WRITE FANFIIIIIIIIIIIICSSSS! I DUN WANNA PLAY ANYMORE, YOU GAIS! D':**

**Oh well, I offered, so I should see it through to the end. Still wanna write, though. It's more fun. **

**That, and I got this new amazing idea for an arc suggested by _Mental-Discomfort_, and really, really wanna write it~! Most of it was their idea~! I'm just fillin' in the gaps~! **

**On the plus side, I did somehow accomplish to put some Dan 'n Kris at the beginning of the chapter, so you're welcome. Will DanXKris become cannon? Who knows~! You might not get anything until the sequel~! (That I haven't named yet...)**

**Speaking of names, that design of Ciel and Alois' kid on my deviantart? I finally got a name that might work for him, but I'm still not 100% sure on it. "Nicholas". Why? Because it sounds posh enough for Ciel, and because it's a SATAN reference. (Another nickname of Satan's being "Old Nick".)**

**Question~: "To HateWeasel: You said in a recently previous chapter that they were eleventh graders. How are Alois and Ciel getting away with looking thirteen and fourteen? Thank you! :}" by grellthesexyshinigami**

**My excuse is that they changed their appearance to suit their needs. A few extra years added to Ciel's appearance doesn't mess with his weird thing about "being human", because it's not a major change. That kid is just fuckin' weird, y'know? They've all also gotten taller since freshman year. Ciel still remains the shortest, however.  
**

**Ah, I wanna start updating everyday againnnnnnnnnnnn... Goddamn realityyyyyy... Why you gotta get in the waaaaayyyyy?**

**Laters, my lovely duckies! And thanks for waiting! I'm not done yet~!**

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_**CHARACTER SHET YOU NASTY PERVERTS  
**_

_Question: **"For the sensational seven, what was it like to be drunk?"** by Ashoka-Tano22_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"I wouldn't say we were 'drunk'. I was still fully aware of what I was doing. It's just that my motor skills were messed up. It was more 'tipsy'."  
_

_Daniel's Answer:"It SUCKED."_

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_Question: "**For Ciel: You meet a girl who is half vampire half demon and she asks to work at the mansion. She seems to know Sebastian as well. For Alois: If you could have any pet-just one- to keep at the mansion, what would it be?"** by CiaranMichelis_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I would be suspicious, of course, and interrogate Sebastian for (order Sebastian to tell me) everything he knows about her. I still might not hire her. Sebastian's enough to take care of a nearly empty manor. Granted, I did allow Charlotte and Amelie to stay, but that was for business reasons. They were suspects at the time, and I needed to gain their trust in order to make them tell me what they know. They only worked at the manor because of Sir Hellsing, who if she found out about the existence of such a person, would destroy them until not even dust remained." _

_Alois' Answer:__"A Platypus."_

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_Question: **"QUESTION(S) FOR KRIS: How's that love life of yours going since you broke up with that jerk? Have you found anyone else, or are you looking at someone? Do you consider yourself to be the catcher or the pitcher?**" By Nitishu  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"H-how should I know? I've never gotten that far in a relationship! (I haven't even kissed anyone!) W-well, I imagine it would depend on who I'm seeing at the time... A-anyway, there's really nothing in particular to share. Cameron's tried to call me a few times, but I've just been ignoring him. Maybe I should block his number, or something. I haven't found anyone else yet, and I'm not looking at anyone in particular, exactly... so... yeah..."  
_

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_Question: **"So samantha ..*grins* audrey ey? Quick! Audrey devlares his love for you in the misdle of a busy street ! Your reaction?"** By Wooimmafox1305_

_Samantha's Answer:__"That's weird! That's like ME declaring love for a ten-year-old! Who the hell does that in the middle of a busy street? That's so unromantic. (Probably something Dan would do...) Besides, I don't even like him."  
_

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_Question: **"Ciel, Alois, and Sebastian get drunk out of their minds on catnip tequila. *a bunch of crazy shit later* All three wake up the next morning in the same bed in a mass of tangled limbs. Ciel and Alois are wearing torn lingerie and Sebastian is fully naked with a new peircing on his navel and is hand cuffed to the bed. THOROUGH REACTIONS PLZ!"** by GirlyAnnonymous_

_Ciel's Answer: __"How about 'NO'?"_

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_Question: **"Hahahah. I have a question 4 Dan. " What would you do if you and Kris were looked in a room and Kris was nude, handcuffed spread eagle to the bed anew has a painful looking hard-on? "** by Guest_

_Preston: "Uhm... Guys? I think Daniel left..."_

_Alois:__ "He LEFT? He can't just walk __out on this! That sissy-dick!"_

_Ciel: "Uh... Did you read his question?"_

_Alois: "No, why?"_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"I fully support his decision. Let's not tell Kris about this..." _


	243. He Be Creeping

Warwick Academy; even this massive campus was not safe from the destruction that ravaged London fourteen years ago. Most students were too young to remember at the time. Even the Sensational Seven barely did. Daniel was two at the time, and vaguely remembers the lights wafting from the flames that covered the city as he and his family escaped. Preston was two as well, and Travis was three, both lived on on the outskirts of the city with their own families, so escape was easy for them. Neither of them remember it at all because they were so young. Kristopherson, at age three, was in Wales, on the set of one of his father's movies, and Audrey, who was two, was at home in his hometown of _Denton_, before his mother married his stepfather, Mister Baines.

While none of them were there, they know the stories told about it from people who were. They were told about massive flames and a river of blood, and the dead getting up and walking again. As they grew older, though, they stopped believing these tales-, that is, until they met Ciel Phantomhive, and Alois Trancy. Now, they seemed entirely plausible. As they now sat there in class, listening to the bluenette explain his current situation, they actually started to feel worried. Ordinarily, they would protest to help the bluenette, knowing that the boy would most likely be able to handle it anyway, but what if he _couldn't, _this time? This was big. Really big. Was it too big for Ciel Phantomhive? Who's to say? All that they knew was that this needed to be resolved as quickly as possible.

"So, where do you want to start?" asked Alois, examining the bluenette's face as the boy stared intently at his hands, folding them on his desk.

"I don't know." Ciel replied, his gaze never shifting. "I know know where to even begin. How on earth do you track down a bunch of vampires? That's Hellsing's specialty, not mine. I have no idea why she wanted me to handle this..." The others sat silently, listening to the bluenette as he took one of his hands and ran it through his hair. He looked somewhat stressed.

"Start with what we know." said the blonde menace. While he wasn't around fourteen years ago, the information he had received from Ciel was enough. "We know that Millennium used these things called _'freak-chips'_ to make their vampires. That is a necessity to the copycat's plans. Their products so far have been '_defective'_ so far, so what does _that _mean?"

"_That they'll be wanting to improve their technology." _answered Ciel, looking up, finally. "So, that's where we start. _Preston,_ do you have any ideas where they might do that?"

"Well, _SOMA_ and _Baines Pharmaceuticals _has been collaborating on a project together recently." said the Omid lad, arching an eyebrow. "Supposedly, they've been trying to come up with a way to use nano-chips in order to artificially advance human immunity to illness."

"It fits the bill _perfectly." _said Audrey. "We'll find out everything we can about it, and pass it onto you."

"Thanks." answered the bluenette. He didn't like leaving this all up to them, but those two would be able to access information that he wouldn't be able to, at least not without extreme difficulty. He was beginning to feel the pressure of this assignment. "Don't forget to find out who all is working on the project. One of them could either be the copycat, or be leaking information to them."

"A _suspect list?_ I'm on it." Said Audrey, reaching into his bag. He pulled up his laptop, and began accessing _Baines Pharmaceuticals'_ information. He was obviously excited by all of this.

"Even your laptop is _black and has skulls on it_..." commented Kristopherson.

"You're one to talk. _Yours is pink!" _added Daniel.

"Mister Westley, would you please be quiet?" asked the teacher as she walked into the room. "I could hear your yelling out in the hallway."

Her name was Missus Easter, and she taught Chemistry, a class that both Daniel and Alois detested taking first thing in the morning. The sensational Seven were somewhat disappointed that Mister Irons didn't teach any classes in their grade this year, as it turned out that he wasn't that scary of a man after all. He cared about his son, Nigel, quite dearly, and even treated Luka like his own son while he was sharing Nigel's body. Not because he was in Nigel's body, but simply because it was "the right thing to do". As a hardened, former H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. soldier, it was only natural for him to come across coarse and intimidating.

"Yes, ma'am..." Daniel groaned, knowing by the fact that the woman walked in with a lab-coat on that they would be doing a lab-study that day. None of the students even had to wait for her to speak before they all knew this-, well, maybe not the odd, new kid from that morning, but most.

"Today, we'll be doing a lab-..."

"I knew it!"

"...And thanks to mister Westley, just now,_ you will not be choosing your own partners."_ The other children in the room all groaned, while some "_booed_" at Daniel and called him an idiot, while the boy received a punch to the arm from Alois. "I'm going to write all of your names down, and put them in this beaker. You know the drill:_ the person you draw will be your partner."_

Children groaned brielfly en masse as Missus Easter walked around the room with the beaker, allowing the children to select their partner for the assignment. She gave the Westley lad a stern look when he picked Kristopherson's name, while the boy gave a quick sigh of relief. Preston drawed Travis' name, but neither of the demonic duo drawed the other's. Instead, Ciel drew Audrey, and while he wasn't too concerned, with the rest of the seven taken, Alois was. Hesitantly, he reached into the beaker and pulled out a name.

"_Who the bloody hell is Dafydd?"_

"_Mind your language, mister Trancy." _the teacher warned in a stern tone. She looked toward the opposite side of the room, and following her eyes, Alois turned to see who he assumed was the person he had drawn.

It was the boy from earlier, who tried to take Ciel's seat. His hair was shoulder-length, and tied back in a sloppy ponytail. Alois' immediate thought was that is could possibly be a mullet when it was down. The boy who was apparently known as "Dafydd" also wore rings on every finger, even on his thumbs. His ears were pierced and also had "ear-cuffs" on them. All of this combined with the way the boy was looking at Alois made him shudder in disgust.

"_What a creep." _he said softly enough so that the teacher couldn't hear as she walked away. Ciel could hear it, and chuckled somewhat.

"It's just for a class period." said the bluenette, smiling ever-so slightly at the blonde's pout. "Play nice. Don't _'accidentally' _pour acid on him."

"I won't. _It won't be and accident_." Alois replied as he watched his companion get out of his seat and walk over to where Audrey was, leaving the blonde menace alone at their two-man table after offering the lad once last smile. Alois nearly flinched when the new boy suddenly took his place.

"So, _we meet again." _said Dafydd, resting his chin in his palm_. "I'm Dafydd."_

"I'm Alois..." the blonde replied, not knowing what else to say.

"That's a pretty unique name." said the other boy. "I don't think I've heard it before."

"Thanks?" Alois answered, arching an eyebrow. His eyes shifted to Dafydd's hand, as it moved from it's place underneath his chin. The blonde's eyes could have been wrong, but he thought he saw the small green gem on one of the boy's many rings glow for a split second before the lad flicked his wrist, a flower appearing in it, immediately causing the blonde's attention to change directions. He wrinkled his nose at the boy's actions before flicking his gaze toward the direction of the bluenette, seeing the Phantomhive boy looking his way with a dumbfounded expression, almost matched by Audrey's, who was simply following Ciel's eye.

"I mean it." Dafydd went on. "It really suits a_ pretty girl _like you."

"What?" the blonde asked, completely blindsided but that remark. As the gears began to turn in his head, and he finally registered what the boy had said, his eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"That's very _'flattering',_ and all, but_ I'm a boy." _Alois said with a friendly grin, hoping to completely crush the new lad, who simply blinked a few times before speaking again.

"My bad." he said with a big grin. "That's_ even more impressive_. You're just so good-looking! It's pretty amazing that you're a bloke."

_ "What?"_ Alois said. The word simply flew out of his mouth before he could catch it.

"To tell the truth_, I don't really care either way_. _I like what I like, and that's all that I like._ And right now, I think I might like _you."_

"Sorry, but I can't say I'm interested. _I'm taken by the cyclops, over there_." Alois gestured to a rather peeved-looking Ciel, who was once again firing ice-beams at the new boy for the second time that morning. In response Dafydd simply leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

"Ugh, it's always the _powerful supernaturals _who get all the good ones..."

"Wait, _'supernaturals'?"_

"Don't play dumb. I know you're one too." said Dafydd. "Your human-friends_ think _very _loudly._ It wasn't hard to figure out. So, what're you? Personally, I'm a sorcerer. I cast spells, mix potions, summon things, y'know, stuff like that."

"Don't you think you're being a bit _casual _about that?" Alois asked, pausing for a moment as he caught himself sounding like Ciel. "If you start talking about it in public and performing _magic-tricks, _people are going to find out."

"I'm not worried." said the sorcerer, leaning forward again, and resting his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm. "People only see what they want to believe. Also, it's not _'magic'. _It's _Magicaology._ It's a _science."_

"The _'magica' _in that is latin for _'magic'."_

"Oh, so you speak more than one language? _That's pretty cute."_

"Again, I'm with _Satan_, over there, so don't even try it, _Romeo."_

"Is that the cyclops' name, or does he have a more official one?" asked Dafydd.

"It's Ciel, _Ciel Phantomhive."_ The sorcerer boy almost fell out of his chair from hearing the name.

* * *

**A/N: Another person who knows Ciel? How absolutely SHOCKING!  
**

**I like the name "Dafydd". It's Welsh, like mine. It's common for it's country of origin. (At least that's what Google told me.) It's in the U.K., so nah, nah, nah, boo-boo, I DO WHAT I WANT!**

**I hate it when OC's have names that sound either made up, or are completely uncommon, so I just felt like I needed to clear that up. Names like that just scream "Mary-Sue", and it's annoying. But then again, AUTHORS DO WHAT THEY WANT. **

**Mary-Sues make me want to gag, though. I can't stand them, so I seldom read fics with OCs in them just to avoid them. Starting out with your characters being super-powerful and perfect is boring as hell. There's no just build-up, and thus no conflict. They just don't feel like they're people. Part of creating any kind of story is to temporarily give the audience the illusion that the characters are real so that they'll actually give a rat's ass about what happens to them. **

**So for the love of all that is good, please put as much effort as you can in creating your OCs. After you've done that, go onto the inter-googles and take the "Mary-Sue Litmus Test" just to double-check. I do this for almost every character. It's quite helpful. **

**Name 'em something you'd hear on any ordinary day, give them issues, have them struggle to get their way, have them suffer along their journey, have them have doubts, like people do. It's easy. **

**Y'know a good way of getting a look for a character that isn't "Sue-ish"? Watch your favourite anime and pick out a background character that catches your eye. Example: Maxwell. His "human" self while he was alive is actually in the background of episode 8 of season 2 of Black Butler. He's in the scene where the kids are riding in the wagon to the Trancy manor. He's sitting next to Alois. The camera zooms in on Alois for a few seconds, and Maxwell was the only other person in the frame. That's why I noticed him. I've actually been drawing Human!Maxwell quite a bit, lately.**

**I name characters all the time. There's these three Grim Reapers in the "The Tale Of Will The Reaper" OVA that I've named. They appear toward the beginning, and are among the reaper-trainees that William is giving a tour of the Reaper's HQ. The one with reddish-brown hair swept ti the left is "Elliot". The Short, blonde one is "Armin". The one with black, spiky hair is "Virgil". They talk, so it was easy to come up with personalities for them, but they had no name, no back-story, nothing. So I made some up. **

**'CAUSE I DO WHAT I WANT.**

**Laters, duckies.**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: "**I now demand Kris's reaction to the last question."** by Honeycloud Of RiverClan, in response to the last question on the previous set.  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"W-w-WHAT?! WHO THE FUCK WROTE THIS?! I'M GOING TO SUE FOR SEXUAL HARRASSMENT! That's it! I'm LEAVING!"  
_

_Alois: "You can't leave! We've already lost Daniel!"_

_Kristopherson: "I. DON'T. CARE. I'm going home!"_

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_Question: **"for Sebby. Would you be mine? PLEASE! Youre so kawaii!"** by ImAWeirdoAtitsBe_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"My apologies, but I'm **permanantly employed."**  
_

_00000000000000000_

_Not many questions, so..._

**_ACKERMAN'S RANDOM SUPERNATURAL FACTS:_**

_"Demons transform by destroying their cells and regenerating them at rapid paces, rearranging them into the shape that they want. The black flames you see when they transform painlessly burn them away, and since they are made of pure demonic energy, which is required for regeneration, the process is made that much faster. It is still unknown, however, how they are able to change the appearance of their clothing."_

_"While all demons can be 'human-like' there are few who are actually self-aware, like Ciel, Alois, and Luka. By definition, they are able to be independent, and don't need to be assigned an identity. Like ordinary demons, they will die without eating souls, but the only reason they even bother to make contracts rather than simply take souls, is to ease their own conscience about the act, rather than to fill a hollow void. They are able to think as humans do, and are able to understand human morality. They are also able to have feelings that are unnatural for demons, such as like love in varying degrees, such as romantic-love, platonic-love, and familial-love. As such, they are able to have bonds that are deeper than that of simple 'master and servant'. Moreover, the ability to sympathize, empathize, and feel duty beyond 'because I was told to' is unordinary. It is also on record, that self-aware demons have a libido similar to humans and can feel sexual attraction, unlike normal demons, as recorded in the cases of Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy."_

_"There is nothing 'holy' or 'mystical' about a Werewolf's aversion to silver. It's simply an allergy, like how some people are allergic to nuts."_

_"A vampire's eyes are red, not because of any sort of supernatural effects, but because they lack pigment, like those of any albino creature. It has also been documented that there have been vampires with green, blue, and even gold eyes, all very pale colours. Dark pigment reduces the eye's sensitivity to the sun, so having lighter pigment or lackthereof would make one's eyes more so. This is true in humans as well. Similarly, the sensitivity of a vampire's skin to sunlight also has to do with little, or lack of pigment. There have been vampires with darker skin, all show greater resistance against sunlight. Human evolution works the same way. Lighter skin, eyes, and hair are all genetic traits originating from places with less sun, therefore the resistance wasn't necessary. Darker pigmentation comes from places closer to the equator, where the sun hits the earth much more intensely. The spread of these traits only came about within the past few hundred years, when inter-continental travel became possible, and easier, causing the intermingling of these traits. So, in a nutshell, Vampires aren't sensitive to sunlight for supernatural reasons. It's due to their lack of pigment. It's also been theorized that they have a skin condition, known as a 'sun allergy', which also appears in humans, but pigmentation also plays a major role in this as well."_


	244. A Gentlemanly Challenge

Dafydd traversed the hallways, seeking out one person in particular. Something had bothered him about his conversation with Alois that morning. "Ciel Phantomhive" the blonde had called the lad seated a few seats over from them. Dafydd had heard that name before, he just didn't remember where.

That night, he went home and did some digging. The sorcerer had a habit of collecting any old book or newspaper that he could get his hands on, so he started there. It took him almost the entire night, but he found it. Several newspaper articles dating back from the late 1800s.

_"Tragedy strikes at Phantomhive manor: Earl Phantomhive and wife reported dead; son missing."_ and another _"Phantomhive boy found! Missing son of deceased Earl returns; inherits company."_ and another, "_Ciel Phantomhive, owner of Funtom Toys wins Royal certificate" _and yet another, _"Funtom boy-CEO funds new dam, discovers legendary 'White Stag'."_

There were many pages with the Phantomhive lad's name and picture on them, but how could that be? As he thought upon seeing the lad, he was supernatural as well, and of a far greater power than a mere sorcerer. Sorcerers are humans with supernatural powers, said to have been created from the copulation of a human, and a demon, and as such, they were mortal. They would age, and could die of old age, and be killed just like any other human. The only difference was that they could use black magic.

The Phantomhive boy bothered Dafydd. What was he? The boy's nickname, "Satan" worried him as well. The sorcerer knew that Ciel was powerful, as he couldn't detect his thoughts. Yes, Dafydd could hear ones thoughts. That's how he knew Alois was supernatural, and that it was alright to discuss such matters around the seven. He just didn't catch what either boy was.

He marched into school that day on a mission. He was going to find the answer, not for any reason other than for the fact that not knowing things bothered him. He could hear thoughts, so suddenly not knowing things bothered him. He walked to his first period class, and saw the demonic duo conversing like they always did, before making a beeline for them. He slammed his hand on the table in front of the bluenette, gaining his attention. The other boy, however, lazily looked up at Dafydd.

"Can I _help_ you?" CIel asked, his expression a bit more stern than usual. He was under enough stress as it was, and simply did not need this nonsense. He was waiting on Preston and Audrey to get there in order to gain whatever information they had, but then this fool showed up. He narrowed his eyes at the boy, who simply furrowed his brow at him in response.

"What's the deal, huh?" asked Dafydd, pulling out a copy of one of his newpapers and holding it up to the bluenette's gaze. "What the _hell_ are you? These are from the 1800s! There's no way you're mortal."

"Isn't it obvious?" the bluenette answered with a question. "I'm _'Satan'."_

"Don't give me that! Just give me a straight answer!" Dafydd demanded, causing the bluenette's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance. He stood up in order to seem more intimidating, glaring straight into the other boy's eyes. The fact that the boy was slightly taller than him annoyed Ciel.

"_I _don't have to tell _you_ anything." the Phantomhive boy said. "Now, I suggest you leave._ I honestly don't have the time to to be bothered with you_."

"What?!"

"Ciel!" called a certain reaper-boy as he entered the room, walking straight up to the bluenette with Preston in tow. "We've got some info for you, and _it's not good."_

"Uh... You seem busy right now, so should we just tell you later?" asked Preston.

"No. This kid was just leaving." replied the bluenette. "What is it."

"There was a _kidnapping?" _asked Dafydd, startling the others. "Why would you need to know about that?" There was a long pause before the boy's eyes widened and he looked at the bluenette once more. "You're a..."

"You're a _telepath,_ aren't you?" Ciel asked taking his seat once more. "Well, isn't that just _wonderful?_ This doesn't concern you. Now, if you'll excuse me, Audrey, Preston, _the information?"_

"Like hell it doesn't, you little-!"

"Sod off, _wizard-boy_." Alois interrupted, immediately gaining Dafydd's attention. "Shut up and _go back to Hogwarts._ You're not needed."

"Sorry, _babe,_ but I can't just do that." said the sorcerer, placing a hand on his hip. "We sorcerer's have protected people for centuries! I can't just back down."

"_Don't_ call be _'babe'." _Alois replied, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"Ooh, you're just a little _spitfire,_ aren't ya?" asked Dafydd, a grin gracing his face. "I like it."

"And you're _completely daff_."

"Like the _duck?" _asked Audrey. "Dafydd? _Daffy Duck?"_

"Oh my god, that's _brilliant_, Bones!"

"_I'm not a duck!" _argued Dafydd.

"Quiet,_ 'Daffy'_, you're in the way!" Alois said.

"Agreed." added Ciel. "What is this about a kidnapping, then?"

"We did some digging, and apparently, there's been two kidnappings from both of our family's companies." said Audrey. "A genetics expert from mine, and an authority in nano technology from Preston's."

"We don't exactly know how it happened." added Preston. "The police are still investigating it, according to my dad."

"This isn't good..." said Ciel, rubbing his temples. "At least we know that they're alive. I'm going to have to call an old friend of mine if I want anymore details. Alois, remind me to call Detective Bailey, later."

"Roger that, muffin." the blonde replied.

"Hey! Don't just ignore me!" shouted Dafydd.

"It's all we _can _do." said the bluenette, looking up at the sorcerer with a sour look on his face. "What makes youi think that you'll be of any use, here? We barely know you."

"You. Me. The rooftop. During lunch." the sorcerer replied, slamming his hand back down on the desk. "I'll show you _exactly_ what I can do."

"Is that a _challenge?" _Ciel asked. "I need to call Bailey during lunch. I don't have time for your pathetic self."

"'Pathetic, am I? Let's make this a little more interesting, then." Dafydd said. "If _you _win, I'll leave you all be, and never come back, but if _I_ win..." He grinned, glancing toward Alois. _"...I get to take the little spitfire out for a spin."_

_ "You will do no such thing."_ Ciel said, standing up. His voice was stern, and his eyes glaring daggers at the sorcerer.

"So what is it?" Dafydd asked. "_Yay or nay?"_

"I'll be able to call Bailey." said Ciel. _"I'll crush you with time to spare_."

* * *

**A/N: He mad.  
**

**I mad. I just wrote my author's note, and answers the questions, but my computer did something weird, and didn't save! I'm not going to rewrite all of it. I'll answer the questions next time around, since retyping stuff is boring as hell. Have some Doctor Ackerman...**

**FUCK YOU, TECHNOLOGY. **

**Laters, Duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN GODDAMMIT  
**_

_**Doctor Ackerman's Supernatural Notes:  
**_

_"Sorcerers are human beings with demonic energy, and are able to harness that energy at will, just like a demon. They use a variety of methods to help focus this energy, using various elements, metals, and gemstones to do so, each one specializing in different types of spells. Many of them use them to make jewelery to wear, to subtly be able to harness power, as wands and staffs went out of fashion several hundred years ago. It's simply more convenient, and more efficient. Using this energy, however, can be taxing on the body, and they require a lot of rest after using it extensively. Some even die young because of it. They can outlive humans if they abstain from excessive use of magic, but are by not means, 'immortal'." _

_"Anti-freak bullets are blessed, coated in silver, and marked with symbols similar to those used in protective magic circles. The reason for all of this, even though it does not effect every supernatural being, is to make sure they work on as many types of creatures as possible. Blessed objects work on vampires, silver for werewolves, and the symbols for demons (blessing them only stuns them). Those symbols are designed to repel demonic energy, therefore they basically tear the demon apart from the inside, out, upon entry. Many H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. members have these symbols tattooed onto their skin in order to keep demons from stealing their souls without a contract. Some bullets are equipped with small amounts of explosives, (enough to fit in a bullet, so nothing major,) or with magnesium tips for greater effectiveness."_

_"A demon's contract mark only appears on their left hand if they are currently in possession of a contract. Any other time, it's gone. If a demon has a contract, and they change shape, their mark will appear, regardless of the shape that they take. While Ciel doesn't have one of his own at the moment, his contract with Sebastian is always there, whether he's in his 'default' form, his 'adult' form, or his 'demonic' form. Should he turn into anything else, it would always be there. He is also unable to regenerate the damage done to his eye from the mark, and is nearly blind in that eye at all times."_


	245. Magicae Insufficiens

"Do you _really_ have to do this?" Alois asked as he and the rest of the Seven made their way to the Warwick rooftop. It was noon, and the students had been dismissed to lunch. The bluenette should really have been using this break to call Detective Bailey and request further information on the kidnapping of the two researchers from SOMA Electronics, and Baines Pharmaceuticals. "It's not like I'm going to go with him, even if he was actually capable of winning."

"I know." replied the Phantomhive who lead the pack. "If I need to put him in his place before he leaves us all alone while we're trying to work, I will."

"Well, Phantomhive sure sounds pissed off." noted Kristopherson as they climbed the many stairs that led to the roof. "Think all the stress is getting to him?"

"Either that, or he's _jealous." _said Daniel with a grin.

"But Alois just said he wouldn't go with Dafydd?" asked Preston.

"Doesn't matter." answered Daniel. "That's just how jealousy works."

_ "And you would know?"_ asked Kristopherson.

"Shut up! _We're almost there!"_

The others simply rolled their eyes at the brown-haired lad's excuse as Ciel opened the door. Behind it was as high up on the Warwick campus as one could get. The roof of the Warwick main building stood out against the blue sky in a way that made it appear as one was upside-down above clear ocean waters, and amongst the waves just in front of them stood Dafydd, turning away from the cloud that he was looking at to face the other boys with a grin.

"Alright?" he greeted, placing a hand on his hip.

"Hey, 'Daffy'." said Audrey, causing the rest of the seven, aside from Ciel, snicker.

"My name's not _'Daffy'! _It's 'Dafydd'! _Dafydd Blake!"_ the sorcerer protested, his grin turning into a near-pout.

"Are we going to get this over with already?" asked the bluenette, setting things back on track. "I've got things I need to do before lunch is over."

"Honestly, what does _Spitfire _see in you?" Dafydd asked, folding his arms. "You're kind of a _prick_, you know that?"

"And you're a _creep_." said Kristopherson.

"If you aren't ready within the next _three seconds_, I'm going to knock you straight off of this roof." said the bluenette, sticking his nose in the air, somewhat. This gesture changed when he smirked and sent the sorcerer an evil look. "Well, _who's really to say that I won't, anyway?"_

Dafydd shot the boy a defiant grin, and took a fighting stance. One of the rings on his hands glowed blue, as he opened his mouth to speak again. He spoke in latin, as he recited a spell.

_ "Scientia de anima! Cantus Bellalax!"_

Ciel smirked. He recognized the spell. The part at the beginning was an incantation that a sorcerer must recite to call upon his or her power, each one being unique to the user, and the second one was the actual spell. It projected a weak barrier around the caster, lessening the blows of physical attacks. It increased the speed, senses, and durability of the user, and since the boy was in no way as resilient as a demon, he had to compensate.

The sorcerer advanced, and the demon-boy moved away from the others so that they may not be accidentally struck. Yet, Ciel made no attempt to dodge Dafydd as he cocked back his arm and aimed his fist directly at the other boy's face. He didn't even see the demon's muscles tense before he felt pain in his stomach from the bluenette's foot making contact with it. Dafydd fell flat on his rear as Ciel looked down on him.

Once he registered what had just happened, the sorcerer-boy's face flushed from embarrassment, as he scrambled to his feet. He ignored the pain in his stomach and tailbone as he tried to look tough once again. This time, he thought carefully before attacking. _If direct attacks didn't work, why not get some distance?_

_ "Scientia de anima! Spiraculum Gilgrim!"_ he shouted, this time a red gemstone lighting up. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs to their full capacity, before expelling it through his mouth in the form of _fire._

Again, the bluenette didn't even flinch as the flames engulfed him, leaving scorch-marks on the floor. The others looked on in horror as they witnessed this, yet they knew that by the Phantomhive-boy's demeanor, he had something up his sleeve. Dafydd sensed something was off as well, but, unable to hear the bluenette's thoughts, there was nothing he could do but wait.

As the fire dissipated, Ciel was visible once more, holding his hand up to block the attack. It would appear that flames were of no use on demons as well. Dafydd didn't know this, but he knew the other boy was powerful. Powerful enough to block his telepathic sensory-skills

"Fine! Time to bring out the big guns!" the frustrated sorcerer shouted, taking his stance once more. He pointed his fingers at the bluenette like they were supposed to be a gun. This time, a yellow gem glowed, and much brighter than the last two as he focused more energy into the attack. _"Scientia de anima! Egressus as de fulmine irritum inimicis meis et concidi!"_

A loud _boom _sounded off, causing the others to cover their ears. There was absolutely no way that someone didn't notice that. His attack had created a sonic-boom on top of a building with hundreds of people inside. It was _thunder_. Dafydd had just shot lightning from his fingers, and had aimed it straight at the bluenette. There was just one problem: _Ciel was no where to be found. _

Dafydd looked in front of him, but found nothing. He looked to his left, and found nothing. He looked to his right, and still found nothing. The sorcerer spun a full circle looking for his opponent, but the Phantomhive boy was nowhere to be seen. That is, until he looked up.

The shoe of the missing Phantomhive came into contact with the boy's face. His sixth sense had told him to dodge, and he did that by jumping, and now Ciel was using gravity to help him kick Dafydd's face. He landed as the other boy clutched his face, as the boy's nose bled from the impact. Soon, Dafydd recovered, only to turn around to face the demon with an irate expression. He opened his mouth to shout another spell, another ring glowing.

"_Scientia de anima! Carcer glacies spiritu-"_ He was cut off by a quick slap to the face from his opponent. He furrowed his brow and tried again.

_ "Scientia de anima! Carcer gla-"_ The same thing happened again. "_Sientia de anima! Ca-"_ And again. "_Scientia de ani-"_ And once more...

Soon, the sorcerer stumbled backward. He looked up at the Phantomhive boy, patiently waiting for another attack, only to have the boy stare blankly at him. When he determined it was safe, he held up his hand and tried one last time.

"_Sci-"_

The poor lad was only able to let out one syllable as he was punched in the stomach. His legs gave up on him, as he fell to the ground, clutching his pained abdomen. The bluenette took that as a sign that this fight was over.

"That's a major _weakness_, you know." said Ciel, capturing the sorcerer's attention. "You have to be able to say the name of your attack before you do it, and you have to verbally call on your power. _If I just keep you from speaking, you can't even hope to attack at all."_

Dafydd spoke weakly and held up his hand, only managing to say: "_S-s-scientia de-"_ before getting kicked while he was down.

"It's probably a good idea to get out of here, quickly." Ciel said, walking back over to his friends. _"Everyone within a several mile radius heard that last attack of yours_."

"Don't take it so hard, _Daffy." _said Alois, offering the boy a smile_. "Not just anyone can beat a demon."_

"Especially one who made several other demons _his bitch." _added Daniel, earning a playful punch from the blonde menace.

With that, they left, leaving the sorcerer alone to contemplate his loss. He would have to study more in order to get out of having to recite the spells to be able to cast them. That was something that took years to master, but he would have to do it. Soon, he got up and brush himself off, wiping his bloody nose with the back of his hand before making his way to the restroom to clean himself off.

_He was crushed with time to spare, as promised, leaving the bluenette to make his call._

* * *

**A/N Does this violence please ye, duckies?  
**

**Poor Daffy. He got so much hate! **

**He's not a bad person, he's just kind of... What's a nice way to put the word I'm thinking of?  
**

**Anyway, Next chapter we'll get back on track. This kid will be relevant, but later. **

**A lot of you liked Alois' _"Go back to Hogwarts"_ in the last chapter. As such, I shall share with you something I did a while back:  
**

**I sorted the seven into Hogwarts houses. Here's the breakdown.**

**_Gryphindor:_ Daniel and Audrey. While Daniel's may be obvious (that moron..), Audrey's might not be. Audrey could be considered a Ravenclaw, but he isn't especially intelligent or creative. He's very brave, however, as made evident when he shot August to save the demonic duo instead of running away like he was supposed to, and by shooting the angel that injured Sebastian in order to distract her.**

**_Hufflepuff:_ Travis and Preston. Hufflepuff house values loyalty and patience. Both are extremely patient people to be able to keep up with the others with their low-key personality, and are both loyal. Preston may not seem that way, having made friends with the Seven in the first place for profit. But, since doing so, he has accidentally made his first set of _real_ friends, and values them far more than he would admit on a level that is not material.**

**_Ravenclaw:_ Just Kristopherson. Kristopherson is perhaps the most creative of the seven, due to his ability to take an abstract concept or idea and put it in a visual or physical form. (His fashion.) Creativity is one of the attributes that Ravenclaw values, along with wit, and intelligence. He's very witty to be able to disarm both Daniel, and Alois in verbal warfare. Alois less so, because he is able to turn it back around again. This, however, is not entirely because of wit, but because of the fact that he has few boundaries.**

**_Slytherin_: Ciel and Alois. Not because they're demons, but because they have the willingness to do anything to get their way. They're cunning, resourceful, able to take command, and ambitious, all of the things that Slytherin house looks for, which is why Ciel cannot be a Ravenclaw, and why Alois cannot be a Gryphindor.  
**

**OHMAHGAW! Somebody write this! (Or don't, I don't give a shit.)**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET YOU GUYS ARE DI/UCKS  
**_

_Question: "**To Ciel and Alois: What would your first reaction be if you saw two of each other? (Alois you see two Ciels and Ciel you see two Aloises. Aloisi? I have no idea...)**" by CiaranMichaelis  
_

_Alois' Answer:"Obviously, we should have a password, so we know which ones are which." _

_Ciel:__"That's actually not a bad idea. Any ideas?"_

_Alois: "Isn't it obvious? It should be the same as our safeword~!"_

_Ciel: ***Facepalm*** "We don't **have** one of those, Alois..."_

_Alois: "All the more reason to think of one, poochie~! (Relax, I'm just messing with you.)"_

_0000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Damnit, why is everyone so for Daniel topping? Daniel must bottom! Just imagine the way he'd act! Besides, with Kris's badassery, it fits. So what if he likes pink? It just makes having him top Daniel all the more amazing. Kris, what are your feelings on this? Daniel? Don't worry, you can take turns topping!"** by Canadian Hero_

_Kristopherson's Answer: "What the hell?! We aren't like that! Stop asking us stuff like this! B-besides, D-Daniel's straight..."  
_

_Daniel's__ Answer: __"There is no way in HELL I'm letting another man near my ass! I don't care how long Kris' eyelashes are, or how he looks in those shorts! THERE IS NO WAY I'M GOING TO LET HIM DO ME!"_

_000000000000000000000000000000_

**_ACKERMAN'S NOTES:_**

_"Sorcerers have to recite two incantations when they use magic. The second one is the actual spell, but the first is to summon the energy. The first spell is completely unique to the caster, and is something that they have to come up with on their own. No other sorcerer in the world has the same one. The only criteria for creating one is that it is meaningful to the user."  
_

_"Unlike sorcerers, demons seldom have to recite incantations to use magic. They only time they might have to is if they're casting a spell that requires a lot of magical power, and don't have the ability to focus that much energy without doing so, yet."  
_

_"There is no way to preserve a demonic skeleton. They must be destroyed immediately. One small touch, and it can curse a human in many ways. Some grow cancerous tumors that slowly kill them, sometimes their skin will bubble, before their flesh completely melts off their bones, sometimes their body will slowly break down, losing their senses and ability to move before dying, as well as many other horrible and incurable ways. The only exception seems to be if the demon was self-aware, and bidded no spite toward humanity, which is extremely rare, since most self-aware demons are often the most ruthless and disturbed creatures on the planet, feeling superior to humanity and viewing them merely as their playthings._

_Killing them is extremely difficult, and often is not without losses. They often enjoy torturing their prey in unspeakable ways, and don't bother forming contracts at all. The only case of a self-aware demon not turning out this way, is the case of the Phantomhive-house demons. Under the influence of Ciel Phantomhive, who values his humanity above his power, they have remained 'human', to a great extent, at least under H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. philosophy, and are worth not killing, as both helpful tools, research material, and for moral reasons."_


	246. Base Camp, Do You Read Me?

Warwick Academy; perhaps one of Britain's finest schools, offering students lessons in the arts, culture, the finest of science and maths, as well as how to handle themselves in practically any career of their choosing. Right now, the teachers were trying to discover the source of the thunderous noise that had nearly ruptured the eardrums of practically everyone on the campus, all but one, who had a guess as to what the cause was. Mister Irons knew it was no doubt the work of the demon-boys, and needed no further explanation.

Ciel walked out into a secluded area of the courtyard, and pulled out his cellphone. After scrolling through his contacts, he eventually came across the name that he desired, and pushed the "call" button before placing the device up to his ear and listening to it ring. He felt the corner of his mouth twitch slightly as he heard the voice of Detective Bailey.

"_Hello?" _he answered, his voice groggy and tired. Just by that alone, Ciel knew he had definitely called the right person.

"_Tough case, Bailey?" _asked the bluenette as greeting, taking a small amount of delight in the man's fatigue. He knew that whatever it was, Ciel could most likely solve it much faster than Bailey, and without even breaking a sweat.

"_Kidnappings."_ said Bailey, the creaking of his chair could be heard over the line as he sat up. "They're a pain. Something tells me you didn't just call to say _'hi', _so what is it, Phantomhive?"

"Oh, so I guess you've caught me?" the bluenette joked back. "I'm looking for information on a set of kidnappings, myself, and was wondering if you'd be so kind as to throw some information my way?"

"Of course you are." said Bailey, shuffling through some papers. "Got some names?"

"Yes, I'm looking for information on the kidnappings of Almondine Bigby, a specialist of nano technology for SOMA electronics, and Elena Lovejoy, a geneticist working for Baines Pharmaceuticals." explained the bluenette. He opened his mouth to explain even further, but the man on the other end of the phone spoke first.

"Trying to beat me to the punch, huh, Phantomhive?" asked Bailey. "I have all of the information right in front of me. That's just the case _I_ was working on."

"Sorry." the bluenette said with insincerity. "What can you tell me?"

"Well, both women were abducted from their homes just a few days ago." the detective began, eying the papers. "There were signs of forced entry, but no signs of any further struggle. We suspect that the kidnappers were armed, and threatened to kill them. There were no fingerprints but the victims' anywhere around the house. I'll e-mail you the files, but I'm going to guess that you're going to ask to see the crime scene?"

"If at all possible, _yes_." replied the bluenette, causing the detective to sigh.

"Alright. Can you be here tomorrow morning?"

"I'll have to skip school, but I can."

"You have_ all the time in the world _for school. _Kidnapping_ comes firs."

"Roger that. See you then, Bailey."

"Aye, see you, _kiddo_."

With that, he hung up. Ciel carefully placed his phone back in his pocket before furrowing his eyebrows at the detective's preferred nickname for him. Sometimes it seemed that everyone he worked with had their own unique way to mock him. It irritated him to no end, bruising his ego slightly. He, however, wasn't able to dwell on this for long, as a pair of arms snaked their way around his torso from behind, hands landing up his chest, causing him to jump.

_ "Trancy to base camp! Do you read?! I repeat: Trancy to base camp! Over!"_ called the blonde menace, nearly making the Phantomhive boy jump out of his skin.

Once it finally dawned on him that Alois was simply messing with him, he relaxed, slightly. He could practically feel the massive grin on the other boy's face as he stood behind him. They both stood in silence for a moment, as Ciel patiently awaited an explanation, one that never came.

"_Alois?"_ he asked, finally.

"_Yes?" _answered the blonde menace, casually squeezing the bluenette's chest as if it were nothing.

_ "What the bloody hell are you doing?"_

"Feeling your _chesticles_."

_ "Why?"_

"Does it bother you?"

"Yes."

_ "That's why."_

With a roll of his visible eye, Ciel wrapped his fingers around the blonde's wrists, before forcefully prying the other boy's hands off of him, much to Alois' disappointment. He turned to see the blonde pouting at him, which was made less effective by the blonde's hands, which were held up like claws, fingers opening and closing. It took a swift flick to the forehead to make him stop.

_ "No."_ the bluenette said, speaking as though he were talking to a dog. "_Bad."_

"But why? It's not like you have _boobs, _or anything." replied the blonde, trying to rationalize his actions to no avail. "Touching your chest shouldn't be a big deal~!"

"You and I both know that's a _lie_." Ciel said. "Your _intentions_ were_ nefarious_. Keep your hands to yourself. _Have you forgotten that we're in public?"_

"So, only in _private,_ then?" Alois giggled at the new pink tint that dusted the bluenette's cheeks at that remark. "So? _Learn anything new?"_

_ "A-about what?"_

"_The case_, of course." A smirk graced the blonde's face, followed by a giggle. "What were _you_ thinking?"

"W-well, _ahem..." _the bluenette began, clearing his throat and ignoring the other boy's previous question. "The two scientists that were kidnapped, were kidnapped in their homes. There were signs of a forced entry, but no struggle. _We'll be heading out to the scene of the crime tomorrow morning, to get further information."_

_ "Sounds like a plan."_ replied the blonde. "Lunch is almost over, should we head back to class?"

_"I suppose so." _Ciel answered as he begun to walk along side the blonde.

They walked in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence. It wasn't often that they got to do so. There were always murders to solve, kidnappers to catch, supernatural beings to deal with, silly friends being silly, or little brothers interrupting. It was pleasant.

"So, what did you _really _think I meant earlier?" asked Alois, breaking the silence. It took a moment for the bluenette to fully remember the entirety of their conversation, but when he did, he furrowed his brow, his cheeks turning pink.

"It was _nothing." _he insisted. _"I just didn't understand what you were talking about_..."

"That's a lie, isn't it?" The blonde grinned.

_ "I said it was nothing!"_

* * *

**A/N: Srsly? Whatever...  
**

**There are so many bits that I've just been waiting for the right moments to do. You're welcome.**

**Ah, the Latin-to-English translations in the last chapter... I used Google Translate, what can I do?**

**In other news, I re-drew older versions of the seven, and not many things changed. The only person who changed the most was Kristopherson, who, in the original image, had stopped dyeing his hair, and let it be brown. Now, it's blonde again, and for some reason, he has a goatee. (that he doesn't dye)  
**

**It looks kinda like a cat-head. (Probably because I've been obsessed with Tiger&Bunny, lately. Kotetsu? That you?) It's funny. I think I'll keep it that way. It has some skit-potential. "Dude, your beard. It totally looks like a cat..." I'll post the image to my deviantart when I get the chance. **

**WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT? WOAH, WOAH~!**

**This version of Kris is like, 27 years old. I can't tell you much about him, unfortunately, AND I WANT TO SO BADLY. But, not everyone appreciates spoilers, soooo...  
**

**Posting that picture will contain major spoilers, though. All you have to do is look at it really carefully...**

**By the way, I've also heard that several duckies have more KrisXDan/DanXKris fanficceptions in the works. Man, they're popular, huh? Guys, seriously, be nice... Your questions don't affect the story in the slightest, so don't expect them to have a "sudden realization of their love for each other" from being asked questions. (Because that wouldn't make any sense for them to do it there...)  
**

**Anyways, I'll be sure to post where to find any and all fanficceptions in the authors notes~!**

**Until the next chapter, my beloved little duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET GODDAMMIT U GAIS  
**_

_Question: **"Ciel, you are in a pink poofy fairy dress made for GIRLS doing "wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more-say no more" with Kristoperson. Your reaction? And includ Kris's reation too. And might as well bring in Alois..."** by Light Umbreon  
_

_Ciel's Answer:"**NO."**_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"Sorry, but Ciel isn't my type."_

_Alois' Answer:"Obviously, that Ciel is a fake. Quick! Does he know the Safewor-, I mean PASSWORD?!"  
_

_000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Hey! I thoiught those two Kris and Daniel left! So what happened you guys?"** by FreezinWinter_

_Daniel's Answer:__"I **tried** to leave, but when I got to the front door, that weird werewolf girl was there, and she **threatened me with a shovel!**"  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"I saw Dan in the hallway on my way out, and he said that 'the wolf-chick's crazy, and she has a shovel!', and then he had to explain what that meant. We had to come back because of a weird french werewolf with digging equipment... We walked the entire way in suffocatingly awkward silence..."  
_

_00000000000000000000000000_

_Question__: **"Daniel, why are you a river in egypt? You know you belong under... er... I mean WITH Kris. Why can't you accept that?"** by Nitishu  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"I'm not in denial, and I'm not gay! I can't accept that because of that! I'M NOT GAY! What makes you all think that I am?!"  
_

_00000000000000000000000000_

_Questionx2: **"Daniel, what do you mean by, "-or how he looks in those shorts-"?"** by grellthesexyredshinigami AND **"*raises eyebrow* Hmmm... So Daniel, how DOES Kris look in those shorts, to you?"** by Confessions-of-an-Animaholic._

_Daniel's Answer:__"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! He just looks so **girly!** Seriously, the guy shaves his legs and prances around like some sort of fashion model! No guy should move their hips like that when they walk! IT'S WEIRD! He might as well BE a girl!"  
_


	247. Not A Fun Web-Show

"Hey, can I ask a question?" asked the bluenette. "I mean, aside from that one."

"Go ahead." said Daniel, as he looked around the partially vacant room.

"_What the bloody hell are you lot doing here, too?" _

Although it was a school-day, the sensational seven weren't in school. Instead, they were at the home of Elena Lovejoy, where the geneticist lived before being kidnapped by what the Phantomhive lad assumed was a "Millennium copycat". It was completely beyond the lad's comprehension as to what they could possibly be doing there. For some unknown reason, they had followed the demonic duo along on their investigation.

"I want to get to the bottom of this, as well." explained Audrey, looking around the stranger's house. "Doctor Lovejoy was one of _Baines'_ top geneticists. The things she was working on could possibly cure illnesses that were deemed _'incurable'. _Of _course_ I want to know why she was kidnapped."

"Fine_, and the rest of you?"_ Ciel asked, his tone annoyed as he watched the others casually stroll about the crime scene.

"Same as Audrey." said Preston. "Only, I want to know what happened to Doctor Bigby."

"i'm here because it sounded interesting." said Daniel.

"Likewise." said Travis.

"It's not everyday a crime-scene pops up, you know." added Kristopherson.

"Actually, they _do_, and _civilians aren't allowed on them!" _the bluenette said, trying to conceal the shear annoyance in his voice.

"Relax, Phantomhive. _We'll be super-careful not to disturb any evidence_." said Daniel, picking up a picture frame that was placed on a small shelf to look at it.

"That's _disturbing evidence_, Dan..." said Audrey, sensing the blue demon's agitation. He leaned in closer to the bluenette's ear_. "I'll try and keep them from touching anything, you find what you need." _he whispered.

"_Thanks." _Ciel said with a sigh. He then turned, and started from the point of entry from where the kidnappers came.

It was a broken window toward the back of the house, in the kitchen. You could still see dried mud from where they stepped over glass. He followed the prints out of the kitchen and into the living-room again, where the mud had apparently wiped off on the carpet, ending the trail. From there, he had to figure out what happened next. He had to have searched every room of that house, not able to find a single thing.

"Hey, Ciel! Get in here! Preston says he found something!" called Alois, his voice coming from the living room. With a roll of his visible eye, the bluenette reluctantly headed toward it, without confidence in any of the Seven's detective skills.

When he turned the corner, he saw the lads gathered around the doctor's computer, with Preston seated in the chair in front of it. Eyebrow raised, Ciel walked over to join them, curious as to what could possibly be on the computer.

"What is it?" he asked, not waiting for him to start. Preston looked away from the screen, at the boy, and then back again.

"Well, the table looked like someone had bumped it." began the Omid lad. "It looked like it was moved slightly from it's actual location, and stuff was knocked over, including a webcam. Looking at it closer, I saw that the light was on, and it was recording."

"Do we know about what time Lovejoy was kidnapped?" asked Alois, looking toward the bluenette.

"According to the e-mail Bailey sent me, it was around... _2:30 in the morning_." Ciel answered, looking at the document on his phone.

"It's _8:12 now, and it's been three days_, so that's about..." Audrey trailed off, jotting down the numbers on a scrap piece of paper on the desk. "...I don't know how good my math is, but that's about _eighty hours ago_. Hey, Preston, can you rewind it back that far?"

"Yeah. That looks like the beginning of the recording, though." answered Preston, replaying the video. "The criminal must've turned it on on acciden-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence before something happened on the screen. The kidnapper had turned on the camera, _right in the middle of fighting Doctor Lovejoy._ The woman was the same one as in the pictures on the shelves in the houses, a larger woman with dark skin, wearing glasses, and she was obviously giving the villain a hard time. She screamed and punched, and tried everything she could to defend herself. Soon, however, she was overwhelmed by the strength of her assailant, and was knocked unconcious. It was then that Preston reached over and paused the video. The boys sat in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Well, at least we know who the kidnapper is." spoke the blonde menace, breaking the unbearable silence. "We saw his face. All we have to do is track him down."

"Did you see that guy? There's no way he was a normal human." said Audrey. "He's probably one of their _'copycat-freaks'. _There's no way one man could successfully abduct someone resissting like that."

"Agreed, and since he's also a freak, he's going to be a little harder to find." added Ciel, furrowing his brow and folding his arms in confusion. "There's one thing that bothers me, though..."

"You mean the video in general?" asked Daniel.

"_No. It's the fact that Bailey said that he and his men investigated the scene earlier, but found no signs of a struggle."_

"Maybe it's just_ incompetence _on his part." suggested Alois. "You know how _useless _the police are, compared to us."

"Except Bailey isn't stupid." said the bluenette. "He's always very thorough when searching his crime scenes. He's the reason we were able to get so much information to start with on all of the cases we've worked on together."

"You don't think _the police are in on it,_ do you?" asked Kristopherson.

"I'm not sure, yet." Ciel replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small memory-stick. "Preston, can you save that clip onto this, for me?" he asked, handing it to the boy.

_ "Of course_." answered the Omid boy, turning back around and getting to work.

"You're pretty good with computers, huh, Preston?" asked Alois, raising an eyebrow. "I had no idea."

"_It's 'cause he's Indian_." teased Daniel, earning a punch to the shoulder. Preston simply rolled his eyes and finished his task before handing the memory-stick back to the bluenette.

"Alright, now that we've got all the evidence we need, it's time to _get out_." Ciel said, his annoyed tone back. He simply wanted the others out of the house before they broke anything, _or worse._ He hurriedly shooed them all out the door before carefully closing it, and locking it with the key that Detective Bailey gave him.

_ "Remind me to never let any of you near another crime scene again..." _he muttered, ending his words with a sigh.

"But it was _Preston _who got the evidence..." said Travis.

"I could have found it, given enough time." the bluenette answered, walking down the sidewalk along with the others on their way to their cars.

"Personally, I'm glad to be out of there." said Audrey, placing his hands in his pockets. "That house was _way too small_, for my liking."

"A lot like_ your thing, _huh, Audrey?" asked Daniel, causing everyone to come to a complete stop.

"_WHAT?"_ asked Audrey, one eye visible through his bangs, revealing just how disgusted he was with that statement.

"More importantly, _how do you know that, Dan?" _asked Alois, joining the others in shooting the lad with a barrage of questioning looks.

"What? He's _Asian,_ isn't he? I don't _have_ to." The punch he received for that statement was actually somewhat painful, yet Daniel still smiled even as he gripped his bruised shoulder.

"Daniel, _this is why we call you gay." _said Alois.

"It's not gay! Guys compare sizes all the time!"

"Too much information, Dan." said Travis.

"What?!"

"I'm only _half Asian,_ by the way." said Audrey as he continued walking. "My real dad is _English."_

"So you're saying _your dick's English?"_

"_Stop talking about people's dicks, Dan!"_

"Why? Does it _bother you, Kris?"_

"Hey, guess what?_ I'm leaving you idiots behind_." called the bluenette, as he and the blonde menace were already quite a bit of distance away from the others. Everyone else had to run in order to catch up.

* * *

**A/N: *Facepalm* **

**Daniel, just stop talking. You aren't helping your whole "Not Gay" case...  
**

**In his defense, however, I'm told that that is actually pretty normal for guys to do. (Have you ever overheard guys talking without girls around? That shit's so goddamn funny, and not because they have good senses of humour.)**

**Also, he's not racist, or anything. He's only kidding around because they're his friends. Chill, yo.**

**In other news, Audrey has some ASIAN PERSUASION.**

**Ladies, please, _keep your pants on._**

**_You too, male readers._**

**_Question for Moi~_**

**_"A question for you this time, if you were looking at your story unbiased from another point of view and didn't know what would happen in the future in all, what pairings would YOU assume?" by Nitishu_**

**Admittedly, I'd probably ship DanXKris or KrisXDan, like so many others! Maybe Travis and Preston, too, Lawrence and Walter, or Lawrence and Anastasia. I do, however, ship AugustXMaxwell. Why? BECAUSE, that's why.  
**

**I see all kinds of variations from readers. But what could be some CRACK-pairings? HellsingXKirkland? (I'm gonna get shot for that one.) StevenXBernard? (Oh god, what have I just done?) KristophersonXPinkCellPhone? (Dafuq?) VictorXHeinrich? (Haha, NO.)**

**Ooh! What about CameronXWalter?**

**They go to the same school, Tamworth. It could happen.**

**I dunno. See what you can come up with. Bonus points for it sounding legit.**

**Peace out, duckies.  
**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Alois what would you do if the that old, perverted, Trancy came onto your home? Ciel how do you react to finding out who he is?"** by Pinocchio  
_

_Alois' Answer: "Torture him, murder him, then burn the body."  
_

_Ciel's Answer:"Torture him, murder him, then burn the body."  
_

_000000000000000_

_Question: **"Question for the seven: Daniel is now a girl. Reactions?"** by Honeycloud Of RiverClan  
_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I TOLD him not to touch anything..." _

_Alois' Answer:__"Whelp, I guess that he doesn't have to feel bad about not-so-secretly liking boys, anymore~!"  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"...Ok?"_

_Audrey's Answer:__"He totally looks like his sister..."__  
_

_Daniel's Answer:__"Must... Resist... Feeling... Boobs..."  
_

_Preston's Answer:__"Is... Is his 'condition' contagious?"_

_Travis' Answer:__"Oh, well that must be awkward..."_


	248. Friends On The Force

By that afternoon, Ciel had rid himself of the rest of the sensational seven (excluding Alois), and had made his way toward the city's police headquarters to bring forward the evidence he had collected. Hopefully, he would also gain some clues as to how to find the assailant in the video is, leading him one step closer to the copycats. There was also something else on his mind, however: the fact that Detective Bailey would miss such crucial information, regardless that the man was always thorough in his investigation.

Gabriel Bailey was one of the few people the Phantomhive boy showed respect for. He was a man with a high sense of morality, knowing that he can't save everyone, but he'll try to, regardless. He was stubborn, and hated asking for help, but definitely would if it would help the greater good. Bailey often reminded Ciel of the heroes on old Saturday morning cartoons when they first came out. He was just that kind of man. Thus, it was inconceivable in every aspect that he could be a part of some nefarious plot, _helping_ the copycats instead of _stopping _them.

It was business as usual as the demonic duo stepped into his office. The bluenette calmly explained the evidence, and where he found it. He handed the detective a memory-stick with a copy of the clip that showed the kidnapping in progress, and the man plugged it into his computer.

He sat there for a moment and watched it without a single word; without a single expression, yet his eyes revealed everything that he was thinking; everything that he was feeling in that moment. After the clip ended, Detective Bailey leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples in exasperation. He stayed like that for a moment longer before speaking again.

"_I'm sorry_." he said. "I should've been the one to investigate this crime-scene. It's _my fault _this information wasn't available to you."

"_What do you mean?" _asked Ciel, leaning forward, slightly. "You said that you saw no signs of a struggle."

"That was at _Almondine Bigby's_ home, not _Elena Lovejoy's_." the detective answered, his face disappointed, more so with himself. "I was only at Bigby's crime-scene. Someone else handled this one. See?" he asked, turning the computer screen toward the demonic duo. "This camera also recorded the investigation. _I'm not there_. It looks like the_ new detective did the investigating."_

"'_New_ detective'?" Alois echoed. "Are you being _replaced?"_

"_'Fraid so, blondie."_ answered the man with a sigh. "I'm just getting too old to stay up at all hours solving cases..."

"So you're _retiring,_ is that it?" Ciel interrupted, surprising both Alois and the detective. With another sigh, Bailey spoke again.

"Yeah. Sorry, kiddo." His answer somehow seemed to annoy the bluenette, somehow. Ciel furrowed his brow and spoke in a cross sort of tone, that almost sounded like scolding.

"So that's it, then?" he asked. "You're just going to leave? You're going to leave London in the hands of some new _hack of a detective?_ How on earth am I supposed to work with that?"

"I'm just not like you, kiddo." said Bailey, digging a cigarette out of his shirt pocket. "I'm _'normal'. _I get tired, and I grow old. I just can't keep on doing this forever. _It'll kill me faster than this here cigarette."_

"_Then_ _quit smoking_." Ciel said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You love this job, Bailey. You were the one who said, _'Cleaning up the streets the best I can is the best thing I can do with my life.' _You can't just give it up."

_ "You remember that?." _replied the man with a chuckle. "I was in my _twenties,_ when I said that. Now, I'm _fifty._ I don't want to quit, but I_ have _to."

"Why? You seem fine to me."

"I'm more tired then I look. I can't stay up for nights on end, anymore. I can't chase bad-guys, I can't solve the cases I used to, I can't stay away from my family, anymore, either." said Bailey. _"I missed my own daughter's wedding, Ciel. _Do you know how that makes me _feel?"_

It was quiet for a few moments before the bluenette replied, his voice unusually apologetic. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, _no worries." _said the detective, a smile returning to his face. _"I'll miss you too, kiddo!"_

Ciel sat there on the opposite side of the desk next to his associate, simply staring at the man for a moment with an indifferent look. The blonde menace looked up at his face for a moment, anticipating his response, but something completely unexpected happened. It started with a small twitch at the corner of his mouth, before is morphed into a smirk, and then a smile. Soon, the bluenette was _laughing, _and laughing with the detective.

After it died down, they said their good byes, the detective promising to dig up any information he could find on the person in the clip and send it the Phantomhive's way. Both he, and the blonde menace, left the police station in an unusual silence, as the blonde contemplated what it was that he had just witnessed. He had never seen anyone else make Ciel laugh like that, before. As far as he knew, he was the only one.

His silence did not go unnoticed, however, as the bluenette finally stopped, causing the other lad to do the same. Alois simply looked at him with a curious look on his face, wondering why he stopped at all. Before long, however, the bluenette asked:

"Alright, _what is it?" _

"What is _what?" _asked the blonde, arching an eyebrow.

"You're quiet, and you're making a face." said Ciel as he began to walk again. "You're thinking about something."

"I was just wondering what was with that_ scary laugh _you did, earlier." Alois responded, walking along side the other boy. "Since when have you been so chummy with Bailey?"

"_Jealous, _are we?" asked the bluenette with a smirk, causing the blonde to blush and dismiss his claim. "To be honest, it was about after my first case with him. He just happens to be one of the first people I actually acknowledged as a _'friend'."_

"Like_ Sir Integra?" _the blonde teased.

"I am _not friends _with that_ freakish beast-woman."_

"What about _me?"_

_ "You're_ not my _friend_, either." the bluenette said with a rather serious face, frightening the blonde, somewhat. He smirked at the other boy's response. "You're my _boyfriend._ That's different."

"Don't _do_ that!" Alois said, playfully punching the bluenette in the arm, earning a chuckle.

"You looked like a_ kicked puppy_."

"You're _mean! _A terrible person, you are, y'know that?!"

"_But you still love me..."_

_ "Shut up!"_

_ "I love you too, muffin..."_

_ "I said 'shut up'!"_

* * *

**A/N: Ciel be trollin'...  
**

**Maybe that story of Ciel and Young!Bailey will be shared someday. I think I really should. **

**Bailey just happens to be one of my favourite characters. He was the very first OC to appear in DLTD, y'know?**

**Remember that shit? Good times, goooood tiiiiiiimes...**

**Is it just me, or has Ciel become less grumpy? I kind of miss grumpy-Ciel, but "uber-Ciel" (of whatever you wanna call him) is pretty cute, too, I guess. **

**Cute like a puppy. **

**Holy shit! We're almost to 250 chapters! Dafuq?! You still readin' this shit? Who'd've thunk...**

**Also, I'm pretty sure that if everyone who reads this followed and favourited, we'd be able to be the #1 ranked fanfic on the Kuroshitsuji section. Shameless plug? Probably. Sure feels like it. Just sayin', though. **

**The current #1 is a SebCiel fic, and is the one that I get recommended the most. _(But SebCiel creeps me the hell out asldghasldkgha I'm sorry it's the paedophila aspect of it it gives me the heebie-jeebies but hey you're free to like what you want alsdkhga;lskdhgalkd I just don't wanna because ew I'm sorry if I offended you *cries*)_**

**I wanna beat it. Why? Not because it's SebCiel, but because it's rated M, and I find the person's icon extremely offensive. (It's a drawing of a guy making out with a dog, FYI). Of course that'd bruise someone's ego. It makes me want to go into a Ciel "You-Dishonoured-Me-And-I-Will-Destroy-You" sort of rant, or a Prince Zuko "I-Have-To-Regain-My-Honour" sort of speech. **

**It's also for the fact that I hear that it's "Well-written", similar to what people say about my fic. I want to be up there without being an M-rated fic, with story alone as leverage, y'know? It's really not about being first. It's more about proving to myself that I can write as well as I'm told. How else can I actually believe it, otherwise? **

**FOR THE HONOUR-NATIONNNNNNNNNNNN!**

**I feel like I could've pissed somebody off. Whoops. Sorry, dawg. I didn't mean to...**

**Sorry, I can be kind of an asshole, sometimes. I really shouldn't take this seriously. It's fanfiction. It's not like I'm writing a best-selling novel, or something... **

**Speaking of which, I should probably get a FictionPress account and rewrite my other stories into text. (They were incomplete comics.) I would've, already, but I've been focusing on DLTD...**

**Anyways, if you ever have some constructive criticism for how this is written, whether you think a character's design is stupid, or if a arc didn't quite make sense, and if you have suggestions on how to fix it, please, do tell! **

**As long as it's not spelling. I know I missed a word or two, and it annoys me, also. Don't rub it in. **

**What's good? What can be fixed? Do tell. Just be polite about it. **

**This post is long. (If you know what I mean.) So, no "Character Shet" this time around... Ah, I've been really lazy on "Character Shet", lately... I'm sorry... There's just quite a few questions that involve more effort to answer, than others... And my brain says "NOE"...**

**Posts that ask the entire Seven a question, or ask them, or somebody to watch *insert random video here*, involve thinkiiinnnnnnngggg... And I don't waaaannnaaaa... **

**That said, there's a few like that that I've answered anyway, just because I thought they were funny, or unique. **

**Nothing personal. I just get done writing sometimes and my brain is like: "UUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH"...  
I'll get to them... maybe someday... *shifty eyes***

**Nobody did anything wrong. It's actually my fault for being such a lazy-ass.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies...**


	249. The Unexpected Appearance Of A Fowl

Ciel Phantomhive was in a hurry, today. He had received a call from Detective Bailey that morning, just a day, or so after his previous encounter with the man, as to the identity of the unknown assailant who had abducted Doctor Lovejoy from her home several days ago. The reason why Ciel was in a hurry, was because the suspect was reportedly taken into H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. custody. It was almost certain that the suspect was, or will be dead long before he arrived, but still, he had to try. As long as they hadn't destroyed the body yet, he would still be able to get information from the body.

Upon arriving to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters, he simply barged right in, something that was never a wise thing to do for his kind. Fortunately for him, he was somewhat well-known at the organization, and no one dared to try and shoot him. Most soldiers knew who he was with a single glance, even if they had never seen his face before. The description was uncanny. _"A boy with odd, dark-bluish hair, wearing an eye-patch and a permanent scowl on his face."_

It wasn't looks alone that alerted the men as to who he was. It was his presence. He had an overwhelming presence when he entered a room, one that almost felt like it could crush one with intimidation. It was especially powerful today, making this sensation worse.

He was eager to discover new information on the Millennium copycats, so he could stop them. He wanted to stop them, like he wasn't able to around fourteen years ago with the real thing. Remembering that scene, and knowing that it could happen again was enough to encourage him to go all-out on this assignment.

Hell wasn't meant for humans, especially those who hadn't especially done anything to deserve it. Hell wasn't supposed to show up in the realm of the living, either. Those things would remain separate at all times. Ciel knew this. He knew it well, yet he had seen hell-on-earth multiple times. He had seen it when he was human, and then again when he was a demon. The second time, however, his breath was completely taken away, and not in a good way.

"_Sublime_." That was the only word that could describe the scene. In theories of aesthetics, there are things known as "aesthetic arrest", which is what one is placed under when they set eyes on something so beautiful, that they simply cannot look away. But then again, they say that _"Beauty is the greatest glimpse of horror that human beings are able to bear." _That may be true, but this didn't place the Phantomhive boy under aesthetic arrest. No, that scene that lied in front of him that day was a "_sublime". _

That is when one sets eyes on destruction of such and ego-destroying scale, that one simply cannot look away. The only word that can describe such destruction, is simply "_sublime_". This is what Ciel saw that day. His ego took a backseat in that moment, as he laid eyes on his nearly obliterated hometown. Buildings he knew were in ruin. Rotting corpses walked around as people fled, screaming, while others lay dead in the streets, among rubble, twisted metal, and broken glass in pools of blood. A massive inferno engulfed what remained, as monuments stood damaged, and concrete crumbled.

The entire city was dead, and dying, and there was nothing he could do. He was helpless to save it. He was useless. He was as useless as he was on _December fourteenth, 1885, _the day that changed his life forever, when he failed to save his parents from the raging flames that burned his home to ruin. It revealed to him an ugly truth, one that he, with all of his being, didn't want to see.

_Nothing had changed_.

He was still just a child; A child that couldn't do anything. A child who was helpless to fight off the world around him, while defending what he cared about from attack. He didn't have much to care about, at the time, but he cared about London. He had known the city his entire life, and it was his home. Ciel had watched it grow from cobblestone streets and stone buildings, to a concrete jungle and cultural hub of the United Kingdom. He was proud of it, and to see it in such devastation was crushing.

Ciel barged into Sir Hellsing's office, causing the woman to raise an eyebrow. In that brief moment, the Phantomhive boy's confidence wavered, somewhat, but he quickly brushed that all to the side, as he focused on the more important matters at hand. He walked right up to the woman's desk, blonde menace in tow. In response, Sir Hellsing scooted the papers that she was working on to the side, before looking up at the boy with a disapproving look.

"What on earth are you doing?" she asked, her tone stern, as always. "You do know that you've stormed into the orginazation designed for your destruction, in a manner that could have possibly gotten you killed?"

"That's not important right now." replied the bluenette, regaining his composure. "I'm told that you have a freak in your custody who goes by the name _'Kipper Stanley', _correct?"

"And if I _do?" _asked Hellsing.

"Stanley is believed to be the only lead in the _'Millennium Copycat' _case you gave me, Sir Hellsing." Ciel answered, knowing that laying his cards on the table was almost certain to steer things his way. "Talking to him would be ideal, but if he's already dead_, a body will suffice."_ He stood there, waiting for a response, as the woman turned to her computer and clicked around on it for a few moments. When her frown deepened, however, he knew she didn't have good news.

"It would appear that Stanley was dead before our agents ever got to him." she said finally, reading the text on the screen. "The autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was a _'freak-chip' _implanted in his neck. After the autopsy was finished, standard disposal procedures were carried out."

"By _'standard disposal procedures',_ you mean...?" asked Alois.

"_Incineration."_ answered the Hellsing woman. She rubbed her temples at the set back. Had she known, she wouldn't have taken control of the operation, personally.

"_Now what am I supposed to do?" _asked Ciel, gritting his teeth. "How am I supposed to stop this thing if I can't even _find_ it?!"

"Don't raise your tone with me, Phantomhive." the woman warned. "We couldn't find it, either. _That's why we called for you in the first place."_

_"You seem to be under the impression that I can simply find something based on nothing."_ Ciel said.

The stress was starting to get to him. He was actually afraid of failing this time. This mission was putting a lot on the line for him, after all. His home was at risk of being destroyed again, it's citizens slaughtered, it's landmarks crumbled to dust. Not only that, but his entire reputation with the humans was, as well. He knew that failure here, would lead to the Round Table Conference questioning his nessecity and his loyalty. If worst comes to worst, after defeating the copycats, H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. would be coming after him, next. He definitely didn't need that. They were perhaps the biggest threat to his un-life. They've honed their supernatural-killing skills over several centuries. If anyone knew how to kill him, it was the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. orginazation.

They would kill him, Sebastian, Alois, and even Luka, and he couldn't have that. Those three were the closest thing he had to family. It was bad enough that his life was on the line, but it wasn't just. _Failure could mean their deaths as well, and that, he could not accept._

"As far as I'm concerned, _you've done it before_." Sir Hellsing replied, pointing out the lad's previous exploits. "You've been able to piece together random, or little information in the past, haven't you? Don't tell me you're just going to _falter under pressure, _Phantomhive."

With that, the bluenette perked up, somewhat. As much as if pained him to admit, she was right. Perhaps he was letting it unnecessarily get to him. It had been making him feel somewhat anxious, the idea of failure, and it made it somewhat difficult to move forward. Bailey's imminent retirement didn't help, either, as he knew he wouldn't be able to work with anyone quite like him again. The new detective was obviously incompetent, nor did his know about the bluenette's "condition". Ciel didn't mind bearing responsibility, but it was all sort of overwhelming.

It was brief, but Ciel did something he thought he would never do: issue an apology to Sir Integra. It was brief, but somewhat sincere. He quickly fled the room in order to get back to work, not noticing the woman's small chuckle at his actions. Alois waved goodbye, and followed, as they made their way back to Phantomhive manor in order to review the evidence they already had once more. They had a few documents on the kidnappings, all proving to be somewhat useless, and they had the video that they had retrieved from Doctor Lovejoy's home. With nowhere else to turn, they turned to that.

Ciel sat down in the over-sized chair in his office, playing the clip over and over again until he found something, the blonde menace standing over his shoulder and watching with him, in order to see if he could find anything the bluenette might have missed. It was distressing every time he saw it, seeing the woman being knocked unconscious. The sigh made his shudder, unintentionally. It was understandable. It brought up a few memories, somehow. Soon, he had decided he had seen enough, and reach over and clicked the "pause" button on the media player.

_ "What did you do that for?"_ asked Ciel, looking to the blonde with a questioning look. He was still obviously agitated, but Alois paid no mind, knowing the cause wasn't him.

"_We know everything we can from that part, already, Ciel_." he answered, watching as the bluenette turned away from him again to view the screen with a displeased look on his face. "This thing recorded them investigating, right? Don't you wanna see who the new detective is?"

"I suppose..." the bluenette said with a sigh, folding his arms, but otherwise not protesting in the slightest when Alois reached over him to fast forward the video by several hours.

When he pressed play again, several police officers were on the scene, including a man in a suit, who was what they assumed, the new detective. He was much younger than Detective Bailey, that was for sure, nor did he quite seem like he was very good at his job, nearly knocking things over and otherwise destroying pieces of evidence on accident. The sight made Ciel rub his temples in frustration. It was because of this idiot that he couldn't find anything. How on earth was he supposed to work with that? There's no way that any murderers, kidnappers, or drug dealers are going to get caught with "Detective Klutz" on the job. As Ciel was about to sink into these negative thoughts any further, Alois suddenly pointed at the screen.

"_Is that Daffy?!" _he asked, and quite loudly, causing the bluenette to jump. He looked up at the blonde, standing to his side, and arched an eyebrow.

_ "Who?" _he asked.

"You know, _Daffy Duck,_ the _Harry Potter wannabe_." the blonde clarified, pausing the screen once more before pointing to the image of the boy. "See?"

The boy on the screen had dark brown hair, pulled back in a ponytail, an one could imagine that when it was down, it could possibly become a mullet. His ears where pierced, and he wore ear-cuffs, but that wasn't the only jewelry that he was wearing. He had rings on every finger, including his thumbs, sometimes more than one on each, but all had different gemstones, and unreadable writing from languages that the world had lost long ago on them. The boy wore a Warwick Academy uniform. There was no mistaking it. That was _Dafydd "Daffy Duck" Blake,_ the boy who Ciel had humiliated days earlier. He had kept up his bargain of leaving the seven alone for the most part, only talking to Alois, on occasion, but the real question was: _what was he doing there, and why didn't any of the investigators seem to mind?_

_ Perhaps they needed to have a chat with him at school the next day, as well as with this "new detective" that seemed so now suspiciously incompetent._

* * *

**A/N: Son of a bitch-ass...**

**It's Daffy Duck...**

**Wait, DOES THAT MEAN HE'S A DUCKY, TOO?!**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Until the next chapter, aquatic birds...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET LKSDHGSALDKGJALDKGJALDGHALKGH  
**_

_Question: **"Alois: have you ever been glomped?"** by Love and HipHop  
_

_Alois' Answer:"Have I ever been what? You lost me with your hip, young, lingo, there..."  
_

_00000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"**_**(Response to the last question) Daniel look over what you said last question . " I don't care how long Kris' eyelashes are, or how he looks in those shorts! " you just proofed your slightly gay or the fact you may be bi curious . Your reaction?"** by Wooimmafox1305 (referring to chapter 245)

Daniel's Answer:"Goddammit, THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

00000000000000000000000000000

Question:** "A question for Ciel: what is your reaction to the fact that people ship you with Grell?"** by CiaranMichealis

Ciel's Answer:"Huh? What do you mean? 'Ship' like a boat? 'Ship' as in mail? That doesn't make any sense..."

0000000000000000000000000000000000

Question:** "Have the seven and Sebastian watch Attack on Titan. How do they like it (if they like it at all)?**" by Guest

Ciel's Answer: **"**_Audrey made us all sit down and watch it once. It wasn't that bad, actually. I haven't seen anything quite like it, before. I still don't see why everyone said I was 'just like Levi', though..."_

Alois' Answer: "That was AWESOME! Did you see that shit?! I want some 3-D maneuver gear! The only thing I didn't like, was the subtitles. How am I supposed to watch the badassery and read at the same time?"

Kristopherson's Answer: "It was freaky. Those Titans are bloody scary! How can they be so big, and just come out of nowhere like that?! Also, the potato-girl reminds me of Daniel, somehow. I'm not really sure why, either..."

Audrey's Answer: "It's awesome. I had to show the others, I just did. I'm the only one of us who actually watches anime, so I wasn't even sure if they would like it. Preston will watch some, too, but he only watches Dubs. Anyway, _Attack On Titan_ is up there with my favourites, along with _Tiger & Bunny, Durarara_, and especially _Drifters."_

Daniel's Answer: "Holy shit! Those titans are scary as fuck! Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, and hide yo husband, 'CAUSE THEY EATIN' ERRBODY OUT THERE! But seriously, It's pretty badass. Subtitles are annoying, though."

Preston's Answer: "It's awesome! I can't wait until the dub comes out. I don't like not understanding what they're saying..."

Travis' Answer: ***Manly Tears***

0000000000000000000000000000000000000

Question: **"To the 7: If Daniel and Kris finally got together, who do you think would be the uke (bottom) and seme (top)?"** by theotakuat221b (This question was not shown to either Daniel, or Kristopherson.)

Ciel's Answer: "How on earth should I know? I'm not an expert on this stuff..."

Alois' Answer: "Ooh~! That's a toughie! They're both kind of the 'hard to get' type, as of now, so it could go either way. Though, if they did get together, I can imagine both of them being the "flirty" type, as well. Daniel's very butch, and would probably insist on the top, but Kristopherson can kick some ass if he needs to, making him not a definite bottom. Who knows, maybe they'll switch it up from time to time? Sometimes, I watch them talk or argue, and I just want to shout 'Just fuck already!', at them. But, it's probably best to let this stuff unfold on it's own. Telling them to let out their sexual frustrations in public could backfire, and make them avoid each other, which makes the chance of them ever becoming a super-cute couple go down..."

Audrey's Answer: "I don't know. I don't know the criteria for that. Sure, Dan says some 'gay' things, but we don't know that for sure. I think it's best not to meddle in it. You could either out Daniel when he's not ready, or offend him beyond all comprehension because he really was straight. I'm just going to give it time. An answer will come, and if they do get together, well, good for them. If they don't, that's fine, too. It's really just not any of my business, if they date, or not, or what either of them plan to do in the bedroom when they get older."

Preston's Answer: "I'm not really sure what that means, but I'm going to assume it's sexual, yes? I don't think Daniel's gay, so I doubt they'll ever get together."

Travis' Answer: "I don't know. It's not my business."


	250. Too Smart For You

Warwick Academy; as the creme de la creme of academics in the United Kingdom, only those with the right amount of social and economical status may attend. As such, it is where the offspring of the upper-class receive their education, with the hopes of leading this world into a bright tomorrow. Some parents of Warwick students are businessmen, politicians, actors, actresses, CEOs of major companies, etc. If one wishes to be around success, let Warwick be your goal.

On a somewhat more sour note, this is not all there is to Warwick Academy. Unfortunately, the school has been a magnet for misfortune over the past few years, with the disappearances of students _Maxwell Goddard, August Remy_ and the death of_ Cassandra Bates_, as well as a bombing catastrophe at a home rugby game which killed the majority of spectators on the visitor's side, also a weapons scare,_ and those are just the things that students are aware of. _They are ignorant to the battle between skilled assassins Heinrich Strumer and Floyd Hopkins, and students Ciel Phantomhive and Alois Trancy that took place on campus during a Christmas dance. They were unknowledgable about the violence that took place on the rugby-field, resulting in two deaths and a nasty break-up. They had absolutely now idea about the duel between Dafydd Blake and Ciel Phantomhive, who is apparently involved in any strange happenings at the school. Perhaps being a demon makes one prone to bad luck, it is uncertain.

Yes, most students and staff members at Warwick are unknowledgeable about the supernatural phenomena that occurs so near them which is most likely for the best. The only ones who were aware of these freakish events are _Mister Robert Irons_, a collection of lads known as the "_Sensational Seven", _and a lad named _Dafydd Blake_, who was mentioned previously. It is also important to point out, that previously, mister Blake was seen in a video recording the events that took place during, and after the kidnapping of _Doctor Elena Lovejoy_, a geneticist who works for Baine Pharmecuticals. For some odd reason, he had appeared on the scene of the crime when detectives did, and even conversed with them. This sort of thing is unheard of, and _The Queen's Guard-Dog_ was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Good morning, _Mister Blake_." greeted the bluenette with a smile. While it was a friendly expression, there was a not-so-subtle hint of darkness lurking underneath, one that made the sorcerer-boy shudder.

"_Wh-what is it?" _he replied, unable to stop the stutter before it exited his mouth. He did his best to look tough, but it was somewhat difficult, knowing how easily the bluenette had defeated him previously, and do to the sinister expression that the boy was wearing. Both were equally off-putting, but now, the bluenette looked as though he wanted to kill Dafydd, something that the sorcerer boy picked up on.

"I was just wanting to ask you a few questions for a _project_ I'm working on." Ciel said, never loosing his faux-cheerful demeanor. "Have you ever heard the name _'Elena Lovejoy', _before?"

A split-second. Dafydd_ hesitated for a split-second_, and it didn't go unnoticed by the Phantomhive boy. In that small. fleeting instant, the sorcerer's eyes flickered away from the bluenette's gaze, and then back again. He played with one of the rings on his fingers with his opposite hand as he chose his answer. It was in that split second that Ciel knew the answer- the real answer, yet, he still waited for the boy to give his false one.

"_Nope_." said Dafydd, still twisting his ring around his finger. "_I've never heard it before."_

"_Try again_." replied the bluenette, a smirk appearing on his face and his eye flickering red. "Tell me the _truth_, this time."

A chill suddenly went down the sorcerer's spine, in the worst possible way. The fact that Ciel knew was disturbing-, perhaps more so than the evil presence that loomed in the air about him. The many horrible things that could happen to him by hand of this boy who was called "_Satan" _cycled through his mind before he answered, this time, choosing truth.

"_Y-yeah." _he answered, giving into intimidation, somewhat shamefully. "What of it?"

"What, pray tell, were you doing at her home approximately four days ago with police investigators?"

"What's it to _you?" _asked Dafydd, trying in vain to paint the bluenette as the vilain.

"The fact that whatever you tell me today could very well _effect the lives of the entire population of London_, which is around _eight million." _Ciel said, placing the sorcerer in the wrong once more. "It just so happens to be my job to make sure it_ stays that way."_

"Alright, _alright!" _Dafydd said, putting his hands up in surrender. "You win. _I was hindering the investigation. _Lock me up and throw away the key."

"_Why?"_

"'Why?' Because, if me and _detective Summers_ hadn't, Lovejoy would be _found."_ explained Dafydd, as though the logic in that was obvious. "Look, Lovejoy is a geneticist, right? Right. The reason why she went missing in the first place was to help create a device along with doctor Bigby, that could very well _fast-forward human evolution for the better."_

"Why on earth would anyone want to do that?" asked the bluenette, shocked as to what he had just heard.

"Because, human civilization and society is constantly evolving, while humans aren't' evolving fast enough." said the sorcerer. "Their _bodies can't handle the chemicals in their food_, their _minds can't process all the data that they are expected to_, that's why things like _A.D.D. are rampant._"

"Natural selection alone_ isn't working_." he continued. "The way we have things set up now, _the strong survive to pass on their genes_, but _so do the weak_. It's not _working,_ Phantomhive."

Ciel sat there for a moment, arms crossed, listening intently to this lad's rant. Eventually, however, something dawned on him: This lad legitimately believed in what he was saying, at the same time, he didn't seem to fully understand the negative effects of his proposal. Thus, Ciel listened, and he listened carefully, and when the other boy finally finished his explanation, he made his move.

"So you're interfering with the legal process _for the sake of humanity,_ are you? That's quite _noble."_ he said, his tone patronizing, his sapphire eye never leaving the sorcerer's. He leaned forward as he continued, resting his elbows on the desk in front of him, and his chin in his palm. "So, you and the group you're working with are going to do this by _kidnapping and experimenting on helpless humans?" _Dafydd simply answered with a confused look, as if he hadn't the faintest clue as to what the other boy was talking about.

_ "Let me elaborate." _Ciel continued, going into further explanation for this poor boy. "Do you know who the people that your first batch of _'freak-chips' _were put into? They weren't _willing volunteers_, I'll assure you. No_ sane _person would ever want to become a _monster_. According to the documents from Scotland Yard and the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization, most of them were picked off right off the street. _Runaways, the homeless, people who had the misfortune of waling the streets alone at night, all of them were found with those chips implanted in their bodies_, all of them of different races, genders, ages and social status. They were just _randomly abducted_, as long as they were thought to be an easy target, and you know _what happened _to those people _afterward?"_

Dafydd swallowed hard, and shook his head, eyes never leaving the demon's face.

_"Dead. All of them. All killed by the chips that were put into their bodies without their consent."_ the bluenette said bluntly. It was a harsh truth, but it had to be put out there. "Those chips turned them into murderous monsters, before killing them within a few days. There's your _'evolved humans',_ right there. Congratulations, _you got your wish_. Now, with the help of Bigby and Lovejoy, they're going to be able to make_ even deadlier monsters _out of their victims, who will suffer the fate of becoming _mindless, bloodthirsty heathens, who's only purpose is to kill and consume human-beings. _Good job. There's the_ 'future of humanity' _that _you_ helped to create."

All was silent for a moment, but that was to be expected. It was a lot to process, after all. Naturally, Ciel gave the other lad a moment to do so, watching the confusion on his face slowly dissipate. Then, Dafydd looked up, finally, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Now, I understand..." he began, his voice grave. "..You're trying to _trick _me, aren't you?" Ciel couldn't help but feel his eyelid twitch at that statement.

"_What?"_ he asked, unable to believe what he had just heard.

There was absolutely no way that someone could be so unreasonably stupid. This was above Alois Trancy-level of idiocy-, above _Daniel Westley-level._ Yes, this boy seated across from Ciel in that moment was, in every meaning of the word, _"Daffy"._

_ "You're trying to trick me!"_ repeated the sorcerer with a triumphant smirk. "You don't want humans to evolve so they'll be _easier prey_ for you! I know how you _demons_ are!"

"_No, that's not at all what I-"_

"Thought you had me _fooled_, didn't you?" Dafydd interrupted. "Yes, I did a little _research _on your kind after our battle in preparation for a _rematch."_

"_No, you don't understa-"_

"I'm just _too smart for you, _Phantomhive! Next time, I _will _get my date with the _little spitfire!" _With that, the bell rang, and the boy stood up and walked to his next class, leaving the bluenette positively dumbfounded as to what had just happened. He couldn't help but ask to no one in particular:

_ "What the fuck?" _

* * *

**A/N: *facepalm*  
**

**I have nothing to to add that...**

**I posted more shit on my deviantart, including Future-Kris and his awesome kitty-cat beard-thing. So, shameless self-promotion, yadda-yadda...**

**Until the next chapter then, my duckies~!**

* * *

_As a change of pace (and since most of the questions are buried):_

**_CHARACTER CONFESSIONS:_**

_Ciel:__"I absolutely hate Alois' 'Slutty Badass' T-shirt..."  
_

_Alois:__"Last time we were all at the beach, Daniel got a nasty sunburn on his back, since he refused to let anyone help him put sunscreen on it, saying that it would be 'too gay'. Anyway, it was me who started the trend of everyone poking his burn to watch it change colours, and I was also the one to press my whole hand on it to watch my hand-print change. That's why Luka copied it, and slapped his burn. He blamed Kristopherson for starting all that, but yeah, IT WAS ME. I'm not even sorry. _

_Kristopherson: __"One time, Daniel asked me to come over and help him pick out something nice to wear to one of his father's press-conferences. While I was digging through his closet, I came across his 'YOLO' T-shirt. I threw it away. He still has no idea how big of a favour I did for him that day."  
_

_Audrey:__"I get heavy-metal band T-shirts all the time as gifts from family and friends because of the way I dress. I don't like Heavy-Metal. I never wear those shirts, except when hanging around the house on weekends or as pajamas..."  
_

_Daniel:__"My sister and I like to prank my brother whenever he comes over to visit. If he's spending the night, we replace his toothpaste with foot-cream. We once took a 'feminine product', poured red food colouring over it, waited for it to dry, and hid it in his suitcase while he wasn't looking. Sometimes, if we're lucky, he'll find it while he's still over and we'll get to hear him scream. **He screams like a girl.** Sometimes, we can get Kris to help. He got us a heart-shaped rainbow sticker to put on the bumper of his car. Ooh! One summer, he came over, and we took meat from the fridge and hid it beneath the car seat! If I ever use the public loo, I write 'for a good time, call' and then I put his cellphone number at the end. I can't tell you all the things we've done to mess with him. He has yet to prove it once to our parents that we were involved in any way."  
_

_Preston:__"A lot of my friends always had a habit of asking to borrow my homework to copy, so I started doing was what my dad told me he did, and that was ask for two copies of each assignment. I would fill one out with my answers, and that would be the one I would turn in, while the other was one that I intentionally filled out with obviously wrong answers. My teachers know about this scheme, and are all perfectly fine with it."  
_

_Travis:__"In middle school, I hated Preston's guts because shoved me against a wall and then ran away, but later, I found out that he was running away from a pack of bullies that I actually had trouble with, myself, and shoved me to the side on accident to get away. I was also shorter than him at the time..."  
_


	251. Knocking Is For The Weak

The New Scotland Yard, Broadway Street, London, United Kingdom: After questioning Dafydd proved to be completely hopeless, the demonic duo ventured back to Scotland Yard, where they would hope to perhaps talk to the detective who was on the scene of the official investigation, _Detective Summers_. Dafydd talked about him as if he knew him, so maybe Summers could shed more light on the situation.

They walked straight into the tall, grey building, and requested to see Detective Summers. Ciel only furrowed his brow when the receptionist called his office, only to turn back to the bluenette and tell him that the man didn't wish to speak with him. Now, in this sort of situation, what should he have done? He was not allowed inside, or to speak to a detective, the one that he was to be working with in the future once Detective Bailey retired.

"_Hey! You can't just barge in there!"_ called the receptionist as the lad's passed her desk to venture further into the station.

"_Yes I can." _Ciel said as he continued on.

_Let her call security_. It wouldn't do her any good. He was _supposed_ to be there. He had the badge to prove it. The one thing he couldn't stand about dealing with humans, was the fact that none of them took him seriously due to his appearance. He had a badge, but hardly anyone would believe it was real, since he looked so young. Thus, he often barged in without restraint. He outranked almost every officer there, whether they knew it or not, and now, Ciel was going to_ teach the new detective that one does not simply refuse a request from the higher-ups_.

The Phantomhive boy didn't knock. He didn't apologize, either. He simply waltzed right into Detective Summer's office, swinging the door open and walking right up to his desk with his blonde companion in tow. Had the door been locked, it would have broken off the hinges, and the bluenette would not have given the slightest care.

Now, one could imagine how startled Detective Summers was in that moment. He was seated behind his desk, working, and _a child, _no less charges into his office like he owns the place. His surprise then turned into bewilderment as he stared up at the two boys who stood in front of him.

"Can I help you boys?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. Nothing could have prepared him for what he had heard next.

"Detective Summers, I am _Senior Detective Constable Sir Ciel Phantomhive_." the bluenette said, introducing himself. "This is my assistant, _Jim Macken,_ who otherwise goes by the name _'Alois Trancy'._ It is my understanding that we will be working together after Detective Bailey retires, correct?"

"Kid, I don't have time for this, I'm in the middle of a cas-"

The man was interrupted by the duo holding up their badges to his field of vision. He examined them closely, verifying that they were indeed, authentic, but why they were in the hands of children, was beyond him. He didn't even have time to think about it before the bluenette spoke again, placing his badge back in his suit pocket.

_"I _don't have time for this _either_, Detective." he said, he serious tone never wavering. "I'm not here to _make friends _with you. I'm here for business reasons only, in regards to a certain case, one that _you _are currently working on."

"What?" the man asked, unable to process all of this at once. As Ciel thought, this man was most likely _incompetent_.

"I'm here to ask you a series of questions, and if you don't answer them, and answer them truthfully, I will either have to get them by _force,_ or _use what evidence I currently have to get you suspended."_

"You're _blackmailing _me?" asked the detective. His tone changed. It went from confused to downright annoyed. "Listen, if you kids don't get out of here, I'm going to have you either _thrown out_, or _arrested!"_ With a sigh of his own, Ciel looked away from Summers, and too his blonde companion.

"_Alois." _he said. "_Get the door"._

"Right-O~!" the blonde answered, walking over to the door. He gently shut and locked it before standing in front of it so that none may enter or exit. The man opened his mouth to yell at the boy, but was stopped by the bluenette.

"_Question one_: Did you, or did you not allow Dafydd Blake, a civilian, enter an active crime-scene?" he asked, making the detective freeze immediately.

"_How do you know about that?"_ asked the detective, hesitantly, guilt evident on his face.

"As memory serves_, I _am here to ask_ you _questions, _not the other way around, _Detective." Ciel said, taking a seat in the chair on the side opposite of Summers on the other side of his desk. "I am inclined to take that answer as a _'yes'."_

"Kid, I swear, if you don't get out of here right now, I'll-"

"You'll _what_, Mister Summers?" Ciel interrupted. "You'll kick me out? Impossible. I out-rank you. _Most _people around here know this by now. You obviously haven't the slightest care about _what I can do to your employment_."

The detective paused, looking at the ground and rubbing his chin. This was absurd. He was being treated like an idiot by a mere child. So, in order to gain the higher ground, he sat down in his chair and looked at the boy.

"Alright. So I did allow Blake on the crime scene." he said, believing himself to be humouring the boy. "Next question?"

"_Why?" _the bluenette asked, surprising the man.

"_Because." _the man said with a smug grin.

"I'm not playing _a game_, Summers. _Answer the question_."

"Alright. What if I _don't want to answer it?"_ asked the detective, putting his hands in the air. "What is this _'force' _you're going to use on me?"

Ciel sighed. This man obviously didn't take him seriously. It was annoying, as that was the "easy" way of doing things. Now, all that was left was for Ciel to resort to his backup plan: to use the _demon's whisper._

He leaned forward in his chair, making sure he was still eye-level with the detective, and pointed to his eye, knowing the the gesture would subconsciously make the man look, whether he wanted to or not. Ciel's eye turned red, and he began to focus energy into it, gaining it's hypnotic effect. It worked, since the man was obviously entranced from the start.

"I'm going to repeat myself just this once..." Ciel began, not allowing his gaze to shift_. "Why did you allow Dafydd Blake onto the crime scene?" _

_ "For him to cover up any evidence that would lead the police to us with his magic."_ the detective said, the words now flying out of his mouth, even in his "zombified" state.

_ "'Us'?_ Who is _'us'?" _Ciel asked.

"'_Messiah'." _answered the detective. This confused Ciel somewhat.

_ "Is that what you call yourselves?" _

_ "Yes."_

"Does it have to do with _'advancing human evolution for the better'?"_ asked the bluenette.

_ "No."_

_ "Then what is 'Messiah's'_ _purpose?"_

_"To seek power as God's chosen ones_."

This man was obviously either quite _gullible_, or quite _insane._ Either way, he needed to find out where these lunatics' base of operations were. Thus, he asked while he still had the ability to. His grip on the man's mind was slipping, as it often did while using the whisper to perform an interrogation.

"_Where is Messiah's base of operations?" _

"_The abandoned factory near Southwark bridge_."

"Thank you very much." Ciel said, closing his eye and breaking the detective's trance. There was still more he wanted to ask, but there was no way he could, now. Now, the man would see it coming, and fight back, thus, Ciel quickly mad his next decision, and that was to get up and leave, taking his blonde companion with him while the man was still in somewhat of a stupor.

Once he snapped out of it, his memory is going to be a little hazy. The most likely scenario is that he would decide that his visit from the demonic duo was merely a dream, and go on with work. All that was left for the duo to do, was figure out what course of action to take, and execute it.

This was a tricky situation. If Ciel simply passed the information he had acquired onto H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G., there was now guarantee that he would be allowed to participate in taken down the copycat group who called themselves "_Messiah". _This would be a problem for him, since he was a bit too involved in the case in order to hand the reigns over to someone else, _especially _to Sir Hellsing.

This was his chance, after all. It was the perfect opportunity to correct a past mistake, and as much as his common sense argued how vain it was, he still wanted to pursue it. He knew that this wouldn't save London from burning fourteen years ago, but still, he wanted to be part of this.

"So, what's the plan, _Cielykins?" _inquired the blonde menace, walking along side the bluenette. "_Bust into their HQ and knock some heads?"_

"I don't know." the bluenette replied. _"I haven't decided yet."_

_ "What do you mean?" _Alois asked, arching an eyebrow at the Phantomhive boy with a confused expression.

"I _mean,_ I don't know if that's the correct course of action." Ciel explained as they continued to walk. "We could just finish the case ourselves, but if we do without talking to Sir Hellsing first, we could very well end up in trouble with the _Convention of Twelve_."

"Then _let's go talk to Integra." _Alois said as if it were obvious. He looked at the bluenette's face again when he didn't respond immediately, and noted the somewhat sour expression on his face.

"Aw, does _wittle Ciel _not want to go talk to the_ big, bad, scary lady?" _The blonde teased with a giggle. "_I'll hold your hand, if you want."_

_ "That's not it." _spoke the bluenette, quite insistently. "I just don't want to pass on all our information, _only to not be able to see this through to the end_."

"So it's a _sharing_ problem, is it?" asked the other lad, earning a look from Ciel. "I get you, though._ 'Sharing is caring', _but _not getting any action is no fun_. Still, what can you do? Realistically, it's not for _us _to decide, right? _Let's just talk to Integra and see how things go_."

"_Alright..." _sighed Ciel.

If Alois was going to treat this rationally, then he had absolutely no excuse. Part of him was a bit disturbed by the blonde turning into a voice of reason. That was so out of character for the boy. Ciel looked up at the blonde, discovering a wicked grin plastered across his face. He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to, but still, Ciel _had _to ask:

_ "What is it?"_ His face was confused, as was his voice. His concern only grew when the blonde giggled.

"Oh, _nothing_. You shouldn't be too worried about not getting in on the fight." Alois said, looking away from the other boy in order to look where he was going.

"...Besides, you'll be getting plenty of _'action' _from _me _when we get home." he continued. He couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sound of the bluenette choking on his own spit. He didn't even need to look to know how red the boy's face was.

_Damn that cheeky blonde spitfire._

* * *

**A/N:Setup, setup, setup, setup...  
**

**This is a long damn arc, huh? Hopefully, we'll get to the good stuff soon. They gotta talk to the beastwoman-, I mean, _Sir Hellsing,_ first...**

**I feel like Alois has been taking a little bit of a backseat on this one... I'm gonna try to fix that in future chapters. Weird, toward the beginning, I focused a little more on him, but now, it's Ciel. Do they take turns, or some shit?**

**Also, YOUR HATE FOR DAFYDD IS DELICIOUS. YES, THIS WEASEL IS PLEASED BY THIS HATE.  
**

**Seriously, your comments are hilarious... **

**I was messin' around with the contents of my closet, today, and realized that I have the perfect modernday AU cosplay for Ciel. I checked to see if my contacts still work, and they do, so I might be going as Ciel to the next Arkansas Anime Festival. Neat. **

**Ciel is just one of many characters on my "I want to cosplay as before it becomes socially unacceptable" list. **

**Also, I SAW DANIEL TODAY, YOU GUYS. HE WAS WORKING AT CHIK-FIL-A. (I hate spending money there, but I wanted some goddamn waffle-fries.)**

**The guy had brown hair, parted to the right, green eyes, a goofy grin with dimples, and finally, ON HIS NAMETAG IT SAID THAT HIS NAME WAS "DANIEL". **

**He was staring at me like he knew I wrote this...**

**Sorry, dude...**

**I have one more set of "Character Confessions", and then we'll go back to answering Questions in "CHARACTER SHET".**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER CONFESSIONS: Family Edition  
**_

_Anastasia: "I'm having trouble not letting it slip who Kris likes. Ever since he told me, (because I forced it out of him,) I just want him to grow a pair and ask the guy out, because I can't stand not being able to tell! I can't tell, because if I do, it might accidentally screw everything up, and Kris would be super-pissed-off at me! UGH! INNER TURMOIL! That, and I know much Kris likes him. Seriously, no one's going to be upset about it; just snogg!"  
_

_Luka:"One time, I spilled grape-juice on the couch, so I covered it up with a pillow so no one would find it..." _

_Sebastian: __"I know it was Luka who spilled grape-juice on the sofa. I simply cleaned it without a word."  
_

_Samantha: "I broke the cable on Dan's stereo on purpose once. I did it so he wouldn't blast Eminem at all waking hours. I also change the password on the wi-fi in the house when Nathan comes over, an share it with Dan. Usually, I change it to 'donttellnathan', but I mix it up occasionally so he doesn't figure it out. Sometimes, I give Nathan acess for a little while, but then change the password in the middle of the visit so he thinks that the connection is just bad."  
_

_Nathan:"When Sam was around seven-ish, I accidentally killed her goldfish. I blamed it on Dan so she wouldn't be mad at me. It worked."  
_


	252. Bwah-bwah, Bwah!

Admittedly, Ciel was under a lot of stress. He was annoyed at the lack of information over the course of this case, he was irritated by the lack of cooperation, and finally, he was bitter about the fact that he may not see it's completion once he walks into the Hellsing woman's office. It was obvious to everyone around him how he was feeling, whether he knew it or not.

The bluenette tended to have a harsher tone than usual, and even his gestures seemed a bit more anxious. Every minor inconvenience seemed to impact him greater than it usually would, just as it would with anyone. Thus, the residents of the Phantomhive house had been supporting him in their own ways.

Alois had given the lad some space over the endeavor, knowing that is what the bluenette would want, judging from his experience on past missions. He had, as silently as possible, let the other boy make his own decisions, and allowed him to do most of the talking. He did his best not to interfere, and to follow instructions.

He teased, here and there, as he normally would, but he chose the times he did this with discretion. Never during an interrogation, never during an investigation, keeping work and feelings separate. As many times as he wanted to joke with the Phantomhive, or tease him, or even touch him, even with just a slight pat on the shoulder, he knew by now how the other lad felt about his job. He also knew that this case was important to him, after having heard the story of Millennium from Sebastian, therefore he knew it was best not to raise offense.

The blonde didn't like being uninvolved, in fact_, he hated it more than almost anything_. However, this time he was willing to take a few steps back, for Ciel. He would provide support in other ways, cheering the boy up with almost perfect timing, among _other things, _but as for the investigation, he had decided to himself to be somewhat hands-off unless asked.

Luka noticed a change in the bluenette's behaviour as well, and continued to ask the others about it, only to be told something along the lines of how it was "stress over work". He knew the boy was the head of the Funtom toy company; why, there was a Funtom store in London that the others had taken him to once, but the boy knew little about the job that his brother performed with Ciel. He knew it was "like the police", so he realized that it was important. He never bothered either lad while they were working, because of this. The best he could do was smile at them and try to cheer the bluenette up before he left to go "catch some bad-guys". He liked it when Ciel would smile back. It was so rare, so when he did, the Macken boy knew he was on the right track.

Sebastian took a route similar to the blonde menace, leaving the head of the house to his wiles. After a hundred years of being at the lad's side, he knew that the bluenette preferred to be left be when he was like this. It wasn't as if he simply _didn't care_ about his master's well-being, it was simply that there wasn't much that he could do about it. He was a demon, after all. He didn't quite understand the concepts behind the human-like emotions that the bluenette experienced, thus he didn't even know where to begin. All the butler could do was resume business as usual, having regained his usual strength from his battle with the angel known simply as "_Miss Clark_", all while giving the bluenette his space, and keeping the Macken boys in line.

Today would decide how soon the boy would be out of his maximally-stressed state, however. Today, they met with _Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing_, the head of the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization, and one of Ciel's greatest personal-rivals, in order to decide how the next phase of the operation would be carried out. This all decided whether or not the bluenette would be able to let out his aggression on wiping out the copycat organization who has dubbed themselves "_Messiah", _or if he would become even more anxious and stressed from not being able to participate, and know the results of his labour immediately as he sat the battle out.

Once more, the demons entered the Hellsing estate without so much as batting an eyelash. The only real differences in the visit and the previous one, were their intentions, and the fact that they actually phoned in beforehand. They walked right up to the manor, one that was bigger than the Phantomhive's by a full floor, something which Ciel resented. They walked through the massive wooden doors, trough the foyer, up the stairs, down the hallway, and finally, to Sir Hellsing's office.

The Phantomhive boy let out an audible sigh as he stood in front of the door. He really wasn't looking forward to this. It was when he felt a hand on his shoulder that he perked up, somewhat, turning to see the blonde menace. The other boy didn't do much, in fact, he didn't say a single word. The only thing he did was offer the bluenette a smile, and somehow, the bluenette felt slightly better.

With new-found determination, he turned his attention back to the door. He raised his hand up, and knocked on it thrice before pausing momentarily to see if the woman would reply. Lo, and behold, she did, uttering a simple command.

_ "Come in." _she said, the words coated in her usual, bossy tone. That alone would make Ciel immediately want to disobey it, yet, he could not, and so the demonic duo heeded the Hellsing woman's order and entered, this time less brazenly than the last.

Sir Hellsing lazily looked up at the boys, in a familiar scene. It seemed that whenever they walked in, the woman was judging them, and in a way, she was. It wasn't as if she was judging them in a negative sort of sense, but rather, it was more as though she were simply analyzing how they've grown since she last saw them. She could tell just by looking at them as to how they've changed mentally. Ciel was somehow becoming less stubborn, and it seemed as though Alois were getting less childish, both positive developments that could be useful to her. She adjusted herself in her chair before speaking.

"Alright, _let's get to the point_." the woman said, not being one to beat around the bush, especially with the Phantomhive demon. "What knew information have you to bring forward."

"The name of your _'copycat organization', _the_ names of two members_, and a possible _location of their hideout_." the bluenette replied, being on his best behaviour. This noticeable change made Alois giggle, and Integra arch an eyebrow.

"Very well then," the woman answered, taking out a memo pad. "_Go on."_

"They call themselves 'Messiah', and the two members are Dafydd Blake, a student at Warwick Academy, and Detective Aaron Summers of Scotland Yard."

"A _Police Officer _is in on this?!" Sir Hellsing interrupted.

"_Yes." _Ciel answered bluntly, pausing for a moment as the woman rubbed her temples. "Both members claim that the organizations overall motives are two separate things, one believing that their goal is to advance human evolution, while the other claims that their objective is to, _and I quote,_ _'seek power as God's chosen ones'."_

"So they may be a _cult?"_

"It's entirely _possible_."

"And their location?"

"An abandoned factory near Southwark Bridge."

"And that is all the information you have?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's a _start." _the woman said, leaning back in her chair, folding her arms while gazing at the notes in front of her. "We still don't know how many we're up against, and _what exactly it is_ we're up against." She paused for a moment, furrowing her brow. She then looked up again with a slight twinge of something unknown in her eye.

"We're going to need to send a scout team to relay to us further information." she said, conveying her new plan. "If it isn't too much trouble, I believe it would be wise to send _you two."_

_ "Really?!"_ Alois asked excitedly, verbalizing what Ciel was thinking. Still, the bluenette's eye could express that much.

"Yes." answered Hellsing. "We don't know what's out there, after all, so sending normal humans could be deadly, and sending anyone associated with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. would immediately tip our copycats off that we're after them, and they might plan a counter-attack."

"So you're sending _us_ so there will be less of a burden on _you?"_ asked Ciel, pretending to be unimpressed.

"_Precisely." _the woman said with a chuckle. "_Unless of course, you don't think you can."_

_ "The reverse psychology isn't necessary."_ the bluenette spouted, had he said it in a yell, it might just have sounded like a _bark._ He turned to walk toward the door, never casting a second-glance at the woman. "We'll prepare for the mission as soon as possible."

"_If you would please_." said the woman, lighting a cigar.

"_Bye, Sir Integra~!" _Alois called, waving cheerfully as he followed the Phantomhive lad out the door. The gesture was unexpected, and simply left the woman dumbfounded for a moment.

"Seriously, I bet you could be real_ good friends _with Integra if you would play nice more often." the blonde said as the duo made their way out of the manor.

"I'll _'play nice'_ if _she _does, and even if she did, _I still wouldn't want to be her friend."_ Ciel protested. "Why are _you _so excited about the stakeout, anyway?"

"_Because_, I'm not good at the _investigating_ part." the blonde answered. "That's_ your _thing. Besides, it'd be cool! Just like _James Bond_."

"What do you think a '_stakeout' _is? It's mostly_ observation and investigating_, idiot." said the bluenette. "Besides, _James Bond _hardly did any actual_ spying_. He mostly just _wore tuxedos, slept around, and escape ridiculous and completely unnecessary traps."_

"Not a _Bond_ fan, huh? Too many _inaccuracies?" _

_ "It's hard to enjoy spy movies when you've seen the real thing."_

"Still not a good reason to _not_ be excited." Alois grinned. "_You _seem more so than usual as well."

"Really? _I'm not especially_..." Ciel lied, causing the blonde to giggle.

"Alright, if you _say so_." he said, and with nothing else to say, they walked out of the manor in silence. That is, until Alois thought of something to fill the void:

_ "Goldfinger~!_

_ (Bwah-bwah, bwah~!) _

_ He's the man, the man the Midas-touch~!"_

_ "STOP SINGING."_

* * *

**A/N: BWAH-BWAH, BWAH~!**

**If you don't know what that's supposed to be, it's supposed to be an onomatopoeia for the trumpets in the_ Goldfinger_ theme, because it's recognizable if you've heard it before, and I think it's super-hilarious. **

**A few of you have made up your own conglomerate for the name of the pairing for DanielXKristopherson. There's "Danstopherson", and "Danisterpherson(?)", but personally, I say "DanKris", because it's less of a mouthful, and because it totally sounds like the name of a character in some fantasy RPG. That's just me. Do as you please~!**

**I actually didn't know if I was gonna be able to post today, since I left, and came back at around 8-ish, but then I checked the traffic stats and saw that I reached 1.2K before 10! THAT NEVER FUCKING HAPPENS.**

**As I'm typing this, there's like, 1.49K... We broke our previous record...**

**WHERE DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN COME FROM ASDLGHALDKGALDJFALGH?!**

**I never thought that this would ever get to be that popular... I was just gonna type a few chapters for giggles and then end it, and then everything somehow escalated to where it is now... **

**HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?!**

**Seriously... It's like, over a thousand views a day... Wha? Whaaaaa? Whaaaaaaaaaaa? **

**And how did we beat our record? I was honestly afraid that everyone might be getting bored with how slowly this arc has been progressing. There's just so many components, you know? It's taking a little longer than expected to piece together, but I really want it all to click.**

**I sincerely thank you for your continued patience...**

**I hath received an inquiry:**

**_"did you base this off of the school arc in the manga, and/or Oran Highschool Host Club? I mean the WHOLE FAN FIC. They all seem similar in a way..." by Light Umbreon_  
**

**Not in particular, no. I hadn't read the school arc of the manga yet when I started, in fact. I have drawn a lot from the original series, though, as I believe that since it supposedly takes place in the same universe, that's how it should be done. It should also have the same aspects from the original series that made me love it to begin with.**

**Also, all fiction is based on each other, whether this is a conscious desicsion or not. It is virtually impossible to come up with a completely "unique and unheard of" idea. As such, all authors share similar storytelling techniques to authors that they, themselves, appreciate. Nobody does it one purpose, they just do it.  
**

**I love Ouran, so I might have picked up various aspects of it. The "Warwick Academy" introductions, slowly started to morph into Ouran parodies because of this, but actually, they were supposed to be parodies of the announcer from a completely different anime, _Negima?!_ (The punctuation is just like that. It's not a typo.)**

**People who draw do this too. Personally, My art style comes from _hino-kit,_ an artist on deviantart, Kohta Hirano, author of _Hellsing_ and _Drifters_, Yana Toboso, and especially, Masashi Kishimoto, as _Naruto_ was my first introduction into anime. People just try to emulate styles they like whenever they create anything. People who sing try to replicate sounds from singers they like, people try to copy and wear the fashions that they like, etc. **

**The only conscious things I tried to copy for this fic, are Kuroshitsuji in general, and reality itself. The rest is all either parody, or completely subconscious. **

**_OH FUCK I CAN'T FIND THE OTHER QUESTIONS NOW! WHY THE FUCK DID I CLOSE THAT TAB?! THEY WERE BURIED AGAIN ALSDKHGALDKHGALKSDJF! *cries*  
_**

**_I'm sorryyyyy..._**

**_..._**

**_..._**

**_Laters, duckies..._**


	253. MISSION START

At slightly past eleven-thirty p.m. the demons set out on their latest mission. All, but Luka, who was at home. The Phantomhive household almost had difficulty finding someone they could trust to watch the boy while the others were away, but fortunately, they had at least one person whom they knew could handle the task. Thus, it was the ever-unlikely Travis, who was left alone in a large, slightly unfamiliar manor with a small, demonic child. Their other option was Mister Irons, but calling up one's former teacher on such short notice in order to request that they take care of a small, demonic child for several hours while one was off on a highly-dangerous and top-secret government mission of a supernatural nature was slightly awkward.

Regardless, Ciel, Alois, and Sebastian were free to perform their surveillance of the abandoned factory that the copycat group "_Messiah"_ was supposedly making their primary base of operations. Now, being demons, they weren't limited to merely observing the outside, which was advantageous, but one must also keep in mind that their targets also possessed freak-abilities. Thus, they had to remain cautious.

This was a bit of a problem for Alois, who had not yet learned to "_shadow-step" _as the other two called it, where a demon could basically _become a shadow._ He would simply have to do things the "normal" way, using a technique which the blunette referred to as _"being careful and keeping your mouth shut"._ On the bright side, he would be able to perform espionage the "_Bond_" way for the second time in his career; something that he had almost looked forward to.

"So, _what's the plan again?" _Alois asked over the radio for what felt like the tenth time. He was met with an exasperated sigh from the bluenette's end.

"For the last time, _we're just going to observe, _Alois." he said, trying his best to ignore the chuckling coming from Sebastian's end. _"We're here to find out any useful information to pass onto Sir Integra."_

"'Sir _Integra'?"_ asked the blonde, his smile audible over the radio.

"What?"

"You called her 'Sir _Integra'."_

_ "No I didn't_." Ciel said inssistantly. "I said 'Sir _Hellsing'!"_

"No, you said _'Integra'."_ Alois clarified.

_"I hate to disagree with you, my lord_..." said Sebastian, "...but you _did indeed _say 'Sir _Integra'." _

"I _know _what I said!" the bluenette argued, his face turning red from listening to the giggles of Alois and Sebastian's chuckling. "Can we _please _just focus on the mission?"

The radio fell silent at the request. Ciel let out a relieved sigh before continuing to navigate his own sector of the factory. Alas, the silence was broken once more.

_ "You're_ the one who said _'Sir Integra', _though..." the blonde said.

"_QUIET."_

_ "_Yes, _dear."_

Ciel felt his eyebrow twitch at the blonde's use of pet names. It irritated him to no end when Alois did that. He knew full-well, however, that this was probably exactly why he does it.

The factory was dark, but was lit in enough places that any ordinary human being shouldn't have too much trouble navigating it. The windows on the outside were boarded up, as the place was no longer in use, concealing this fact.

It was nearly absent of people. All that was there were one or two thug-like characters that weren't that hard to sneak past. Other than that, it was almost completely empty. Why? Messiah was supposed to be kidnapping random people off the streets and transforming them into monsters, right? It that was the case, _where were they?_

_Hidden,_ most likely. If neither Detective Summers or Dafydd were correct about the groups motives, then the victims must be hidden out of the sight of lower-ranked members. All Ciel had to do was figure out where. If he could do that, then he could also possibly find out where they were producing their technology. All three demons knew to look out for any of those things, but from the silence of the radio, and the fact that the bluenette had found nothing thus far, made his hope of finding anything lessen.

_ But it was then that his sixth-sense went haywire._

Massive amounts of black energy were nearby, and he could feel it. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, and even made him feel somewhat dizzy. Even so, it was his first sign of anything suspicious, and he was determined to find out what it was.

He followed his intuition, leading him ever-closer to the distressing energy. It wasn't like anything the bluenette had ever felt before. It was close to being demonic, but it wasn't _quite._ All Ciel knew was that it wasn't anything good. The closer he got, the heavier the air seemed to become, and the more on-edge he became, as if he thought something was going to jump out at him at any moment, even though he knew the likelihood of that was slim, at most. This feeling led him into the lower-levels of the factory, even caused him to break the locks off of several doors just to get to it.

At last, he saw light. It wasn't white, nor black, but both at the same time without mixing into grey. It was blue, purple, green, orange, and several other colours all at once, sometimes cycling between them, but most of the time just glowing softly all at once. The blunette couldn't stare at it for too long before his eyes began to ache, but after rubbing them, he was able to decipher that it was a barrier of some sort. It was a lot like the one that guarded the safe buried in the basement of Phantomhive manor under concrete, that house both his and Alois' rings so that none could take them, and do damage to their souls. The rings acted as vessels for both of them at one point, and could very well be a way to destroy them, therefore it was a top priority that they were safe from any and all threats.

Ciel looked down at the floor beneath his feet, and noticed that there was a diabolical circle covering almost the entirety of the room. He couldn't read any of the inscriptions. They were a conglomerate of many languages, including ones that were most likely lost to mankind long ago. If he squinted, he could make out what _appeared_ to be letters from the Greek alphabet, as well as ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, but then there were symbols that he didn't recognize at all.

"Pretty, isn't it?" asked a voice from behind the bluenette, starling him. He had been so caught up in staring at the letters on the ground, that he didn't notice that he wasn't alone.

He spun around to find Dafydd standing there, hands in his pockets with a lazy expression on his face. Ciel was almost ashamed that he couldn't sense the boy, or the man with him, Detective Summers, to make matters worse. The bluenette simply couldn't feel their prescence, as the barrier appeared to be interfering with his sixth sense. He narrowed his eye and glared at the two.

_ "What is this?" _he asked. "You _must _know, since you're down here."

"It's just what it looks like; a barrier." answered Dafydd, pointing out what Ciel already knew. "And if you want to know what it's guarding, it's just the mainframe for the chips."

"Dafydd!" barked detective Summers, knowing full-well that disclosing such information so casually could ruin their plans.

"What? It's not like he can _break_ it." said the sorcerer. "It's specifically designed to keep high-powered supernaturals out. _Works on humans, too."_

_ "Who made it?" _demanded the bluenette. "This is obviously too _high-powered of magic for you to be capable of, Blake."_

"It's not _'magic', _it's _science!"_ said Dafydd. "My _parents_ made it. They can do that kind of stuff when they combine power. _Duh_, Phantomhive. My family is the most powerful line of sorcerers in the UK. We've served her majesty before, back in the olden-days, even. Creating complex barriers is _child's play."_

Ciel relaxed his muscles and stood up straight, abandoning his fighting stance. He thought about that for a moment. If his parents were in on this, where were they? Why would they be involved in such an operation to begin with? It was then that the Phantomhive lad open his mouth again to speak.

"_Dafydd..."_ he began, "...What you told me a few days ago; what you said this group was for; is that why your parents agreed to help with this?"

"Of course." replied the sorcerer, arching an eyebrow.

"Where are your parents _now?"_

"With the higher-ups." answered Dafydd, before his face shifted from confusion to realization. "_This is another one of your tricks, isn't it?_ You demons just don't know when to cut the crap, do you? It's not going to work._ Even if I can't read your thoughts, I still know that I can't trust you. Everyone _knows you _can't trust a demon_. That's just _common sense!_ Honestly, ever since the day I first met you, you've been nothing but _cold, cruel, and scheming_, so you never even had the faintest hope of being able to trick me!"

Ciel stood, listening intently to the other boy's rant, formulating his next move. He read between the fine lines of every word in order to be able to find something to prove he's right. Then, it all clicked.

"Obviously, I asked the _wrong person." _he said, turning his attention to the detective. "Detective Summers, _do you know where Dafydd's parent's are now?"_

"_What?" _answered the man, his face looking somewhat concerned. "They're with the higher ups, just like he said."

"Dafydd," Ciel said, turning his gaze back to the boy. "You claim to have the ability to _read someone's thoughts_. Tell me, is the detective _lying?"_

The boy-sorcerer raised his eyebrows in surprise at the question. He didn't expect the bluenette to ask such a thing. Regardless, confident in his associate, he turned to the man, causing him to jump. It was then that Dafydd's cocky grin turned into a look of horror.

Summers _was_ lying. His parents _weren't _with the higher ups. They were imprisoned deeper within the factory walls, bound and gagged so that they couldn't perform any incantations and free themselves. Dafydd turned to the bluenette, shocked that the boy deduced that much.

"From your expression, I assume that he _was_, yes?" Ciel asked, taking a few steps forward. "Remember everything I wold you the other day? About the kidnappings? The forced implanting of _freak-chips?_ The deaths of all the people who had them? Well, _why don't we see if the detective knows anything about all of that?" _

Summers gulped, and Dafydd turned his attention back to him. The sorcerer's brow immediately furrowed, his face forming a near-snarl. He clenched his fists so tightly, that his rings started to hurt his skin, as he registered everything. _Everything the bluenette had said had all been true. _Dafydd hadn't _avoided_ being tricked. He had been tricked long before he met the bluenette, who only tried to show him the truth; _the ugly, horrible truth. _

He tensed his muscles, and was about to swing at the detective, but the man pulled out a tazer, and aimed it straight at him. As soon as he uttered any spell, the man would have fired. All he could do was put his hands up in surrender.

"So what if you know everything?" the man asked, an nearly estranged look on his face. "That still doesn't change the fact that you're a stupid, and now disposable kid! You've done your part, Blake. You aren't needed anymore. I could taze you right now and arrest you, making something up that's sure to get you convicted..."

"Except for the fact that _I'm_ here." Ciel said, walking forward, his expression devoid of even the slightest care. "We've met before, but you probably _don't remember_. I am _Senior Detective Constable Sir Ciel Phantomhive._ After all of this, you'll be sitting inside a nice prison cell... that is, _if you're lucky."_

"Don't fuck with me, kid!" shouted Summers, aiming the tazer at the bluenette. "I'm warning you, one more step, and I'll-!"

"You'll _what?" _Ciel asked, a smirk gracing his face as he walked onward. "_You'll use your stupid little toy on me?"_

He was only a few feet from the man when Summers struck Ciel with the weapon, hitting the boy directly in the chest, over his heart. Yet all Ciel did was flinch as approximately one-thousand and two-hundred volts coursed through his body. His smirk never wavered. The sight was enough to make the man emit a small, frightened sound before clearing his throat again, and furrowing his brow.

"What can you possibly do?!" he barked in a failed attempt to sound threatening. "I-I'm a police officer-!"

He was barely able to utter the last syllable of his sentence before begin struck in the face by the bluenette's fist. One of the man's front teeth landed on the floor, before the rest of him followed it. The bluenette looked at his knuckles for a moment. He had cut them on the man's teeth, and both he and the sorcerer watched as the decent-sized gash healed itself, Dafydd being the only one of the two who was absolutely stunned.

"You're not a police officer." the bluenette said, stepping over the man's unconscious self. "You're just scum _pretending _to be a police officer." He turned to the other boy briefly before motioning for him to follow him out of the room.

Through the depths of the factory, they ventured, silence looming in the air about them, giving the whole situation a nearly unbearable and awkward tension. That was to be expected, however. Neither lad liked each other that much. Dafydd had accused the bluenette of being a liar, and tried to get between him and his boyfriend, so of course they weren't going to be the best of company. After what felt like ages of deathly silence, the sorcerer hesitantly opened his mouth to speak.

"Y'know, about earlier..." he began, not quite able to find his words. "...I'm sorry for not believing you."

"That's not necessary." the bluenette said bluntly. "_You were cautious_, which is a good attribute to have."

"Yeah, but I still said all that crap about you..." replied Dafydd, only to be met with silence. The bluenette simply had nothing to add, or comment on, so there wasn't much point in answering.

"You're _extremely _intimidating, you know that?" the sorcerer added.

"_Most _people are intimidated by what they don't understand, or that's different from them. _It's perfectly normal_."

"I guess. It's _really scary _that I can't tell what you're thinking."

"Why can't you?"

"Because I can't read the minds of _powerful, supernatural beings, _that's why." said Dafydd. "That makes it even _worse. _You were holding back when we fought, weren't you? What exactly are you _capable_ of?"

"I'm not sure yet." answered the bluenette_. "I've never really tested my limits."_

"Seriously. _Scary as fuck..."_ spoke Dafydd.

"Most demons are like that. _Get used to it."_

"Why? You're the only one I've met, so what's the point? Do you know how _rare _demons are?"

"They aren't, really." said Ciel. "_Alois is a demon."_

"_WHAT?!"_ barked the sorcerer.

"You couldn't tell?"

"Well, I knew he was _supernatural,_ since I couldn't read his mind, but seriously, _he's a demon?!"_

"Yes, he is. _A scary one, too." _replied the bluenette.

"Okay, that, I can tell you're just _making up!_" spoke Dafydd.

"He is." said Ciel. "He makes me _nervous." _

_ "If he makes you nervous, then you should just let me have hi-"_

"No. He makes me nervous because I love him, and that is why _I'll never allow you to have him."_

"Oh? And if he decides that he likes _me _better instead?" asked Dafydd with a cocky grin.

"He won't." the bluenette said, a smirk visible on his lips. "He's _mine."_

"Possessive, aren't we, Phantomhive?" remarked the other lad.

"That, and because _I'm going to tell him about all of that stuff you said about demons, earlier."_

"Whoa, wait, seriously?!" asked Daffyd, his grin faded. "I've learned my lesson! Demons aren't _all_ bad!"

"He has the right to know if he's going to _'decide', _like you said."

"Oh, come on! _I've learned my lesson!"_

"I have to _protect him from bigots_ like _you_." said the bluenette.

"I'm not a-, hey, wait a minute..." the boy-sorcerer said, pausing for a moment. "_You're just messing with me, aren't you?!"_

_ "'Daffy',_ is _right..." _Ciel remarked with a sigh.

"_MY NAME IS NOT 'DAFFY'!"_

* * *

**A/N: He mad.  
**

**Ah, we finally begin this shit~! Don't worry, the other demons will have more of a part starting next chapter. (Sebastian too, maybe... He's kind of a Deus ex machina, so he's really hard to use...) The only reason I continued focus on Ciel this time was because it simply flowed that way from the beginning of the draft as I was typing. **

**Sorry for not updating yesterday! I went to the aquarium, and it's kinda far, so when I got back, it was late, and I was tired, and I'm sorrrryyyyy!**

**Semi-related, super-serious question for you all, tough: Why is Sherlock associated with otters? And John with Hedgehogs, why? I don't know and it bovvers me deeply.**

**Okay, question for me, now...**

**_"Usually when I write a fanfic or story of some sort I get bored with it after a couple pages and then drop it. How do you stay interested and involved with the story?" by The-Earl-Mustang_  
**

**I actually had to think about this one for a sec, and I have two reasons why I'm able to do this: One, I have no life, and two, _because I write in arcs._  
**

**It makes a major difference. Instead of one storyline, there's several, with different plots, villains, characters, situations, all reflecting what I felt like writing at the time. If I feel like typing a murder-mystery, I type a murder-mystery. If I feel like typing a school-comedy, I write me a dang school-comedy. Maybe I feel like sappy romance? If I do, then I write that shit.**

**If I get bored with one storyline, I just wrap it up and move onto the next without a problem. You can probably tell, sometimes, heheheh...  
**

**The way my initial premise was set up, I'm not stuck with JUST a romance story, or JUST a mystery, or a comedy. I can switch in-between in accordance to whatever I feel like writing, because that's the way the story is set up. Most fanfictions are just one genre, or have one main problem to solve. This one doesn't. I leave problems open intentionally, as well as make new ones along the way, and I don't ever solve them immediately, giving me more room to work with and expand on. **

**If your story is just about two characters falling in love, you can get bored with that, because there's only one thing for you to focus on. There was that toward the beginning of DLTD, but they also had, and have their jobs to do, and school to worry about, allowing me to give myself more stuff to play with.**

**Let's say you ARE writing a romance, just because that's super-common in fanfics. If your characters are in school, and you get tired of focusing on JUST the romance, you can go off into something school-related. A DLTD example: the "_Into The Woods"_, or "Play" arc. I was able to allow myself to take a break from the usual stuff, as well as deepen their relationship all at once. People don't think about each other ALL of the time, and shit in school happens. Use that.**

**Hope this helps~!**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**BUTTS-, I MEAN CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: "**To Daniel: you've been more observant with the other 7's bodies than they have been themselves... When are you finally gonna come out?"** by Ciel-Stalker  
_

_Daniel's Answer: "I'm not going to, BECAUSE I'M NOT GAY. I'm not 'more observant' or whatever about them! Where the hell did you even get that from!?"  
_

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_Question: **"Alois: You woke up and you're in the middle of the street in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A. It's high noon and the sun is burning you to a crisp, you're tangled in a fishing net, and there are pedestrians and tourists all staring at you in a circle you're trapped in. Half of them have cameras, and one of them is holding up a magazine of you in a Santa Clause costume. What is the first thing you do?"** by Canadian Hero_

_Alois' Answer:__"Wonder how the fuck I got there."_

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_Question: **"Sir Integra, what is your real opinion of Ciel and Alois? You seem to be harsh and all but that's part of your job, sometimes you seem almost like their mom or something..."** by Nitishu_

_Integra's Answer:__"I am in no way their mother. Where on earth did you get that impression? My relationship with them is strictly professional. It is part of my job to keep track of their personal growth in case they show signs of going rogue, and to maximize their on-the-job proficiency. I respect them both as coworkers, but there is nothing more to it."  
_

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**_CHARACTER CONFESSIONS (as requested by Jman...whatever the random sequence of numbers after his username is. I don't caaaaaaare.)_**

_Heinrich:__ "My fate isn't certain until after tonight. I will either become a tool of the government, or a corpse. Britain doesn't have capital punishment, but that won't stop them. Am I scared? Yeah. Am I going to let it bother me? No. What happens, happens, and there's really not anything I can do about it. I've lived a pretty good life. I got to see the world, meet new people... But the fact that those... things... exist is just... It bothers me. I guess I really haven't seen all that the world has to offer, yet, huh? Ah, what a shame... Such a shame... What will I do? What can I do? Wait. That's all I can do, I guess. Ah, Heinrich, you moron, you got caught... Why'd I go and do that? That stupid Guard-dog... It's his fault... Who am I kidding? It's mine... It's my fault that I'm in this mess... I've never felt so at peace with myself and so melancholic at the same time, before. Such an odd feeling..." _

_Maxwell: "I have absolutely no idea where I am right now..."_


	254. Alois' Biggest Fan

Thus far, Alois' "_James Bond-esque" _mission, as he put it, wasn't going so well. It was, in that he hadn't run into any trouble, but he was also endlessly roaming the dark factory and finding absolutely nothing. He knew it was just a matter of time until he stumbled across something, and hoped it would be soon. As things were going, he wasn't going to be proving his usefulness any time in the near future. And here, he had thought that he would finally get to do something productive after allowing Ciel to handle the case up until now, but obviously, the current turn of events proved to be the contrary. Running around in aimless circles proved to be getting him nowhere, so the blonde decided that the best course of action was to _actually think things through_.

"_Now, if I were an evil organization_," the blonde thought, _"Where would I keep my human guinea-pigs?"_

"_Out of sight and locked up_." he answered to himself. This gave him the idea to find some sort of stairwell that goes deeper into the factory-pits.

Alois took this idea and went with it, now sticking more to the walls than venturing around machinery. He wouldn't find what he was looking for if he did, and those machines were somewhat frightening in their size. They looked like they could swallow one up and mangle them to bits before spitting them back out again. It was in Alois' best interest to avoid this, and thus, he knew basically where to start looking for his stairs.

At last he came to a metal door, one that looked as if it were locked tight. The blonde noticed that the padlock was missing, and discarded on the floor, the metal arm twisted, bent, and broken.

"_Something tells me that Ciel might've been here..." _Alois remarked to himself. Either way, he now knew that he was at least on the right track.

He walked down several hallways, still wandering aimlessly while trying to shake this uneasy feeling that seemed to be growing with each passing step. It felt demonic, and yet not. Alois couldn't quite tell what this feeling was, but he did know that he didn't like it. He couldn't quite tell if it was his sixth sense, or his nerves, which was bothersome since part of his objective was to avoid confrontation.

Suddenly, he heard yelling in one of the nearby rooms, with a strange light seeping through the crack in the doorway. He was about to peek through it in order to find out what was happening, but instead, he saw that a shadow was now blocking the light, as if someone was standing there, about to exit the room. Panicking, the blonde menace looked around him for a way to hide, and discovered an air-vent placed slightly below the ceiling on the wall.

Without hardly thinking, Alois removed the cover and slipped inside, and not a moment too soon, as he heard footsteps passing through the area that was now behind him. The vent was so small, that he couldn't turn around to check and see if it was safe. He had to rely on his ears, which weren't much help, even with his heightened senses, due to the vent being on somewhere in the building.

With no other options, Alois crawled forward in the small, metal space in hopes of finding another way out, elsewhere. Now, the blonde wasn't afraid of tight spaces, but the cramped enclosure combined with the already unsettling atmosphere weren't helping his nerves, any. Every once in a while, he simply had to stop his navigating of the winding, square, metal tunnel, and take a deep breath in order to try and calm down. That's what Ciel did, so he thought he would give it a try. Alas, the bluenette's technique only lasted a mere few seconds before the blonde's uneasiness returned, only this time, it was clearly his sixth sense.

Alois had covered quite a bit of distance since entering the vent. He wondered why he was able to feel his sense now, of all times when it didn't seem to work back in the hallway, but didn't dwell on this for long. He had heard a sound that was quite unsettling.

_CREAK!_

The blonde furrowed his brow at the sound, and listened carefully in order to figure out where it was coming from. For the most part, all was quiet, save for the humming of the air conditioning. It was the second time he heard the noise that his heart nearly stopped.

_CREAK! CREAK!_

Each time he heard it this time, he felt the floor underneath him start to give. He looked down to see that he was right above yet another vent opening. Alois jerked his body, trying to move away was quickly as possible in the small space, but his sudden movement only seemed to disturb the weak, metal, unintentional trap-door. Before he could register what had happened, he was falling.

This part of the ventilation shaft was more spacious, and was even colder than the first. He looked down again and found out why. There was a larger fan below him at the end of the tunnel, spinning at a ridiculous rate.

"_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"_ he exclaimed, spreading his arms and legs in order to try and grip onto the tunnel walls.

The friction of the metal rubbing against his palms burned, and was no doubt wearing out the rubber on his shoes, as he tried to use them as brakes. He clasped his eyes shut in anticipation, knowing that he wasn't slowing down even near "close enough". The high-pitched screeching of his claws scraping against the metal assaulted his eardrums, as he summoned them in a last-ditch effort to slow down.

Then, the screeching stopped, and the burning of his palms began to subside. All he could feel now was air rushing past him as it flew through his hair and ruined the initial neatness of his clothing. Hesitantly, he forced an eye open, and looked down again, observing that he had stopped only a few meters from the fan.

With a sigh of relief, Alois knew he was safe for the moment, but this feeling immediately vanished when he realized that he now needed a plan of how to get out of this situation. He couldn't call for help, as he would need his hands to access his radio and they were currently busy keeping him from being chopped into bits by the danger that lurked below him.

"Alright, _alright_, I get it." muttered the blonde. "_God apparently hates me_, but can I _please_ get through _one measly mission _without nearly _dying!?_ Is that too much to bloody ask?!"

He knew that no one would answer him. It just made him feel better to let out his aggravation. With his head now clearer, Alois began to think, looking around at his surroundings, which consisted of four metal walls less than two arms-widths apart, a long way up, and a short and _unpleasant _way down. There was practically nothing there.

The poor blonde demon looked up yet again, as he debated on climbing up the shaft, but then noticed something several feet above his head on the wall directly above him. His little beacon of hope came to him in the form of yet another vent, one that he could possibly reach, if he was careful. Alois looked at it for a moment longer before looking down at the fan below him, and then back up again. He decided to risk it, and climb.

Slowly; _awkwardly_, the blonde menace made his ascent, moving one arm up just a little, followed by the foot opposite to it. He repeated this process for what felt like an agonizing eternity. The boy nearly slipped several times, squeaking in surprise before catching himself. Every time he did this, he would have to stop and mentally push himself to continue on.

At long last, the lad made it to where the vent was right in front of him. The only question now, was how he would get to it. He prepped himself for what he was about to do, taking a deep breath. Alois then hoisted himself up as high as he could with his arms alone, letting go of the walls with his feet before swinging his legs back to kick off of the wall behind him.

He had expelled himself forward, however, only his top half made it into the new vent, leaving his legs and rear to dangle over the edge above the fan. The blonde kicked and flailed, trying to kick off of something, anything in order to hoist himself up. Sadly, this only seemed to make gravity work against him, as he began to slip.

With a grunt, he crawled forward, his arms picking up the slack that his legs had left behind. When he was finally safe, he allowed himself to breathe again, resting for a moment on his stomach as he laid on the vent's cold floor. All he could think about during this time was how ungraceful that entire endeavor was. He laughed to himself, imagining how he must have looked. His thoughts then wandered to what the bluenette would have thought about such a scene. _Oh, how glad the blonde was that Ciel was not there to have witnessed that._

Alois crawled forward, then turned left and right, and every which way, wandering aimlessly through the vents of the factory in pursuit of an exit. Although there was plenty of cool air traveling through the tunnels, the blonde was still sweating. His joints were beginning to ache from rubbed against the hard metal surface, and he was starting to lose hope in finding an exit.

But then, _lo and behold, he saw a light_. This was his second beacon of hope that day. He crawled toward it, to discover that it was covered with a metal vent guard, causing him to furrow his brow. Then again, he realized that this was actually advantageous. He could now check to see if his escape would be witnessed by any Messiah members without being seen in the process.

He pressed his cheek up against the vent, tilting his head so that he could better see through the narrow gaps in the plate. He looked down and saw that the room wasn't that particularly heavily guarded. Only one thug was off to the side, but oddly, there were two other people in the room; _two women in lab-coats._

Alois squinted his eyes at one of them, realizing he had seen her before. She was a generously-sized black woman with her hair pulled back into a pony-tail so that it would be out of her face while she was working, and a pair of glasses seated on the bridge of her nose. It was then that he realized that he had seen the woman before. It was in the video recovered from the home of _Doctor Elena Lovejoy. That had to be her._

The boy's eyes flickered to the other woman in the room for a moment. She was tall, with her hair cut rather short, and a timid sort of look about her. Alois didn't recognize her, but he was able to conclude based on his current set of knowledge, that the second woman was most likely _Doctor Almondine Bigby._

One guard, two doctors held there against their will, and now other way out. At this point, he really had now choice. Alois punched the panel keeping him and the room separate, sending it flying across the room and causing it's occupants to jump in surprise. With as much grace as he could muster, the blonde wiggled out of the vent, nearly falling flat on his face. His hands saved that from happening, but with the rest of him already being propelled forward, it caused him to flip and land on his bottom instead. With the other's stares, he quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Uhm..." he uttered, trying to think of something to say. _"...'Ta-da'?"_

"_Oi! The hell are you doin' here?!" _demanded the guard, causing the blonde to flinch.

"I... _got lost on my way to the bathroom_..." the blonde said, knowing full-well that there was absolutely no way that he was going to believe that. At this point, he was simply talking for the sake of talking.

It was around then that the guard charged toward Alois, frightening him, and prompting him to swiftly punch the man in the face. The guard stumbled backward, falling to the floor with a large thud. Alois looked to the two doctors with a smile, but the two simply stared back at him.

"_What do you think you're doing?!" _demanded Doctor Lovejoy, her voice filled with and odd combination of confusion, concern, and anger. "That _thing_ is going to _kill_ you when it gets back up!"

"_'Thing'?" _echoed Alois, pausing for a moment while the meaning behind that particular choice of words sunk in. He turned to see the man get back up, and act as though nothing had happened to him. This particular guard appeared to have one of the _freak-chips _in his system. _"Oh..."_

That was odd. Why would someone who was picked up off the street willingly guard the ones responsible for their becoming a monster. It was when Alois got hit that he found his answer.

_ "Did you upgrade their chips or something?!"_ the blonde asked the two women as he recovered. The guard had hit him quite hard; hard enough that his back hit the wall behind him.

"We didn't have a choice!" shouted Lovejoy from across the room. "It was either make them, or die!"

"The new chips are for members-only!" added Bigby. "They enhance the user's strength in addition to giving them immortality!"

"_Well, fuck!"_ Alois said, dodging another swing. They had fixed the devices' bugs, and they were now working as they were intended to. Unfortunately, this was bad news for the blonde menace.

As he was almost out of options, Alois decided to run, yes _run. _He was running in order to get some distance between him and the imitation vampire. As he did, he reached into the inside of his coat, pulling out his own anti-freak weapon, the _Kaspar._ Like Ciel, he, too, had a way to kill supernatural beings with ease.

After seizing his weapon, he turned and aimed at the guard's head. After waiting for the man to get a little closer, he pulled the trigger. There was one freak down, and an unknown number to go. Moreover, and this was the worst part, Alois had broken the missions guidelines. He was supposed to stay hidden. Perhaps even worse than that, someone was bound to hear the sound of his gun going off. He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. _He was going to be in so much trouble for this._ After composing himself again, he turned to the women in the room, offering them a smile.

"So, _you want out of here,_ or what?" he asked, placing his weapon back in his coat.

_ "But what about-"_

_ "Of course we do_." interrupted Doctor Lovejoy, completely cutting the other woman off. "Have you got a _plan_, kid?"

"_Of course I do!" _Alois replied. "_We get the hell out of here _before someone comes to see what all that noise was, and finds _this guy_." He gestured toward the dead copycat-vampire on the floor.

* * *

**A/N: I had no idea what I was doing~! :D **

**Well, I knew what I WANTED to do, but my execution toward the end was just awful. I just kept staring at the screen and was like "Uuuuuuuuhhhh... How do I make words again?" I just had no idea how to word what I wanted to happen. I'm sorry... So sorry... It's terrible... **

**I'M SUCH A DISGRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE! D:**

**In other news, I'm considering opening a DLTD RP Forum, or something. Just 'cause. I'M not going to RP, but I think it would be fun to see what others will come up with. Pretty much any character in DLTD will be available. EVEN DEAD ONES. I don't expect it to be even close to what I'm gonna write, so you shouldn't either.  
**

**DEAL WITH IT.**

**So, tell me what you guys think of that for more details, or to see if I'll even do it. I dunno yet. I'm just in it for hilarity. **

**I actually joined a Kuroshitsuji RP group on here before, like way back when the number of chapters on this fic were only in the double-didgits. I never posted anything... I was always like "So, do I just... Y'know, jump in, or...? But what if I'm not funny? Or interesting?"**

**So, yeah. I'm a coward, and I feel like kind of an asshole for not actually being involved... I'M SORRY! *cries***

**I'm okay with dealing with people one-on-one, but if there's a big group of people, I just CAN'T. **

**Anyways, a question for moi:**

_**"Will you also bring in Alucard in this too? I mean, you have Seras and all from Hellsing so i was wondering (and hoping) if you would?" by ImAWeirdoAtBest**_

**I don't really plan on it, because of the way _Hellsing_ ended. I'm following both storylines and rules for _Hellsing_ and_ Kuroshitsuji,_ here. **

**In _Hellsing,_ Alucard _*SPOILER*_ because _*SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER*_ and _*SPOILER SPOILER*,_ and doesn't reappear until the year 2030. when Interga is old and _hilarious_.DLTD takes place during the years 2010 and up, (It's currently 2013 in DLTD-time) but it won't reach even anywhere near the year 2030 (The sequel probably won't, either...) so, Alucard will most likely not be making an appearance because DTLD takes place during the wrong time period for there to be Alucard.**

**That, and I'd have the same damn problem with him as I do with Sebastian. "IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN'T FUCKING DO?!"**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~! (Hopefully I won't write like shit~!)**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"for Sebastian: why are you not involved with H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G, at least not directly? Is it because you are simply a butler, or does ciel want it like that?"** by Ciel-Stalker_

_Sebastian's Answer:"Partially for those two reasons, yes. I simply don't have the rank, nor does the young master want me to deal with Sir Hellsing, even though watching his interactions with her is indeed, amusing."  
_

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_Question: "**Queston: Integera, are you absolutly positive you don't even feel a spark of motherlyness twords them? No? You'd make a terrible mother then**." by FreezinWinter_

_Integra's Answer:__"No, no I don't. I've known Sir Phantomhive since I, myself, was a child. Thinking of him in such a manner is impossible. Nor do I ever plan on becoming a mother."  
_

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_Alois (Just Because):__"Guys, you do know that Sir Integra is famous for being a virgin, right? You know WHY she's still a virgin? BECAUSE NO ONE FUCKS WITH SIR INTEGRA FAIRBROOK WINGATES HELLSING, THAT'S WHY. Seriously, in all absolute seriousness."_


	255. Perfection

Sebastian made his way through the depths of the factory with little to no problems. Obviously, he was the only one to do so, but then again, he was ordered to, and what kind of butler would he have been had he not been able to follow a simple order? Naturally, a demon of his age had the skills to complete his task with ease, being silent, swift, and near-invisible to the naked human eye.

While there wasn't much out of the ordinary upstairs, downstairs, he found the room where the doctors were being held captive, where the "test subjects" were kept, and the laboratory. He had also found the massive computer that linked the chips together, however, it was encased in a barrier, one that _he couldn't break_. He relayed all of this information to the others, but oddly, Alois wasn't responding, bringing forward a new objective, and that is to find him. Ciel took this task, as the oldest of the demons was more than capable of completing the mission himself. Sebastian couldn't help but smirk to himself, knowing the bluenette's true reasoning.

Thus, he continued his search, having been given a direct order. Other than those few things mentioned previously, the butler seemed to not be finding anything else out of the ordinary, yet he still felt a persistent uneasiness as he continued deeper into the complex.

It was similar to the feeling he experienced while being near the barrier surrounding the "_freak-mainframe_" as Dafydd apparently dubbed it. Why on earth his young master would allow the odd sorcerer-boy tag-along was certainly beyond the man clad in black, yet it wasn't his place to question. Perhaps this new feeling indicated the presence of yet another barrier somewhere, but the question was "_where?"_

He he scurried along down the hallway, he found his answer, as little symbols appeared underneath his feet as he did. Sebastian paused for a moment to look down at the strange glowing characters, and realized they looked somewhat familiar. His garnet eyes widened upon recalling the information, and he immediately began to move in order to correct his mistake, but alas, it was too late.

An odd sort of multi-coloured spectrum of light, not at all unlike the one surrounding the freak mainframe, appeared out of the ground in front of him, effectively blocking off his exit. Sebastian then turned around to run the other way, only to find that the same had happened on the other side of him. Now looking for an escape route, he cocked his arm back, facing the wall to his left, before releasing it, only to have his fist not only not break it's target, but be burned by it, more symbols appearing on the wall as he did. The butler stepped back for a moment, examining his suroundings, rubbing his fist as steam wafted off of it.

"_Oh dear_..." he said aloud. As much as it hurt him to do so, the butler reached into his pocket, pulling out his radio, before contacting the bluenette.

_ "Young master?"_ he called, pressing the "talk button".

_ "Yes?" _Ciel answered.

"It would appear that I've walked into a bit of a _trap."_

"You _what?!"_ demanded the bluenette, curious as to how Sebastian Michealis of all people would have been caught.

"A _demonic barrier-type prison_." the man explained. "I must say, I having seen one in the longest time. It's going to be a bit of a pickle, but I'm sure I can manage. Do you think perhaps mister Trancy is in a similar predicament?"

"That's entirely possible." the Phantomhive lad replied. "If there's a trap,_ Alois is sure to be the one to trigger it."_

"Just be careful on your way. It won't do us any good if we're _all _trapped, now will it?"

"You're one to talk! _You're_ the _moron _who got caught!"

"My apologies." said the man. "I got careless. It may be a while, but I should be able to get myself out."

"We don't _have 'a while'!_" the bluenette argued._ "_They're now looking for us as we speak! This has changed from a simple _surveilance mission._ As much as it pains me, we're going to have to relay our information to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. _now_ and exterminate the threat."

"As you wish, my lord." replied Sebastian. "Do you wish to do the honours, or shall I?"

_ "I will." _said Ciel, as he and Dafydd walked along. "You just focus on your escape for now. Then, we finish this."

_ "Yes, my lord."_

With a sigh, Ciel placed his radio back in his pocket. He couldn't believe this. Not only was Alois missing, his butler was now losing his edge, and worst of all, he's going to have to tell Sir Hellsing that the mission is a _failure._ Moreover, he's stuck with Dafydd as company.

"_Not good news, then?" _asked the sorcerer-boy, following only slightly behind the bluenette.

"_Shut up_." Ciel ordered. He wasn't going to put up with any silliness from the other lad.

_ "Scary..."_

The bluenette only grunted in response to the lad's comment. He was busily rushing through the hallways of the area below the factory in search of a safe place to stop and properly convey the damage to Sir Hellsing. He thought that this assignment might be a way to rid himself of his stress, but now, it was only _doubled_. His mind was now foggy with the fear of talking to the woman. Ciel almost hoped that they didn't come to good place to stop, just to avoid it a little longer.

However, he was slowly dragged from his thoughts from the sounds of rushed footsteps. Where was it coming from? The bluenette soon got his answer as he was about to round another corner, and ran straight into it's source.

_ "Oof!"_

Ciel and his assailant both fell backwards to the ground. Both let out a small grunt on impact. When he actually looked up, however, he was assaulted yet again by a pair of arms around his neck.

"_There you are!" _declared the blonde menace. "I was looking for you_ everywhere!"_ The bluenette simply looked at him with a confused face before standing up.

"_You _were looking for _me?_ No, no, no_. I _was looking for _you." _he said, giving the other demon a stern look.

"Well, then why didn't you call my radio?" asked Alois.

"I did! _You didn't reply."_ Ciel stated. This time it was the blonde's turn to be confused.

"No I didn't. You just didn't... Oh..." he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his small, handheld radio. The poor thing was smashed to bits.

"It must have gotten broken while you fought that freak." stated Doctor Lovejoy. "Is this your _'comrade' _you were talking about, Alois?"

"Yup! This is Ciel." the blonde said, gesturing to the lad, before back to the woman. "Ciel, this is doctor Lovejoy, and behind her, is doctor Bigby."

"_Hello_." Bigby greeted.

"Good to see you're both alright." Ciel said. "I'm not going to ask about what kind of fight you got into. They already know we're here."

"What?" asked Alois. "_How?!"_

_ "I may or may not have punched Detective Summers in the face_." the bluenette said, turning, and gesturing for the others to follow him.

"_He knocked one of his teeth out, too_." added Dafydd.

"The bloody hell are _you_ doing here?" asked the blonde menace, shooting the sorcerer a dirty look while following closely behind his bluenette beau.

"You know this kid too?" asked Lovejoy.

"The name's Dafydd." the boy greeted with a smile. "_I'm this little spitfire's man."_

_ "NO."_ the blonde said, latching onto the bluenette's arm. "_You sicken me."_

"Don't you think that's a bit _harsh?"_ asked Doctor Bigby.

"Hell no, it isn't!"

"Almondine, you're face is red." said Doctor Lovejoy, pressing her palm to the other woman's forehead. "And you're burning up!"

"I'm alright." replied Bigby. "All of this excitement has just got me kind of worn out."

"We still have quite a bit of ways to go." said the bluenette. "There's still things we need to do. First, we need to get Sebastian free."

_ "What happened to Sebastian?" _asked the blonde, his face holding sincere concern.

"_He got himself stuck in a trap." _the Phantomhive boy answered, obviously somewhat shocked at the fact, himself. "Then, we need to call Sir Integra and tell her that the plan is a failure, and that we need to act now. From there, we wait for instructions."

"_Well... shit..." _Alois said, not sure how else to answer that.

That's really all he could think of. First, Sebastian, who was supposedly nearly invincible and perfect, got caught in a trap and can't get out, and then, they have to call perhaps the scariest woman alive and tell her that they failed the task she had given them, which could very well result in the Round Table Conference bringing their very usefulness into question. It was all a bit much to process, something that the others just couldn't seem to understand. How could they? _They knew nothing of their troubles._

"Hey, hey! Why the long face, spitfire?" asked Dafydd. "Don't be down! You're much _cuter _when you _smile."_

"_Sod off, Dafydd." _Alois snapped.

"Oh, come on!" the sorcerer nearly whined. "Do I really deserve this kind of treatment?"

"_Yes." _the bluenette answered simply, his eye never straying from the path.

"I _really _don't understand what you see in this guy..." Dafydd said, staring at the back of the Phantomhive boy's head. "He's so _short and grouchy. _Atleast_ I_ know how to have some _fun_._"_

"He's not grouchy. He's just got a lot on his mind." Alois stated. "He's cool, smart, and can be really sweet, too. Besides, he's pretty _hot_."

"No way!" Dafydd protested. "This little guy? Please, you're worthy of a _real_ man!"

"And that's supposed to be _you?"_

"Hey, I'm just being _realistic._ He's so scrawny, there's barely anything to hold onto! How are you supposed to _play with _with someone so gumpy and little?"

_ "What are you saying?"_ asked Alois, tilting his head to the side while giving the sorcerer a confused look. "I'm sorry, but have you _seen_ my boyfriend? Why on earth would I want to touch anyone _other _than the owner of this _perfect ass_ in a _sexual _manner?"

Yes, this was going to be a_ long _mission...

* * *

**A/N: IT'S RUUUBBBBIIIIIIISSSSSSHHHHHHH! *Cries*  
**

**That is all. **

**Until the next chapter, duckies.**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Ciel, Alois, and Kris. You all have the same dream- a three way between you guys- and each of you knows the others had that dream too. Your reactions?"** grellthesexyredshinigami  
_

_Ciel's Answer:"I would do my best to forget such an image, and contemplate kicking Kristopherson's ass."  
_

_Alois' Answer:"Hahaha! **No.**"_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"Do you have any idea how frightening the very thought of having sex with a demon is? I don't even want to know what they get off to on their own, let alone be involved in it."  
_

_00000000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Mr. Sebastian, when did you stop being upset about staying with Ciel for eternity (well, if you stopped being upset)? "** by bluejellyfishOuO_

_Sebastian's Answer:__"After a few decades, I suppose. You get used to it. Besides, it's not all that bad. I think I actually might like it, to some extent. I can't remember the last time I didn't feel so empty inside. If the theory of ordinary demons not having a sense of self is correct, then perhaps I'm actually starting to **become** this persona I've adopted after being like this for so long... I'm really not sure how I should feel about that..."  
_

_00000000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"S7 what the hell do you do when you stop over?"** by Wooimmafox1305_

_Ciel's Answer:__"They bother me."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"They help me bother Ciel."  
_

_Kristopherson's__ Answer:__ "We just hang out. Normal stuff."_

_Daniel's__ Answer: "We hang out, play games,watch movies, pick on each other, y'know,normal stuff. We make fun of Kristopherson for being 'fabulous', we make fun of Alois for being a girl, we make fun of Ciel for being short, as well as the gayest of the 'gay-trio'. We make fun of Audrey for being a geek, we make fun of Preston for being a geek, too, and for being almost as short as Ciel. Travis is hard to make fun of. Nothing seems to bother him..."_

_Preston's Answer:__"We eat, play games, and (try to) avoid being shot with nerf-guns..."_

_Travis' Answer:__"Just ordinary stuff. What did you expect?"  
_

_0000000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"For Ciel: If Alois and Sebastian switched bodies, and the only way to switch them back was to have sex with them, which would you choose? Alois, same for you, except it's Ciel and Sebastian."** by Jman15008_

_Ciel's Answer:__"WHAT. NO. WHAT? Just... WHAT? I DON'T WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH SEBASTIAN. Which is worse? With Alois in Sebastian's body, or Sebastian in Alois'? Probably Sebastian in Alois'... Oh god, I NEVER want him to see me like that... EVER. Do you KNOW how long he would hold that against me? Don't answer that. I don't want to think about it. I DON'T WANT TO SEE SEBASTIAN NAKED, EITHER. WHOEVER YOU ARE, I OUGHT TO HUNT YOU DOWN AND GUT YOU FOR EVEN COMING UP WITH SUCH A CONCEPT. DISGUSTING! Whatever... I suppose that Alois' mind would be better... I can do that much for him..." _

_Alois' Answer:__"As much as I wouldn't want to, I could probaby go with either one if it were for Ciel's sake. Sex is just sex. There's nothing intimate about it. Invasive, yes, but intimate, no. Something I've learned by being with Ciel is that "having sex" and "making love" are two very different things. There doesn't have to be any feeling in simple sex. In fact, it can be simply ignored. I would just let my mind wander into space just like I used to. That way, everything seems so far away, like my senses are completely numb. _

_I'd feel dirty about it. I'd feel like I betrayed Ciel, but he's the only one who can make me feel. That's why for him, I'm willing to shove my own fear to the side. My only concern is if he would think less of me..."_

_0000000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: "**To the seven; look around, what do you see? I'm curious."** by T_

_Alois:__"Well, I see Preston chatting on the computer with his geek-internet-friends, or something, Ciel sitting next to me and being all cute and stuff, Audrey is on the couch across from us, asleep, with Daniel and Travis next to him arguing about whether or not it's ethical for Daniel to draw on his face, while Kristopherson is checking Daniel out, off to the side."  
_

_Kristopherson:__"I'm NOT checking him out."_

_Daniel: "WOT."_

_Alois: "Dat ass."_

_Kristopherson: "There's not much of one."_

_Alois: "Yeah, it looks a little flat, though that could just be the pants he's wearing._

_"Daniel: "STOP TALKING ABOUT MY ASS!"  
_

_Alois: "Daniel's got no junk in the trunk~!"_

_Kristopherson: "Calm down, Dan. Your ass is safe. We want no part of it."_

_Daniel: "I DON'T CARE! DON'T LOOK AT MY ASS! DON'T TALK ABOUT IT, EITHER!"_

_Alois: "But Daniel, we're just giving you helpful advice. Maybe you should go do a gym and work that ass until it gets some shape."_

_Daniel: "FUCK YOU!"_

_Alois: "Sorry, but my ass belongs to the blue cyclops, over there."_

_Daniel: "GAH!"_

_Kristopherson: "Too much information, Trancy..."_

_Alois: "One cannot simply judge an ass by sight! You also have to judge based on shape, softness, and firmness."_

_Kristopherson: "And perkiness."_

_Alois: "Of course! It's the same judging system for boobs."_

_Ciel: ***Ingored entire conversation as soon as the word "ass" was mentioned.***_

_Daniel:** *Can't process what is happening*  
**_


	256. Thank You, Admiral Ackbar

The group ventured onward toward the general direction that Sebastian had claimed to have been headed, but they weren't very quick at it, due to the humans in the group, as well as a certain sorcerer. The only difference between the two is that one can use magic, and the other can't. They're both really quite weak and sluggish in comparison to the demonic duo. While the pair were somewhat annoyed by this, they felt that it was for the best if they didn't say anything about it out loud.

That said, they continuously had to stop and rest because of Doctor Bigby. The meek-looking woman would get winded easily, and didn't look well in the slightest. Just as when they started, Almondine Bigby was sweating, and running a fever, but now instead of being red in the face she was going quite pale. The woman looked extremely ill.

"_I'm sorry to make you keep stopping like this."_ she said breathlessly, taking a seat on the floor.

"_It isn't a problem_." Ciel lied. It was a _big_ problem.

They had no idea what could very well be happening to Sebastian, as he was now captured by a force powerful enough to do so. They very concept was incredibly shocking to both him, and the blonde menace. He tried to ponder all of the possible ways to free him once they got there, but sadly, his efforts were fruitless.

If Sebastian couldn't break the barrier, there was no way that either he, or Alois could. Combining their efforts could work, but it was unlikely. It was doubtful that Dafydd could break it, both being not at all that powerful, or competent. He didn't even bother to think of a use for the doctors. It was obvious that they weren't going to be of help in this situation. The bluenette wasn't entirely in despair, however, as his thoughts were finally interrupted by Dafydd, asking for his momentary attention.

"Hey, _'cyclops-boy'."_ called the sorcerer. "Lovejoy says she think she might know what's with Bigby."

"Alright." said Ciel, blatantly ignoring the nickname and turning to face the woman. "What do you have to say, doctor?"

"It's most likely a bacterial infection." spoke Doctor Lovejoy, seated in the floor next to her coworker. She held the other woman's arm out for the other's to see. There was a bandage covering the majority of her forearm. "Something probably got in _this. _We need to hurry and get out of here so she can be treated with proper antibiotics."

"How on earth did you get _that?" _asked the blonde menace.

_ "It got cut open in the tussle when I was brought here." _said doctor Bigby. "I haven't been able to change the bandages, and I didn't know how to treat it right on my own. _Electronics_, are my specialty, not _medicine._ I'm feeling a bit better, now, so we should get moving."

Ciel looked at the injury for a moment more before nodding. He said: "Alright, let's go, then. We haven't got much time. When we get Sebastian free, he will escort you safely out of here."

"Thank you." said doctor Bigby as Lovejoy helped her up.

"So, are you lot _used _to all the _crazy stuff_ that's going on around here?" asked Lovejoy, as she and the others walked briskly down the hallway.

"You could say that." answered Alois, not giving too much away.

"That's not a good enough answer." the woman insisted, furrowing her brow. "That material I was working with wasn't like anything else I've ever seen. It wouldn't die, no matter what happened to it. It would regenerate absurdly quickly, and anyone who had their genetic makeup rewritten to be like that did the same._ Bullets _didn't work. _Knives _didn't, either._ None _of them could be killed until they broke down."

"And?"

_ "And..."_ echoed the doctor, "...Here _you_ come along, out of a wall, no less, and are able to _kill it without a problem!"_

"Alright, _alright, you've got us." _said the blonde. "We're actually _The Men In Black_." he stated, gesturing to the duo's attire. Dafydd snorted, trying to hold in a laugh, while the doctor was less than amused. But, knowing that she was unlikely to get a legitimate answer from the lads, she dropped the moment for the time being.

"Hey, so, _what are we gonna do about Bigby?" _asked the blonde, in a hushed tone, leaning in closer to the bluenette.

"_We'll just have to bear with it for the time being, and move forward_." Ciel said in a similar manner, shuddering at the feeling of the blonde's breath hitting his ear.

"But what about her little _'illness'?_" Alois asked, clarifying himself somewhat._ "_What if she's infected with _freak?"_

"That's an _impossibility, _if it was truly _accidental_." Ciel began. "_Someone can only become a vampire if their blood was drained by a vampire of the opposite sex, and they have to be a virgin for that to even work."_

"So, you're saying that vampires are perverts, or...?"

"I'm saying that her being a freak is unlikely, but there's one thing that bothers me..."

"What's that?"

"She claimed that she got that injury from _resisting her initial kidnapping..." _Ciel said, "... but _Detective Bailey said that there were no signs of a struggle in her home."_

"So she's _lying?" _asked the blonde, tilting his head.

"Who knows? The easy way would be to ask Dafydd to check, but I think it might be best to let things run it's course."

"Oh~! So you're feeling _devious?" _asked the blonde with a grin. "_I can't wait to see what you have planned, muffin."_

"Was the pet-name _entirely_ _necessary?"_

"_One-hundred percent necessary,_ _yes."_

The group walked onward, and eventually, that ominous feeling in the pit of their stomachs returned. It was a similar feeling to the area around the barrier guarding the freak-mainframe. The doctors didn't seem to pick up on it, and Dafydd could just barely feel it, but it was there. The demonic duo couldn't seem to register whether or not Sebastian was nearby, however. Like before, it would appear that their sixth-sense was getting weaker as the got closer.

Soon, they saw a faint light, radiating from around a corner and, hopeful that it was the butler, they ventured toward it. As soon as they did, however, they heard a voice. It was familar, and it told them something they didn't entirely want to hear.

_ "Young master, stop!"_ shouted the butler as soon as the bluenette stepped into view, causing the boy to come to a halt, and look at the man with confusion.

"Are you mad?" the blonde menace shouted back. "We're here to get you out!"

_ "This entire hallway is a trap_." Sebastian said. _"As soon as either one of you sets foot in it, you'll be trapped too."_

The others simply looked at each other for a moment, as if hoping one of them miraculously had a solution. They didn't. It was then that the bluenette set his eye on the sorcerer's somewhat guilty-looking expression. He narrowed his eye and furrowed his brow.

"Are you responsible for this?" he asked, alerting Dafydd's attention. The other boy looked down at the floor and scratched the back of his neck, giving the lad his answer without a word.

"Somewhat." he said, finally, looking back up. "I told them that you were a demon, and were oddly curious about Messiah. They must've had mom and dad set up this trap."

"You _pillock!"_ Alois accused, pointing at the lad. "_Are you completely dead from the neck up? _How are we supposed to get him out if we _can't get anywhere near him?!"_

Dafydd turned away for a moment, looking at the barrier surrounding Sebastian. He squinted in order to see it with more clarity. Then, with a quick nod to himself, he took a step forward.

"What in blazes are you doing?!"

"No worries!" said Dafydd, turning to face the group again. "The barrier is _race-specific_, so I can't trigger the trap. I'm going to go get a better look at it."

"So... it's a _racist-barrier?"_ asked the blonde, confused as to what he just heard.

"I'm pretty sure that means that the trap can only be triggered by _demons_." Ciel said, crossing his arms and watching the sorcerer. "It probably couldn't hurt to have him take a look."

Meanwhile, the sorcerer approached the barrier, offering Sebastian a smile before crouching down on the floor to get a better look at the circle that was surrounding the luminescent barrier. He furrowed his brow as he looked over the writing, the majority of which being completely illegible to the majority of earth's population, including the supernatural population. It appeared to be a conglomerate of all sorts of languages, including Latin, Welsh, Greek, Arabic, many Nordic languages, as well as others, some lost to mankind long ago. Dafydd got up frim his position on the floor, and walked around it, looking over the circle, as well as the barrier itself. When he came back to where he started, he looked up again, and turned to the demonic duo.

_ "I know how to break it!" _he declared, shocking the others. _"All I have to do is figure out the counter-curse, and we're good to go!"_

"How long do you think that will take?" asked the bluenette.

"Eh, I dunno_. It all depends_." replied the sorcerer, revoking the little confidence that he had inspired in the others for that one, fleeting moment. "I haven't worked on a demon-specific curse, before, so it might take a few minutes. But, from the looks of it, _it shouldn't be that hard."_

"Are you _sure _you know what you're doing?" asked Sebastian, a questioning expression plastered across his face. Obviously, he wasn't entirely confident in this lad either.

"Of course. All I have to do is take what it says, and _write a spell _to counter it. _Easy."_ spoke Dafydd, in an oddly casual manner.

The boy took a small memo-pad with a similarly-sized pen out of his pocket, and began jotting things down, moving around the circle as he did. While he did this, the others simply took a seat on the floor, taking a small rest as they didn't know what else to do. It was around then that the bluenette furrowed his brow, and put his head in his hand.

"What's wrong?" asked the blonde menace, noticing the other lad's strange actions.

"_Everything." _the bluenette stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "This mission is a _complete failure_. We_ failed _to get in without getting spotted, Sebastian's trapped, and his _only hope of escape _is some _twit_ who _obviously didn't get accepted into Hogwarts_, we _barely_ have any information, _the fate of the city is still in jeopardy_, and _I'm_ the one who has to call Sir Integra and _tell her all of this."_ He shook his head and smiled sadly_. "It's all my fault."_

All the blonde could do was listen silently as the bluenette said all of this. He carefully watched the boy's face as he spoke, simply taking in everything the bluenette was, and wasn't saying. When Ciel stopped talking, he looked away. What more could he do? He listened, and that's what the bluenette seemed to want from him at the moment. All Alois could do was ponder all this, silently looking up at the cieling as he did. Before long, he looked straight ahead, and paused. With quick nod to himself, he turned to the bluenette once more.

_ "Wh-what are you doing?!"_ the Phantomhive lad demanded.

Alois was currently upon him, rummaging through his pockets without even giving the bluenette an answer. He didn't find what he was looking for in the Phantomhive's coat, so he even resorted to digging in the lad's shirt and pants-pockets. Ciel didn't dare make eye-contact with the doctors, who were with no-doubt, staring at the duo with a dumbfounded expression. Eventually, the blonde found what he was looking for, and let the embarrassed bluenette go. The violated-feeling lad looked up at the blonde, his face red, as the blonde started playing with his cell-phone.

The small, handheld device lit up as Alois activated it, adding a soft glow to his face that wasn't already there from the barrier several feet in front of them. Ciel watched him in utter confusion as he scrolled through his contacts. By the time it dawn on him as to what the boy was doing, it was too late, he had already pressed the "call" button. The bluenette's eyes widened and he quickly tried to grab the mobile from the other boy's grip, but he was nonchalantly held just out of reach by the blonde's free hand. Before Ciel could get close enough to even touch it, the dial tone stopped, and a voice was heard on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hello~! This is _Jim Macken _calling in to report!" he said, making sure to use his real name, as it was the one that the Hellsing woman preferred him to use.

Alois had called Sir Hellsing. Of course, the bluenette was absolutely horrified. What on earth was the Trancy lad going to say to her to make any of this alright? Was there anything he could possibly say to make it alright? Probably not, but that didn't stop the blonde menace from trying.

"_Alright. Let's hear it_." Sir Hellsing said, her voice somewhat curious, as well as wary, suspicious as to why it was Alois calling to give the update rather than Ciel.

"_The mission is a failure_." is said bluntly, causing a look of shear terror to wash over the bluenette's face. "We were in fact, spotted, and_ I assume full reasponsibility for it."_

"Oh?" the woman answered, "And why is that?"

"While trying to avoid detection_, I foolishly hid in an air vent and couldn't get out." _Alois said, telling his ridiculous story. "I had to crawl through the tunnels to find an alternative route, but ended up in the room where the two abducted scientists where being held. Since they were being guarded, I had to eliminate the threat, freeing the scientists and _changing the nature of the mission_."

"Mister Macken, you were in fact, aware that this was a _surveillance mission_, correct?" asked the Hellsing woman.

"Yes, ma'am." the lad responded. "_I'm just incompetent."_

"Are the scientists currently with you?"

"Yes, but they are currently at risk, since Messiah is aware of our presence." Alois sounded odd as he talked on the phone with Sir Hellisng. He was less casual, more well-spoken, and no longer had his usual accent. Instead, he spoke as he would as the "Alois Trancy" from one-hundred years ago, the one that he would masquerade around at public gatherings.

"Very well, then. Get them out of there and destroy Messiah." said Integra. "Or at the very least, keep them there until I send a team to exterminate them, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." answered the blonde, his tone dutiful. "We'll keep you well-informed of any updates."

After a few moments, he hung up and handed the phone back to a completely shocked Ciel with a smile. All the bluenette could do was stare at him. Alois had just talked to perhaps the most frightening woman on the planet, told her that he had messed up on an extremely important mission, and did it with ease. At least, that's what he thought until he saw the other boy slump and let out a sigh of releif.

_ "Oh my god, that was scary_..." the blonde said, a worried look on his face.

"_Are you insane?" _asked the Phantomhive boy. "I know you're _disturbed_, but are you actually _insane?_ You do know that she could have very well killed you, yes? _She could very well be plotting your demise right now, you twit!"_

"Well, I can't have you do everything, right? You've got enough to worry about." Alois said, standing up and stretching. _"It's okay to rely on others, every once in a awhile_, so _relax_. Just focus on your job, _which by the way_, is now to get the doctors out and exterminate Messiah."

"How can I, when _you_ could be _executed for taking the blame for the failure of this mission?"_ asked the bluenette, standing up and looking the blonde straight in the eye.

"I said, _'relax'. _I'm probably not going to be executed, and _you know it_. Sir Integra is probably used to missions of any scale going awry. You just have to change the plans to suit it, and move on. By the way, being friendly and respectful, also helps your case." Alois said with a smile. "You know, it's kind of _funny_ to see you be so_ irrational_."

"I'm _not_ being _irrational!"_ argued the bluenette.

"Yes, _you are,_ but don't worry, _you're still cute_."

By this time, Dafydd was nearly finished with his task. While the other's were arguing, he had pulled a small cigarette case filled with sticks of chalk out of his coat, and had began drawing a new circle over the old one. His actions were watched curiously by the oldest of the demons, who wondered what he had in store from behind his prison walls. With a grunt, the sorcerer stood up and dusted himself off before looking at the butler.

"Ready to see if I got it right?" he asked with a grin.

"_As ready as I'll ever be..." _Sebastian replied, his confidence in the goofy lad slim, if at all existent.

"_Scientia de anima!"_ the boy said, calling upon his power. Several of the gems on the many rings on his fingers lit up as he did. The words he spoke after were illegible to the demon's ears, oddly, seeing that he knew many, many different languages. He understood only a few; something about "wings" and "prisons", but he wasn't sure. All he knew, was that the lights around him were changing, getting dimmer, and dimmer until they were completely naught. Naturally, such a change was noticed by the others in the room. Dafydd turned, only to see the group staring at him in disbelief.

"See? I told you it's easy." he said, shooting the, a grin. "What do you think, my little spitfire? Fallen for me, yet?"

"Hahaha, no." replied the blonde menace. "That was _impressive_, but still, just _no."_

* * *

**A/N: UGH.  
**

**My brain wasn't working yesterday. It was barely working today, so, no clever ending. I'm sorry. D': I just can't.**

**I've been forgetting to take my A.D.D. medication. It makes an extremely noticeable difference...**

**"Admiral Ackbar" is the fish-guy from Star Wars who's famous for saying "It's A Trap!" That's why that's the chapter-title...**

**Uh, in other news, I finally got myself a Tumblr account, so, that's there, sort of. I haven't posted anything, but I'll get around to it, eventually. (Because I have no fucking clue how to use tumblr. Oh god, somebody help! D:) That's probably where I'm going to be posting the DLTD drawings that I'd be too ashamed to post on Deviantart, so, I'll probably even be able to take requests, too~! **

**The name's "HateWeasel" on there, too...  
**

**BLARGH.**

**Don't feel like answering questions, today, so have some Kristopherson, as your dosage of character shet...**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies... Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of this, soon! **

* * *

_**SH*T KRISTOPHERSON SAYS... when criticizing someone's wardrobe. (Most of these are directed at his sister)  
**_

_"Yeah, that'll definately bring the boys to the yard."_

_"Too heavy on the milkshakes..."_

_"You LOOK easier than shooting fish in a barrel."_

_(To Daniel) "That has got to be the absolute tackiest T-shirt I've ever seen in my entire life..."_

_"Brown does NOT go with black. Switch the black purse out with the a different one."_

_(To Daniel) "You're going to wear THAT on a date? I'm sorry to tell you this, but Ana isn't BLIND."_

_"If I can see your panties, there is a problem. They're like, staring at me... Make it stop... Ew..."_

_"Are you trying to advertise that you're 'open for business'?"_

_"What, what, what are you wearing?" (Sassy Gay Friend imitation, because it makes Anastasia laugh)_

_"Hahaha, NO."_

_(To Daniel) "Alright, you see this? This suit is what is called 'an Italian cut'. Some people can pull it off, some people can't, and quite frankly, you aren't one of them. Seriously, shoulderpads aren't your thing. Go with the 'English-cut'."_

_(To Daniel) "I swear, if you wear that tie, I will make an attempt to strangle you with it."_

_(To Daniel) "Your boxers are showing, mate."_

_(To Daniel) "There's nothing weird about it. Girls do the 'butt-check', too, I promise."_

_(To Alois) "Oh, my..."_

_(To Audrey) "Quirky, but it works..."  
_

_"If there is such a thing as a 'fashion police', I want to be a member of it right now."_


	257. Voids

The group changed their location, walking onward and away from the trap that they had just undone. It was important for them to keep moving, since they were being sought out by Messiah, but then again, allowing them to come to them simply made their job of exterminating them all the more easy. As they ventured the hallways, they encountered several of Messiah's copycat-freaks, and wiped them all out; it didn't matter how large the group they were in. They could have been going solo, or have come in a duo, trio, or even a quartet. Why, at once, they encountered a whole gaggle of copycats, and actually had to stop moving onward for a moment in order to destroy them.

Naturally, all of this wasn't helping the nerves of the two doctors in the group. Doctor Lovejoy and Doctor Bigby cowered whenever they encountered Messiah-members, unsure of the protection that the supposed _"Men In Black"_ of the group could provide. What else could they have done? They were human, they were weak against these monsters. Why, prior to almost a week ago, they hadn't the faintest idea that such things even existed.

"This isn't working." declared the bluenette over the course of their next break. "We need to get to the heart of the problem, and fast."

"Alright, _'Sherlock', _what do _you _suggest we do?" asked Dafydd, arching an eyebrow as the bluenette ignored him to turn to the doctors.

"_Doctor Bigby_, you're a _techonology expert, _yes?" he asked, earning a soft nod from the somewhat frail woman. "Do you know what the _freak-mainframe_ does?"

Almondine hesitated for a moment, before giving yet another nod. She opened her mouth to speak, her words somewhat strained. Her condition seemed to be getting better, but alas, this was now apparently not the case.

"Yes." she said, her voice somewhat raspy. "The mainframe connects to all of the freak chips in the facility."

"Is that all?" Ciel asked. "_Why_ would they want to do that?"

"I... _I'm not sure_..." the woman replied, looking down at the floor with a tired look on her face, the colour completely gone from it.

"Hold on a second..." said Dafydd, lifting his hand to point at the doctor. "...Why are you _lying?"_

Doctor Bigby's head shot up, and she stared at the boy, wide-eyed. She didn't say a word, but the boy could hear everything she was thinking about. His eyes went wide as well.

"_It's to terminate the copycats if they get out of control!"_ he declared, feeding the demonic duo vital information. Ciel looked at him for a moment before turning to the doctor, furrowing his brow.

"Doctor Bigby..." he began. "Why didn't you want us to know this?"

With that, the woman got up and ran, leaving her heeled-shoes behind in order to better do so. For someone so ill, she was incredibly fast. With a quick glance in his direction, Ciel silently gave his butler an order. In response, Sebastian nodded, and took off after the doctor, easily catching up and cutting off her escape. A fist made contact with his face, hitting harder than he would have expected, but it was still so weak that it barely hurt him. Yes, Doctor Bigby was trapped.

"Let me through!" she commanded, her plea falling on deaf ears. She turned as she heard the footsteps of the others come up from behind her.

"_Almondine!" _called Doctor Lovejoy, her face an odd mix of confusion and worry. "What are you doing? Why are you hiding things from them?"

"_It probably has something to do with the bandage on her arm_." the bluenette sternly said, making an attempt to stare the lying doctor down. "_Isn't that right, Doctor Bigby?"_

"_What do you mean?" _asked the doctor innocently. "_I haven't the slightest idea as to what you're talking about!"_

"You said that you got that injury from fighting your kidnapper in your home," the Phantomhive lad began. "But our investigation indicates that there were absolutely no signs of a struggle. Now, why is that? Moreover, the shear amount of bandages on your injury suggests that it was more than simply '_just a scratch'_. The blood stains on then indicate that it was a _pretty severe cut_, a _clean_ one, too." He paused for a moment, allowing the others to take that in for a moment. Almost all of them looked at the woman with a shocked face, as they realized what all of that meant.

_"You have a freak-chip implanted in your arm, don't you Doctor?" _Ciel stated more than asked. Doctor Bigby grabbed her arm with her free hand, and held it close to her body defensively as her face darkened.

"_Of course_." she answered, her lips curling into a smirk. "If given the chance to live forever, who _wouldn't _take it? Who wouldn't want to be something more than human; _better _than human? Software updates come in the blink of an eye, patching faults and removing bugs all of the time, but _what about humans?_ There's no patch, no improvement. We're all so flawed, and so weak." She smiled a maniacal, toothy grin, revealing rows of pointed teeth.

"Now I can just keep _fixing_ them. _What's wrong with that?"_ she asked, all essence of the frail woman from before now gone, and replaced with this _thing_.

"_Everything." _the bluenette stated, clenching his fists. "_Everything_ is _wrong _with that. Humans improve themselves at their own pace, like they're _supposed_ to; and they aren't _'weak'. _They're the most formidable species on the planet. It fact, it's why creatures like us _feed_ on them."

He was right. Why humans? Why not any sort of other animal? They have souls and blood, don't they? Of course, they do. But, what they don't have is the will and sense of self of human beings, and that is why creatures like demons and vampires crave and need.

One thing that vampires and demons have in common is that they are a walking void, so to speak, without life. They prey on the essence of the living; vampires do this by draining one's blood, while demons take a human's soul directly. The main difference between the two is that demons form contracts, temporarily filling this void by the human being's own will, by being assigned an identity and a role, and fulfilling some sort of purpose. Vampires often gorge themselves on blood, absorbing life through red currency. What they both truly desire is for their void to be filled, and to do that, they _need _human beings.

"It's a _ cruel reality,_ isn't it?" the bluenette continued, his voice oddly taunting and yet somehow melancholic. "Eternal life is _meaningless_. All you see is _death_ wherever you go, knowing that each and every one of those people will die, and you will out-live all of them. You plan of 'fixing' humans will fail, simply because of what you have turned them into. In order to continue living that sad, _pathetic _life is to_ consume humans_. It _has_ to be a human-being as human-beings were _meant_ to be made. There is_ no other way_."

"Surely that's _wrong_..." said Doctor Bigby. "Meat is meat, isn't it? And blood is blood. Surely any kind will do-"

"_It can't."_ interrupted the bluenette. "It must be human. When you consumes someone's blood or soul, you're taking in everything that makes them who they are. You're taking their very _essence_ from them. Why?_ It's because we don't have any of our own_. That is the sole reason."

"Don't you understand, Doctor Bigby?" he continued. "To give up your humanity only proves that you were weak. You were _too weak to bear the weight of being human,_ and that is why you became what you are; not because humans are inferior, but because _you_ are _inferior."_

"Shut up..." the woman said, shaking her head. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! I don't want to hear it!"

"_Restrain her."_ Ciel ordered the butler, to which the man obliged. He then took a moment to calm himself down. Such a topic worried him, somewhat. Sometimes, he himself, couldn't tell what he was. He felt human, but he wasn't, and never would be again. The bluenette turned to Dafydd, snapping the sorcerer to attention. It was then, that Ciel revealed his plan.

"You and Sebastian will take Doctor Bigby to where the freak mainframe is." he said. "Sebastian will keep Bigby restrained, as well as guard the both of you, while you break the barrier surrounding the mainframe. Then, I want you to read into Bigby's thoughts, and figure out how to activate the emergency-termination mechanism, understand?"

"As much as I _really don't want to do what you tell me to_, I got. it." said the sorcerer, scratching the back of his neck. "It sounds like a pretty good plan, but there's just one problem: _I don't know if I can break that thing."_

"Why not?" asked the bluenette. "I thought you said it was _'easy'?"_

"Yeah, but that_ wasn't as powerful of a barrier!" _argued Dafydd. "Did you _see_ that thing?! _That's a complicated piece of work!"_

"_Please, Dafydd?" _asked Alois, batting his eyelashes at the sorcerer, causing him to blush. "_Surely _you can do it. You're like, a _genius_ with this sort of stuff!"

"Uh... Well,_ I can give it a try, I guess_..." Dafydd replied sheepishly. The bluenette's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the whole thing. He didn't approve of the blonde's actions, and questioned how someone could fall for such obvious flattery at the same time. Still, Alois had quickly gotten the sorcerer's participation.

"Did you get all of that, Sebastian?" asked the bluenette, turning to the butler.

"_Yes, my lord_." replied the man, offering a small nod of his head, as he was busy holding the traitorous doctor's arms behind her back.

"_Good, now get started. _Your mission takes_ top priority." _Ciel said, and with that, the odd-trio left, leaving the Phantomhive boy, the blonde menace, and one very confused human doctor, dumbfounded at what had just occured.

"So... Almondine is..." she began, her voice almost non-existent.

"Yes_. I'm sorry_." Ciel said, as insincere as he was. In his mind, the woman brought this upon herself, and there was no use worrying about it anymore. "_Alois, _I want you to escort Doctor Lovejoy out of here. Get her to safety."

"What? _What about you?"_ asked the blonde.

"I'm going to keep Messiah's remaining forces here until either Sebastian and Dafydd activate the termination mechanism, or H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. forces arrive." Ciel answered.

"I want to help you!" Alois stated. "How the hell are you supposed to keep an entire dangerous organization here _by yourself?!"_

"I'll find a way_; I always do_." Ciel said, arching an eyebrow at his companion's pout. He sighed. "If you hurry, you can get back here in time to help out." It was almost amazing how quickly the blonde perked up at hearing that.

"_Fine_." Alois said, conceding to the bluenette's wishes. He turned to leave, but just before he did, he turned back toward the bluenette, and cupped his cheeks, bringing the other boy's lips to his own. The kiss lasted only a few fleeting moments, but it still conveyed the blonde's affections and the entirety of his worry, all the same.

"_For luck." _the blonde said after pulling away. His smile was infectious, as it spread to the bluenette's face after the brief contact.

_"I won't need it, if you hurry." _Ciel replied, shooing the blonde away while attempting in vain to force his lips back into a frown, a gesture that made the other boy giggle at him.

For some reason, he didn't even care that the act of intimacy was witnessed by the doctor, an event that had briefly distracted the woman from her own worries. She shook the image of the two boys kissing away, as she went on the focus onto more concerning matters. She followed behind the blonde as they made their way out of the building, thinking about what had occurred that day.

Doctor Almondine Bigby, her coworker and who she believed to be her only friend throughout this entire endeavor had turned out to be on the side of her captors. She was now a monster, and she would die as soon as the others activated the freak's emergency termination mechanism. It was shocking, and it was saddening, but she still had to press on, even as thoughts of what the bluenette had said began to fill her head.

If the Phantomhive lad and the blonde were those "voids" that he spoke of, that only lived to consume, why were they so intimate with each other? Neither were human, therefore, in theory, they shouldn't have even the slightest interest in each other. As a geneticist, her immediate thought was that they might be a mutation, but she wasn't sure. All she knew now is that there were a million new things that she didn't understand, and Lovejoy would now make it her own, personal mission to find out.

But that, is a story for another day.

Right then, the group had gone their own separate ways in order to complete their own missions. Now was the time to focus on that. That's what Ciel was doing. He ventured deeper, and deeper into the pits of the factory, hoping to find the Messiah of this warped group of those who were too weak to remain human.

* * *

**A/N: Lol what am I even writing?  
**

**More pseudo-depth, whee~!**

**Also, I uploaded some shit to Deviantart, whee~!**

**And, I got my Tumblr to work and posted some shit, whee~!**

**Yeah, that's where I'll be posting the shit that I think is either unfit for Deviantart, or that I don't want my teachers to see. *wiggles eyebrows suggestively* I'll answering questions there, too, as well as the DLTD cast, and I'll probably take some art requests, too.  
**

**IT'S FUCKING MAGIC AND SHIT. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧**

**WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~!**

**Yeah, I'm feeling so much better after taking my meds, today. (Whee?)**

**Until the next chapter, my dear, sweet, little duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question(s):** "Kris, are you SURE you're not into Daniel? I mean, come on! Giving him fashion advice? It just seems suspicious...Daniel, you're going to Kris, hm? I know he's a fashion designer, but still..." **__by CiaranMiche__alis_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"Actually, I give fashion advice to all of the guys when they need it. Dan is just the one who has the most stuff going on that involves him having to dress up because of his Dad's job. And no, I'm not **into** him! He's just my best friend, is all, nothing 'suspicious'. Besides, there's no way I could go out with him, anyway. He's **straight**, not only that, he's a complete and utter **idiot**, and his taste in clothes makes me sick, sometimes. What on earth am I supposed to do with that, huh? Jesus..." _

_Daniel's Answer:__"Yeah, why? I know him, he works for free, and I trust him with my wardrobe. Besides, it's just more fun if he gets to come over, because we never get to just hang out outside of school that often."  
_

000000000000000000

Question: **"S7 you just saw a picture of Ciel as a girl (the one from jack-the-ripper case) your thoughts?"** by singergirl01

Ciel:**_*Snatches picture before it gets passed around and tears it to shreds before burning it*_**

_Alois:_**_ *Laughs at Ciel__*__  
_**

_Everyone else:_**_ *Too scared of Ciel to say anything*_**


	258. It's Heiny

As Ciel ventured into the final recesses of the factory, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. This was to be expected, however. If there were going to be artificial freaks anywhere in the complex, it would be in this general area.

The bluenette didn't want to make a single sound, as to not draw any more attention to himself than he already has. He even ceased breathing in the places where his sixth sense told him he should definitely not be in. He was incredibly on-edge, something that he was not accustomed to. While he was obviously the most powerful creature in the vicinity, and possessed a weapon that was specially designed for his foe's destruction, he simply did not like being there, especially _alone_.

At this point, he was mentally kicking himself for not asking Dafydd where these supposed "higher-ups" where located before they parted ways. Stumbling around while trying to navigate an unfamiliar area was not fun, more than that: it was a waste of precious time. It would take H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. a while to mobilize and reach his location, and in that time, should these "higher-ups" escape, that could cause all of them to have to repeat the entire mission all over again. If that was avoidable, that would be the ideal scenario. No, the ideal scenario would have been for the mission to go completely according to the initial plans, but alas, it was not to be.

Eventually, he made his way down a hallway that as far as he could see, was completely and utterly empty, yet behind one of the office doors sat quite a few people, all of them supernatural in nature. Ciel stopped in front of it for a brief moment, and calculated all of the possible ways that this could turn out. He checked his coat-pockets, making sure all of the magazines he had brought with him were fully stocked with blessed bullets. And, with a deep breath to calm his nerves, he gently knocked on the door, hearing all of the chattering on the other side stopping all at once, and then hid by pressing his body up against the wall just next to the door.

He held his breath yet again as someone answered it, light pouring out into the dark hallway as the door opened. A burly-looking man appeared from out behind it, pausing for a moment before sticking his head out to look around out side, seeing as there was no one directly on the other side of the door. That was a mistake on his part, which he soon figured out. He felt something cold and metallic pressed up against his temple and heard a loud sound before abruptly plunging into the numbing, thoughtless void of death, his body ungraciously collapsing to the ground in a lifeless heap against his will, or his knowledge.

Ciel stepped over him, now standing in the doorway and aimed his weapon as the shuffling of chairs and the excited murmurs and shouts of frightened men and women wafted to his ears. In the seconds before firing again, he estimated around ten people in the room, taking out half of them with the first magazine. The way he reloaded was like clockwork, in that he did it in the shortest, most systematic way possible, taking him around five seconds. By that time, the mortally wounded fell, all dead, while the remainder of the room's inhabitants had reached for their own weapons if they were armed and hid beneath tables if they weren't. It took only a few seconds longer for them to be terminated as well.

After reloading a second time, Ciel cautiously made his way into the room, doing one final sweep for any survivors he may have missed. Once it appeared safe, he quietly examined his handiwork, glancing over at the many bodies now on the floor. To his displeasure, none of them looked as though they would be the kind of person capable of running such an operation, and thus, he moved along, not wanting to be caught in a small-ish room with only one way to escape once someone comes to investigate the noise. With his sixth-sense as his only guide, the bluenette ventured down hallway after hallway, taking out any large groups of copycats he found.

Meanwhile, the blonde menace had made it outside, and stood with Doctor Lovejoy for a while as they discussed what to do next. They debated on calling a cab for the woman to go home in, but she claimed to not have any money on her, nor would she accept the blonde's offer to pay her fare. They debated on whether or not to walk toward the nearest metro-station, and have her use public transport to get home. The problem there, was that the woman didn't want to go by herself, and Alois couldn't venture too far away from his teammates. Tuly, this was a pickle.

The pair stood in silence until their feet grew weary, so then they sat on the ground, occasionally making some sort of small-talk or shooting ideas back and forth. It was then that the loud roar of a large engine grew nearer, causing the pair to stand up, Alois standing in front of Lovejoy protectively. It was then that two large, green, military-vehicles entered his field of vision. They were too far away for the Doctor to see clearly, but Alois could. As they drew nearer, he saw a familiar crest on their side.

The shield was split inot fourths, red in the upper-left and lower-right corners, while black filled the remaining two slots. In the lower right-corner, standing out from the red was a white rook, belonging to a chess set, while in the upper-left, there was a peculiar motto written in black. "_We Are On A Mission From God_", it said. Above the shield was a golden rectangle, sporting the name of the family who ran the organization that the vehicle was property of.

_ "Hellsing"_

Alois sighed with relief and took a few steps forward, waving his arms over his head to show H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. that they were in the right place, much to the confusion of Doctor Lovejoy. She arched an eyebrow and stepped back as the large trucks came to a halt and parked themselves next to the pair. The blonde menace took a few steps forward as the doors opened, hoping to speak to a commanding officer and convey to them the current situation. Instead, he was pounced upon, forced into a tight hug.

"_Blondie!"_ called the short, silver-haired girl that currently had the boy in a death grip.

"It's good to see you, too, Amelie..." he managed to get out, even as all of the air was being compressed from his lungs. Apparently, the wolf-girl had missed him.

The werewolf hadn't changed much since he had last seen her, as her hair was still just as long, and her face just as bored-looking as ever. The only real difference from then and now was that she was wearing a H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. uniform from the supernatural division. She wore a yellow, button-up shirt which collar wrapped around her neck like a turtle neck, but buttoned in the front, and had a small patch with the Hellsing family crest on her left breast, just above the pocket on the front. She wore matching shorts, and long, thigh-high socks, with brown boots on her feet, and complimentary gloves on her hands.

"Amelie!" called yet another familiar voice as it's owner grew nearer. Charlotte wore a similar outfit, but carried two guns with her.

"You shouldn't hang on people like that, it's rude." she scolded, handing the other girl one of the guns in her hands after Amelie let go. Of course, _the sawed-off shotgun was the wolf-girl's. _Alois wasn't sure how he knew that, but he just did._ "You left this in the truck."_

"_Merci."_ Amelie replied.

_ "Oh, so you're already acquainted, then?" _Alois looked back to the trucks and saw another woman exit the vehicle. A pale woman with fair skin and pale, blonde hair. Her eyes were red, and nearly glowing. She wore a uniform similar to the other girls, only it was a deep crimson with a matching skirt and torn, black stockings. The woman's most distinguishing feature, however, was the fact that her left arm appeared to be a swirling mass of black-and-red energy morphed into the shape of one. She smiled warmly at the blonde menace, a gesture that he happily returned.

"_Miss Seras!" _he said exitedly, not having seen or heard from the woman in ages. Her name was _Seras Victoria_, and as of then, was H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s current "trump-card".

"It_'s good to see you, Alois." _she said with a smile as she unloaded an absurdly large gun with ease. "So you're on this project, too?"

"Yeah, Ciel and Sebastian are still inside." Alois said, knowing that he should probably pass on the information as quickly as possible. "Doctor Bigby is also inside. She apparently was with Messiah the whole time. Right now, Sebastian and this_ wizard-kid _are trying to extract how to shut down all of the chips at once, but first, they have to break a _magical force-field."_

"Harry Potter?" asked Amelie.

"Nah, we got some binged-out ninny, instead." Alois replied. "He broke a high-level barrier before. We saw him do it. I just think it's kind of a silly plan."

"As long as it works, it doesn't matter if it's 'silly'." said Seras before turning her attention to the doctor, causing the woman to jump, slightly.

"We'll be taking you home, now." said the Draculina, motioning for a soldier from the second vehicle to come and escort the woman to safety. "Don't worry, you're _safe_. Corporal Murphy, here, and his team will make sure to that. The rest will be up to us."

"_A-alright..." _Lovejoy answered with a nod, her eyes never straying from the sight of Seras' fangs as she spoke.

She followed the man from the second vehicle, and with one last glance at the others, she climbed in. Alois waved at her as they drove away, before turning his attention back to his backup. Just as he was about to speak, someone else climbed out of the truck that Seras, Amelie and Charlotte were in, someone who he hadn't expected to see ever again.

_ "Well, if it isn't the blonde demon-boy..." _they said, in their usual, German accent. "Where's the _Watchdog? _Don't tell me you left him _alone, _now..."

_Heinrich Strumer_, the former gun-for-hire working for _Beatie International Shipping_, _guarding their top weapons-dealer_, and the man who had at one time, _vowed to kill Ciel Phantomhive, _stood before Alois, sporting a regular H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. uniform, and two holsters at his sides carrying his odd "_knife-guns"._ He looked _tired_, almost; more _weathered,_ and _worn. _It looked as though he hadn't shaved in a while, as the beginnings of a beard began to show. He walked toward the others, and they didn't act as though it were odd in the slightest. All Alois could do was arch an eyebrow at the man, confused.

"_Surprised?"_ asked Heinrich, folding his arms. "I'll give you the _abridged explanation _now, and get it out of the way: After our last run-in, I was sent back to prison, this time with the possibility of execution, even though this country _doesn't give capitol-punishment. _As a deal, they said I could_ cheat death one last time and work for these guys_."

"Now," he continued. "Are we just going to stand around here, or are we _going to do our job?"_

_ "That was an incredibly rude way of putting it."_ said Seras. She sighed and looked to the other members of her squad, two trainees in the _Supernatural Corps_, and a demon-boy who was ordinarily under the command of her boss' rival. She paused for a moment to reflect on that before shouting in an unusually authoritative manner:

_ "Right! You know the drill! Kill every copycat in sight!"_ She readied her gun, or rather, her "_anti-freak cannon", _as it was known, and motioned for the others to follow her inside.

"_Yes ma'am!" _the others shouted in response before heeding her orders. But, as they ran, the blonde menace couldn't help but cast a few spiteful glances in the German's direction.

"Listen, _you better not try anything stupid_." he said, causing the man to give him a confused look. It took him a brief moment to process what the boy meant by that.

"Don't worry, I don't have any hard feelings toward _the Watchdog _anymore." he said. "I _can't_ kill him; Not when he's _also Victor_." He looked away from the boy, and pulled his guns out of their holsters as they found the entrance to the downstairs area.

"But, _should a stray bullet 'accidentally' hit him..." _the man continued with a smile, "...There would be no tears from _me."_

"You _better_ be joking..." Alois warned, furrowing his brow. "...or else one of those _'stray bullets'_ might _'accidentally'_ hit you, _Heiny."_

_ "Excuse me?"_ the man asked, doing a double-take to look at the boy again._ "What did you just call me?"_

"I called you _'Heiny'." _the demon-boy said casually. "_'Heinrich'; 'Heiny'. _Get it?"

At that moment, Heinrich was unsure as to how to respond to that. He wasn't sure if the boy legitimately didn't see the rudeness of the nickname, or if he was doing it on purpose. That's just the visage the Trancy lad put on. _You and I both know, however, the likelihood of that._

* * *

**A/N: Moral of the story: "Alois is a little shit."  
**

**I don't have that much to say, today, so here's a random fact:**

_**Dolphins can and will rape other dolphins, and also will perform gang-bangs. Dolphins have been known to also hump humans as well. So next time your friends want to go "swimming with the dolphins" at Seaworld, or whatever, YOU ARE NOW AWARE OF THE DANGERS.**_

**DOLPHINS ARE RAPISTS.  
**

**And now, you know. **

**AND KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE. G.I. JOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEE~!**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~! **

**(lol I almost typed "dickies". Just thought you oughta know...)**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET WHY DOES A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF READERS WANT IN AUDREY'S PANTS I'VE BEEN NOTICING A TREND HERE ON BOTH FANFICTION AND DEVIANTART QUITE A FEW PEOPLE SEEM TO WANT HIS BABIES OH MY GOD HE NEEDS TO STAY AWAY FROM THE DOLPHINS I'M NOT EVEN JOKING AUDREY BEWARE OF DOLPHINS SDLKGAHSDLKGHA DOLPHIIIIIIINNNNNSSSSS OH GOD ARE SOME OF THE DUCKIES ACTUALLY DOLPHINS DOLPHINS HOW DO YOU GET INTERNET IN THE OCEAN ASDLGAHDSGLKH PLEASE DON'T TRY TO MOLEST AUDREY HE'S NOT INTO MARINE MAMMALS I'M SORRY IT'S NOT YOU IT'S HIM HE LIKES HUMANOID-LADIES ONLY AND PLEASE DON'T TRY TO RAPE HIM RAPING PEOPLE IS VERY RUDE AND DOES NOT WIN YOU ANY FRIENDS ASLDGHALDKSJF WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN...  
**_

_Question: **"S7: who are the virgins in the group? Kris: who was your first kiss?"** by Cookies  
_

_Ciel's Answer: "I don't know. It's not my business."  
_

_Alois' Answer:"I can tell you right now, neither Ciel, or myself are in that category, if you know what I mean..."  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"I actually haven't had my first kiss, yet. I've never gotten that far in a relationship, so I can also assure you that I'm in the 'virginal-squad'. I can also assure you that Daniel's answer is a lie. He's only ever dated my sister, and they haven't kissed yet, either. They barely hold hands, too. Trust me, if they did, Ana would definitely tell me, and tell me, and tell me..."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:"Uh... I am... I'm no good at even just talking to girls. I get nervous and completely make a fool of myself..."  
_

_Daniel's Answer: "Well, **I'm** not. I've done it before. Quite a few times, actually. Probably the only ones who has! Hahaha!" ***dodgy eyes***  
_

_Preston's Answer:"I'm pretty sure that the only ones who've had sex are Ciel and Alois. But even if I'm wrong, I don't really care to find out."  
_

_Travis' Answer:"I'm too young to be doing stuff like that. I'd at least like to get out of high school, first. There's too much for me to do already. A girl is one that I can save for another date and time."  
_

_0000000000000000_

_Question: _**_"__Hi question for Audrey Um c-can I hug you?"_**_ by 88KittyGirl88 (a confirmed non-dolphin)  
_

_Audrey's Answer:__"U-u-uh... s-s-s-sure...?" ***awkwardly hugs you* *blushes to death***  
_


	259. Mi Llamo Es

Gunshots were heard on the floors above Ciel, and caused the ceiling rafters to loudly protest. The bluenette somehow felt relieved that they had arrived, and at the same time, disappointed that they did before he could take out Messiah's leaders himself. Nevertheless, he pressed onward, stepping over the bodies that had piled up on the floor around him as he did.

Killing wasn't something the bluenette necessarily enjoyed. While it was exhilarating, with adrenaline and endorphins coursing through his veins as he put pressure on the trigger, or released his arm to strike his opponent, he didn't _enjoy _it. A person's life is a heavily weighted, and should you take it, you must be able to carry that weight with you for the rest of your life. One can rationalize whether or not someone deserved death for an unprecedented amount of time, but the fact of the matter was that should one kill them, wouldn't that make one_ just as "bad_" as the person they killed? To Ciel's eye,_ there is no difference_. To Ciel, murder was a _necessary evil_ for completing the job that he was assigned, nothing more, and nothing less.

Yes, Ciel was not a "_good"_ person. _He never was, and never will be_. He may have blossomed into a _kinder _person over the past hundred years, but that does by no means make him _"good"._ Believing in things such as "_good"_ and "_evil_" was naive; nothing but a childish notion ingrained into the heads of many, that held no real value in reality. _Ciel learned this years ago_. The world is nothing but grey. It only varies in shades. What is "_good" _to some, may be "_evil"_ to others. To label the grave act of taking a life as either one is impossible, so the bluenette didn't bother to even try. He simply performed his duty, and moved on.

Still, he was starting to get a tad bit irritated at the lack of progress on his end. He had been searching for what felt like hours, but couldn't find Messiah's leaders anywhere. He furrowed his brow as he remembered one of the worst-case scenarios: _What if they had deserted after figuring out that they were under attack?_ If that was the case, all they could do was hope that they all had freak-chips implanted in their bodies, so that if Dafydd and Sebastian managed to activate the emergency-termination mechanism, they would perish as well. That would only work if their chips held the same type of coding, however, which wasn't likely.

It was then that his sixth-sense started acting up again. His pace slowed down a bit, staying sharp for any demon-specific containment barriers. Should he be caught in one of those, he would have no way out. He was completely on his own.

The rumbling from upstairs didn't do much to help his nerves, as he flinched whenever what he could only assume was Seras Victoria's "_Harkonnen Anti-Freak Cannon"_ being fired. That was yet another reason to reach a conclusion quickly. He didn't like this place. It was actually slightly _threatening_ to a demon. He was somewhat relieved that Miss Victoria could be there, however. That at least meant that the blonde menace wasn't shot upon H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s arrival.

_Alois._ He remembered that the blonde was supposed to join him eventually. Ciel thought that either the blonde was helping the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. organization wipe the upper floors downward of any copycat freaks on his way to him, or that the other boy _had _been shot by the hunters. The latter thought riddled him with worry, even though he knew it was unlikely.

As he was lost in thought, Ciel turned another corner to walk down yet another hallway in his pursuit of Messiah. His attention was immediately captured, however, when the floor immediately beneath his foot began to glow, with odd symbols appearing around his shoe. The bluenette's visible eye widened, and he quickly retracted his appendage before it could be grasped by the barrier. He wasn't trapped, but he would now have to find another way around. There was no way he was going down that hallway.

The lad thought on this for a moment longer, when an idea occurred to him. Why was a trap down _this particular hallway_, when it wasn't around others? He smirked as he came to the only possible answer:_ Somewhere down that hallway were the very people he was looking for. _

He pulled out his gun, unloaded the current magazine in it and counted the bullets before loading it again. He would have to reload after doing this quickly, or he may get shot. While the people he was up against most likely didn't possess anti-freak weaponry, it was still in his best interest to avoid injury, as he could still feel pain. He had three rounds in his pistol; _plenty_ for what he wanted to do. With that,_ he aimed the weapon down the hallway, and pulled the trigger three times_. He reloaded, and paused, waiting to see if his plan worked.

Just like that, a door slightly opened, as someone came to investigate the noise. Ciel waited a bit longer to see if they would come out completely. When he felt as though he had a clear enough shot, he fired again, hitting the curious individual in the head. He heard the gasps and exclamations as the people in the room as they shuffled around and debated on what kind of action they should take. When the next person peeked outside, this time making sure that they couldn't get shot, Ciel called out to them.

"What's the matter? You _scared?" _he mocked childishly, hoping to draw the others out by appearing as though he wasn't a threat. "Come on out an _fight me_, you _Dracula wannabes!"_

"_It's just a kid!" _the other person said, obviously turning to the others in the room. The bluenette heard some more arguing and shouting, but couldn't quite make out what they were saying since they were all shouting at once. Soon, however, more people came out, unwisely under the impression that Ciel would be _easy prey_.

He smirked as they charged at him. They didn't really resemble humans in the way that they did it. They had their arms outstretched, ready to grab the boy, with their jagged teeth bared. It was so vulgar that he didn't even think twice before firing at them. They weren't people anymore. They were _beasts_ that only _resembled_ humans, much like he, himself, probably was.

Everything seemed to slow down as he took his aim. The demon's sharpened senses were even greater than these cheap, vampire imitations' could ever be. Thus, even with this frightening horde of open mouths charging at him with the intention of tearing him limb-from-limb and devouring his flesh, he was able to hit each and every one of them with precise aim, causing them to drop like flies. They were vermin, and he had exterminated them.

Looking over the bodies on the ground, he was somewhat content with himself, observing that none of these people looked like your average street punk searching for a good time. They looked like professional individuals capable of running a covert operation. These were most likely the leaders of Messiah a few minutes ago. Ciel frowned at the thought that such bright individuals could sink so low. They had a promising future, and they had thrown it all away for power.

Even after obtaining it, it still wouldn't be enough. _It never is. _People who pursue power in such a manner will always pursue power, no matter what they already have. They will consume and step on anyone in their path. People like that will destroy everything; reputations, careers, lives, even _themselves_ in pursuit of power. They have a void inside of them that they genuinely believe power will fill. Now, they are even more beastly than they were, as they would attempt to fill that endless void with not only power, but _human life._

_Just like Ciel does. He, too, is a monster._

He was just like the beasts that were dead on the floor in front of him. He, too, had to consume another life in order to sustain his own, but, funnily enough, _he didn't feel like it_. Far from it. He felt content with his _own_ life. He didn't feel _empty_ like them. Why? Why wasn't he? He was a demon; a monster that devours the souls of living mortals to sustain a life that they do not have, but, he felt like he _had _a life.

Was he delusional? Was he simply foolishly clinging to the belief that he, too, could be like everyone else? That he could be "human"?

It was possible, but even still, these things he felt were _human_. His need for friendship, his obligation to his job, his morality, his feeling of nostalgia for the past, his hope for the future, his pain, his sorrow, his joy, his kinship to the residents of Phantomhive manor, to the Midford house, to H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G; and to the students of Warwick, and his love for Alois; _all of it_. He had the capacity to _feel_ like a _human_ could. Even his fear of not being a _monster_, was in fact, _human_. He didn't want to be like the dead beasts on the floor. As much as he would hate to admit it, he was _afraid_ of the very _possibility_.

"_Are you still alive, kid?"_ called a voice, startling the bluenette from his trance. He raised his weapon in the direction it came from, only to see nothing.

_ "I'm_ still alive." said the voice. It was scratchy, worn, and harsh. "If_ you're _still alive does that mean I'm the only one left?"

"That depends entirely on whether or not you _really are_ the only one there." Ciel answered, realizing the voice was coming from the room that the other's had been in.

_"I see..." _the voice said again, almost thoughtfully. There was a pause before it spoke again. "So if you're still there, I can take it that you're the_ demon _that _Dafydd warned us about?"_

The bluenette couldn't help but roll his eye at the statement. While Dafydd had actually done the wise thing, given the amount of information he had, Ciel still couldn't help but feel annoyed by how much of a _complete ninny _the sorcerer could be. Still, he had to answer.

"Maybe I _am_, maybe I'm _not_." the bluenette replied, hearing the sound of a chair scooting closer to the door, most likely so the person in the room could hear him better.

"Is that so?" asked the voice. "I was thinking that you might be, seeing that you won't _venture past the trap."_

"I guess there's no denying it, then. Yes, I am the demon that mister Blake spoke of. I am Senior Detective Constable Sir Ciel Phantomhive, otherwise known as 'the Queen's Guard-dog'." Ciel narrowed his eye as he heard chuckling from the other room.

"That's quite the title." said the voice, pausing for a moment to cough. "I'm afraid I don't have one as impressive as yours. _My name is Everett Mason, and I'm the founder, and leader of Messiah."_

* * *

**A/N: Mi nombre es HateWeasel, y no puedo hablar español.**

**Sorry, I missed you, yesterday! I was touring the campus of the college I'll be attending, and when I got home, I stared at the screen as was just like "uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh..." So, yeah. I start classes next week, so I dunno if I can update as often as I usually do. I'll try, I'll try...**

**I'm pretty sure my tumblr is where my fanservice-y drawings are gonna be ending up... So, head there for pictures of Audrey shirtless! I think there's like, two, at the moment, but that number will probably be rising after writing this. I take requests and answer questions, too~!**

**Just no porn. I'll draw fluff, and fanservice, but no porn. That's pretty much my only rule for that at the moment. I'm sure there will be more after you nasty perverts find something else to disturb me with. (You guys are such DUCKS.)**

**Uhm... Some DLTD Trivia?**

_**Kristopherson is the second most physically fit member of the sensational seven. (Excluding Ciel and Alois, because they're motherfucking demons and shit.) Kris goes jogging every morning, and goes for a walk in the afternoon on weekends. (Because he knows how to bring the boys to the yard.) He is actually fairly toned, but still doesn't take his shirt off when he goes swimming. It's not because he's embarrassed, or because he's gay. It's because he has a mole on his right pectoral, and every time he takes his shirt off, somebody ALWAYS tries to poke it, and pretend that it's a button. (usually Anastasia, because he's her brother, and she likes to annoy the shit out of him.)**_

_**Audrey is surprisingly the most physically fit member of the seven. After the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. Youth Training Camp, he has started working out a few minutes every day, and is now surprisingly muscular. (Ladies~!)**_

_**The least fit is Preston, making Daniel second-to-last. Daniel did go running with Kristopherson once, though. ONCE. He couldn't keep up and was out of breath within the first few blocks. Kris still makes fun of him for this.**_

_**Ciel never pays attention in class since he's heard everything taught multiple times before. He forgets a few things, here and there, however, causing him to have the second best grades of the seven. He was beaten by Travis, of all people.**_

_**Alois likes to grope Ciel's butt whenever possible. Sometimes he'll skip out on it, however, simply so that Ciel won't know when to expect it. He also really likes to sneak up and grab Ciel's chest. About 45% of why he does this is because he's a pervert. 55% is because he likes to see Ciel's reactions.**_

_**Kristopherson has checked out every member of the Sensational Seven at least once. **_

_**Luka goes through a lot of black crayons. Not because he uses the colour often, but because whenever Sebastian colours with him, he always uses mostly black.**_

_**Daniel sleeps while hugging a pillow because secretly, he's a cuddler. **_

_**Travis often gets picked to babysit Luka when Charlotte and Amelie can't. Everyone is okay with this, because he's actually the most capable person for the job, and he doesn't particularly mind it. **_

**Until the next chapter, my duckies. **


	260. Like A Trapped Animal

"_You should give up already_." said the voice of a certain technology expert, even as she was restrained. "That barrier was cast by two better sorcerers than you'll _ever _be."

Dafydd paid her no mind as he scribbled in his memo-pad, occasionally looking away to look back at the markings on the floor. He, Sebastian, and Doctor Bigby had all made it into the room that they were looking for, and were now trying to figure out how to break the barrier. Once they did that, the rest should be easy, once Dafydd used his telepathy on the once meek, and somewhat friendly woman. For now, all he could do about her was ignore her while the butler kept her still.

Now, if only there was a way to keep her _quiet_. While Dafydd doesn't seem like it, he's actually quite the genius when it comes to magic. He could read in many different languages, some that not even Sebastian was familiar with, and he knew extrordinary amounts about how magic works, especially when it comes to circles and counters. He could write his own, once he figured out how the spell worked, but there was _one _thing in his way: _how distracting the doctor was being._

That said, this barrier he was looking at was extremely complex. The circle and scriptures covered the entire floor, and even some of the walls in some places. It was taking him far longer than expected to crack it. His brow furrowed in concentration as he read the writing on it. It was frustrating, but at the same time, he was quite enjoying the challenge, and the possibility of learning something new.

"_Scientia de anima", _Dafydd's summoning phrase, used to call upon his own energy, reflected this. It meant_, "Science of the soul",_ basically, what anyone who uses magic should understand in order to use it to it's maximum capacity. Dafydd knew it, and that was why he was able to use such high-level spells. "_Egressus as de fulmine irritum inimicis meis et concidi", "Carcer glacies spiritus", "Spiraculum Gilgrim",_ all spells he used against the bluenette during their battle, and all of them spells that a person his age shouldn't be able to use. Most of those spells where usable to sorcerers three times his age, and most of them had to perform the full incantation. Dafydd used them in an abridged form, and he was only seventeen. Soon, he placed his pen back in his pocket with a smile, and pulled out a small cigarette case full of sticks of chalk.

Sebastian almost found himself _impressed_ by the boy. The sorcerer was a _fool _when it came to social situations, and an _idiot _when it came to juding people, but admittedly, the lad was a _genius_ when it came to magic. Perhaps if he tried, the boy could even one day be capable of breaking demonic contracts. But, for now, they had to get out of this situation first. Sebastian watched Dafydd with great interest as he began drawing on the floor, spreading out to the walls after what felt like ages, but was most likely only an hour. Having worn his way through half of his chalk, Dafydd closed the case and placed it back in it's home in his pocket.

"_Alright, I think I might be on to something_." the lad said, his eyes almost gleaming. If he could break this, that means that he had personally gone up in power, and perhaps one day, he would even be able to teach the Phantomhive lad a lesson. _But, for now,_ _they had to get out of this situation first._

_ "Stupid..." _the doctor muttered, causing Sebastian to frown. But what really bothered him was the _smile_ on her face.

Suddenly, it occurred to the man that Dafydd was casting his counter-curse. Many of the boy's rings lit up, and sweat collected on his brow as he recited his incantation, one that was impossible to understand by either of the other two in the room. Wind seemed to come from nowhere, as if it were seeping out of the chalk lines on the floor as they glowed. They pushed the boy back, causing his shoes to slide as he tried to stand his ground, all while continuing his chant.

The light began to fade, slowly, but surely. As it began to leave, the duo on the side of Phantomhive couldn't' help begin to feel relieved. Bigby's smile began to fade with it. She lost one of her only defenses, but, _she hadn't lost yet._

Dafydd shot the other's a triumphant look, before walking over to the large computer in the center of the room. Sebastian followed him with the doctor in tow. He was beginning to find the woman's grin incredibly disturbing.

"So, how do I activate the _termination-thingy?"_ asked Dafydd, looking to the doctor. Bigby simply scoffed, and remained silent. Still the sorcerer smiled, and looked back at the computer.

"_Thanks." _he said, having tricked the doctor into thinking about it just like Ciel had done with Detective Summers earlier, in the very room.

He turned around at the thought for a moment, looking over at the area that they had abandoned the man in. Summers was gone. Dafydd would have to find the man later, but for now, he had to enter the termination code. After punching in the code that the doctor had thought of, he hit "enter", hoping for the code to work. He looked to Bigby, his face confused. She was still alive, and very much so. She smiled at him.

"Did you _really _think that I would_ install myself with a chip that could kill me?" _she asked, giggling as she spoke. "Did you_ really _think that the _higher ups would have them as well?"_

"What is _wrong _with you?" asked Dafydd, his usual, laughing eyes turning icy. "Why would you do any of this?"

"Isn't it _obvious?" _the woman asked. "_Everyone_ is _afraid of death_. Some people are just more willing to _cheat it_. This way, I can keep inventing bigger and better things forever. Who on earth would pass up the opportunity? Copying such ingenious technology as these _'freak-chips'_ as your friend calls them, are my _greatest achievement_, and I'll just keep _improving _them for as long as I can possibly make myself live."

Doctor Bigby turned around as she felt more pressure on her arm, only to see the demon-butler glaring at her. A powerful demon was glaring at her, and yet she still _smiled._ Obviously, the freak-chips did _more_ than alter a person's body. They also obviously warped their _minds_, as well.

With that, she suddenly moved, trying to get away, regardless of the immense pressure on her arm. She kept trying to flee even after the bone snapped. Then, the other watched in shear shock, their eyes wide in horror, as Bigby turned around again, bearing her teeth. She didn't attack Sebastian. No, she attacked _herself_, biting into her own flesh and _tearing herself free. _

She tore through muscles and tendons, dropping a few bloody pieces onto the floor. She gnawed at her arm until she reached the broken bone, and with another swift yank, she was free. She escaped, fleeing into the deeper parts of the factory with only_ one arm_, the other one in Sebastian's hand. With that, the man let go of it, dropping it to the floor. He turned to the sorcerer, who's eyes were still wide, still staring at the place where Doctor Almondine Bigby once stood, his face vacant and pale. After a few moments, his knees gave up on him, and he fell on them without even blinking. The poor boy was in absolute shock as to what had just happened.

_ "Dafydd."_ Sebastian called, trying to free the lad from his trance to no avail.

_ "Dafydd."_ He tried again, his voice more stern. He called the boy's name one last time, snapping his fingers in front of the lad's face. The boy turned to him, and made a confused and frightened sound in order to show acknowledge the man.

"We need to go after her." Sebastian said. "She's most likely heading toward her superiors in the area that the young master is in. Can you stand?"

"_Uh-huh..."_ Dafydd replied, shakily getting up on his feet. He followed the man out the door and into the hallway. _They followed the trail of blood droplets on the floor._

* * *

**A/N: HER PERIOD.**

**Just kidding~!**

**BUT SERIOUSLY.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"Preston is the least physically fit? I remember a scene you wrote once where Preston was really good at ping-pong (...Is that what it's called in English? I confuse that and this other catchy phrase title word thing...), like, master fast good. I can't be certain if it was Preston or Travis, as their characters were both really shallowly sketched out at the time, but. How could Preston be so lightning fast at ping-pong/tennis/badminton/thingwithaballandaracke t if he's weaker than Daniel?"** by Canadian-Hero  
_

_Preston's Answer:"Mm-hm. I'm only fast when it comes to ping-pong, unfortunately. It's a small area to cover, and it's all just in the reflexes and hand-eye coordination.I'm no good at either badminton or tennis because there's more wide movement involved. Daniel can still run farther and faster than I can. It's probably because he walks everywhere. I always ride my moped, so I don't get as much exercise as I should. Travis is more athletic than both of us, since he's 'nature-boy' and goes hiking and stuff on about every other weekend. I remember one time we all decided to go with him. NEVER AGAIN. Daniel and I were out of breath the entire time, and we were getting left behind by the others. Daniel thought it would be a good idea to take a 'short-cut' through the woods, and like an idiot, I followed him. We got lost and the others had to come and find us, and when they did it was around dusk. We were dehydrated, tired, filthy, and were covered in poison ivy when we escaped..."  
_

_00000000000000000000000000_

_Question: _**_"__I love Seras she is amazing but anyway...Hey ciel you wouldn't mind if this aspiring artist draws a picture of you all secret agent would you? I don't suppose you could tell me what you're wearing on the mission and how your gun looks. I want to get it right. Hey seras don't suppose I could ask fir a non-bone crunching hug?"_**_ by PaganWanderer_

_Seras' Answer:__"Of course!" ***gently hugs you***  
_

_Alois (Because he's a little shit):  "Be careful. Her **boobs** might **suffocate** you..."  
_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I don't mind. Go ahead. On missions, I usually wear a black suit, and some odd coat like a detective on TV might wear, only shorter, and black. It's comfortable. Zamiel looks like an ordinary automatic handgun, for the most part, only the barrel is slightly longer, and it has silver trimming on it, with the word 'Zamiel' etched onto the side. The trigger, and trigger-guard are silver, and it also has a silver guard on the handle like a rapier or cutlass so it can be used to block close-range bladed attacks. Alois' gun is similar, only his is a revolver with the name 'Kaspar' written on the side of the barrel."  
_

_HateWeasel:__If you do draw it, and post it somewhere, please send me a link or tell me where to find it~! I'd love to see it, fo' sho'. _

_0000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"S7: Kris is a..."** by Narvia_

_Ciel's Answer:__"... quite decent person."  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"...man cursed with the fate of being forever fabulous~!" _

_Audrey's Answer:__"...total tsundere."_

_Daniel's Answer:__"...hmm... 'Kris is a...' a... I dunno. I can't think of anything other than the obvious 'total homo' thing. Huh..."  
_

_Preston's Answer:__"...fashion snob."_

_Travis' Answer:__"...good, dependable friend."  
_


	261. Hi, There

"_What the-?!"_ shouted Heinrich as the copycat freak he was about to slice open suddenly burst into flames. He was just lucky that he got away in time before he, too, caught fire from it.

"_They're all dying..." _Charlotte said absent-mindedly, watching, just as the others did, as the copycat-freaks burst into colourful flames and writhed in agony until they were nothing but ash. Seras walked over to one of the piles, couching down and touching the remains with a gloved hand. She looked up, turning her attention to the blonde menace.

_ "You said that Mister Sebastian and another boy was trying to activate their emergency-termination-mechanism, right, Alois?"_ she asked, standing up and dusting herself up. The blonde menace wore a look of confusion for a brief moment before realizing why the Draculina was asking.

"So does that mean that it _worked?" _he asked excitedly. He was a tad disappointed that he didn't get to fight any of the major villains with Ciel, but pleased all the same that this hopefully meant that he could go home and take a shower. He was covered in ash, dirt and blood at this point, and desired one greatly.

"Mm-hm. We need to contact Ciel and see what we can do about freeing any remaining victims-" the woman was cut off as a voice sounded over the lad's radio. Alois dug the device out of his pocket and pressed the "talk" button.

"_Repeat?" _he answered, pausing to hear a reply.

"I _said _we activated the termination-mechanism." said the voice. It was Sebastian, and from the sounds of it, he was running. "However, it would appear that _not all of the chips are equipped with it._ _Doctor Bigby is still alive_, and according to her,_ all of Messiah's leaders are implanted with chips without a fail-safe."_

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" the blonde shouted. "Ciel!_ Are you still alive?!"_ He was joking, of course, but when the bluenette didn't answer, his twinge of amusement disappeared.

_ "Ciel?"_

_No answer._

_ "Ciel?!"_

_ Still nothing. _

With that, the blonde grit his teeth, and clenched the small, handheld device. He shoved it in his pocket before he broke it, and began to move forward, his fast-walk turning into a run. Once he did so, the other immediately started to follow after him, albeit not a quickly.

"Alois! _Wait! _Where are you going?!" called Seras.

"_I'm going to go find Ciel!" _the the demon-boy answered, before escaping his allies' sight. They couldn't keep up with him, as they had a human with them. While Heinrich was fast, he was only fast for a human, and the others simply couldn't leave him, either.

"Seras!" called Amelie, causing the woman to look at her. With a nod, Miss Victoria issued her next order, understanding what the wolf-girl was silently saying.

"Alright! _You go on ahead and back him up_." the Draculina said, slowing her pace so that the others could keep up. "We'll catch up, while making sure the place is completely clean."

Amelie nodded, and kept running, the air around her changing. Her body appeared to be giving off intense heat as white energy appeared around her, resembling slow-moving lightning. With that, all the others could see was that energy zipping down the hallway at an ongodly speed, taking Amelie with it.

It didn't take long at all for her to find the blonde, with her sense of smell, and with her speed, it was only a few seconds before she was at the boy's side. Shen she slowed down, she was visible again, and not just a mass of light, resuming her usual shape as a small girl. Naturally, the Trancy boy was somewhat surprized at this, but kept his pace as he continued his running.

"You gonna help me find Ciel?" he asked, keeping his eyes in front of him.

"_Oui." _the wolf girl said flatly.

"Any guesses as to where he might be?" asked the blonde.

_ "Oui. Go left." _Amelie replied, running slightly in front of the lad as they heeded her directions. After a few moments, she furrowed her brow, making an annoyed face_. "Too slow." _she muttered.

Again, the white energy appeared around her, gaining the immediate attention of the blonde menace. Her shape began to change, her jaws lengthening, her ears becoming pointed, and moving higher up on her head, and her frame becoming larger as she began to run on all-fours. Silver fur now covered her body, which now resembled a very large wolf, one that stood almost as tall as Alois.

The large animal slowed down, and lined itself up with Alois' back, encouraging him to run faster than before. It wasn't necessary, however, as Amelie bent her head down before suddenly bringing it back up again, catching the lad on the end of her shout and flinging him over her back. His surprised yelp almost made her smile a bit. She waited until the demon-boy held on tight enough, before speeding off at a similar speed to that which she arrived with. The blonde's scream echoed through the entire hallway, and was probably heard by the others behind them.

Elsewhere int he old, rundown factory, a stalemate was taking place between a certain bluenette, and a certain man by the name of Everett Mason, the supposed leader of Messiah. Ciel could not venture forward and exterminate the man, as there was a trap just in front of him waiting to be triggered, nor could the man flee, as his only exit was the door in front of him, leading into the corridor, and into the lad's line of fire. It was quite the predicament. The bluenette had heard the voices over the radio, but chose to ignore them for now, waiting to see if the other would make a move. He cursed Mason for thinking that far ahead. This would have been over, had he been stupid.

Obviously, he wasn't, though. He was smart enough not to implant a chip into his body that was capable of killing him. He was smart enough not to fall for the boy's previous trap like his associates did. He was smart enough to put up these barriers. He was smart enough not to tell Dafydd his true intentions. This man, Everett Mason, was no fool. However, once help arrived, he was finished. He was most likely anticipating this, and was probably formulating an escape at that very moment.

_ "Are those your comrade's voices?" _he asked from his chair, placed just so in the room he was trapped in so that he was close enough to the door to be heard clearly, but far enough away to be out of the bluenette's line of fire. "You have a radio. Why don't you answer them and call for help?"

"It won't do any good." Ciel replied. "They can't get past the trap either. Besides, they'll probably come after me even if I say nothing."

"Is it really wise to be telling me this?" asked the man.

"Probably not, but it would appear that there isn't much you can do, either."

"_True."_ said the lone man from his room, and with that, nothing but silence ensued.

"_There has to be another way." _the bluenette thought to himself, looking around to his immediate surroundings. "_There has to be a way for me to get into that room."_

He looked to his left, but there was nothing but a wall. He looked to his right, but there was nothing but a hallway, as he stood in an intersection where the corridor in front of him led to another. He looked down it for a moment, taking a few steps toward it, but keeping his senses sharp, just in case the mister Mason moved. He looked for any possible ways to get in, but found nothing; nothing, but an air vent.

Oh, how he didn't want to enact the idea that immediately formed in his head at seeing it. Crawling through it was something Alois would do. Crawling through it was something Alois _had done._ Ciel then started considering the possibility, and the risk over reward.

The risk was that not only would he look like a complete fool, he could also be sensed by the man, causing him to leave while the lad was still in the vent. The reward was that Ciel would have made him move away from the trap while simultaneously getting around it, himself. Much to his displeasure, the plan was looking alright, and it was his only plan at the moment. The bluenette paused for a moment, taking out his gun and checking to see how many rounds he had in his current magazine, and then he climbed up on a crate and reached for the vent, standing on his tip-toes so that he could reach it. He could almost hear the blonde menace mocking his height, or lack-thereof.

Once inside the vent, he used his sixth-sense, feeling relieved that the man in the other room showed no signs of movement. Then, he crawled on his stomach, making as little noise as possible. With his sense to guide him, he was able to tell when the man was directly below him. He smirked to himself, feeling happy about how well this was turning out. Once locating an opening that led into his target's room, he opened it, springing forth into the room. His shoes made a distinct "clicking" sound as they hit the floor. Ciel quickly reached for his weapon, but his attention was captured by a yet another, somewhat different "click". He looked up to see a gun being pointed in his face, but that wasn't was really grabbed his attention. It was the man holding it, or rather, his face.

Everett's face was scarred all over, aging his appearance dramatically. They looked like tiny cuts all over his face, as if someone has forced it into a pile of broken glass. His right eyelid drooped, as it appeared to be unable to open all the way. It was just as well. He was obviously blind in that eye. Clumps of hair were missing from the top of his head, and his hands had the same cuts on his face, yet they still held his weapon steady, point blank against the bluenette's forehead. The man had obviously anticipated the bluenette's decision, as his chair was placed strategically near the vent, a cane propped up against it. Apparently he had trouble walking as well.

The man smiled; it would probably look more sweet had it not have been for his garish appearance. He opened his mouth to speak again, putting a small amount of pressure on the trigger. He said two words:

"_Hi, there."_

_ BANG!_

* * *

**A/N: Son of a cliffhanger...  
**

**I'm not even sorry.**

**Eh, there's a question for moi, so I guess I'll just answer that...**

_**"QUACK, have you ever heard of Vocaloid? If you have, what song from which Vocaloid would probably be the theme song of DLTD? I wanna know! :D ...QUACK." by Light Umbreon**_

**Yea, I've heard of dat. I love me some Vocaloid. Mm-hm. B ut because DLTD is so long, I'd probably have more than one opening, like, one arc is a season, or some crap. I probably wouldn't use a lot of Vocaloid songs. One of my friends actually said that I should write a theme tune. I can write songs, I just need a tune in my head, first. After that, the words just flow naturally. I haven't even got a beat. Should I go 4/4 time like in _"Monochrome no Kiss",_ or 3/4 time like in "_SHIVER"?_ Every tune I seem to come up with just doesn't feel "Kuroshitsuji", y'know? **

**Before you start recommending stuff to me, I'm gonna let you know right now: I _hate_ contemporary rock. Actually, I don't think I "hate" it. "Hate" is a very strong word, and it implies that I actually gave my disliking of it some actual _effort._ (As the HateWeasel, I am an expert.) I just hear it all as the same. I'm sure a lot of people hear the shit I like as "the same" as well.  
**

**I UNDERSTAND JAZZ. ('Cause it's awesome.)**

**ANYWAYS, to actually answer your question, there are a few Vocaloid songs that I would use as openings. I would definitely use _"Lost One's Weeping_" by Rin, and "_World Domination: How-To"_ by both Rin and Len. "_Lie of April"_ by GUMI is also fitting, I think. There's one other song, and it's not really a Vocaloid song (I just found it while looking for Vocaloid stuff on Youtube,) and it's called "_World Lampshade_" by Ryo, that I think would suit a few places. **

**That said, here's MY question to you duckies!**

**If you listened to these songs, which ones would go best with which arc?**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET  
**_

_Question: **"I have a question for Kris. What do you honestly think about Dan and you can't just say he's an idiot 'cause that's kinda obvious by now. **  
** Also, Audrey, you should be a little more confident. I mean, you got some Asian-Persuation and the fact that you're shy is just adorable! You're so cute!"** by ParanoiaAlois  
_

_Audrey's Answer: ***Blushes* *****Mutters*** "Th-they said I was 'cute'..." ***Fidgets***  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:"Huh? Why not? That's all anyone really needs to know about Dan. Ah, well, I guess he's really fun to be around, and can be kind of sweet, sometimes. Now, don't take that they wrong way. He's a moron, will always be a moron, and a moron is the only thing he'll EVER be. I want no part of him, you hear me?"  
_

_00000000000000000000_

_Question: **"****Hey audrey I remember you said you liked durarara! So I was wondering if you could cosplay as any of the characters who would it be?"** by PaganWanderer_

_Audrey's Answer:"Uh, I dunno. I think Izaya would be pretty fun, but I don't really think I could pull it off."  
_

_0000000000000000000000000_

_Question(?): **"**_**Question for Audrey in response to his response ((Also I just haven't got that far *wiggles eyebrows* nah I'm not like that I'm to shy**

** Th-thank you! *Blushes bad* But can I have this *Grabs your bennie and runs*"** by 88KittyGirl88

_Audrey: "My... Hat..."_

_Daniel: "Whoa... Bones... Do you realize how** laid** you could get?"_

_Audrey: "I don't care..."_

_Daniel: "Huh?! How come?!"_

_Audrey: "I want my hat!"_

_Kristopherson: "It's just a hat..."_

_Audrey: "My dad gave me that hat..."_

_Daniel: "Stepdad?"_

_Audrey: "He's still my dad..."_

_Kristopherson: "Why do you need the hat? You'd probably get more girls without it."_

_Audrey: "I feel so naked without my hat."** *shudders***_

_Kristopherson: "Then get a new hat."_

_Audrey: "It's not the same!"_

_Daniel: "Let's just go get it. She probably hasn't gotten that far..."_

_Kristopherson: "Farther than you would ever get..."_

_Alois: "Hey, guys, I just saw a girl with a hat just like Audrey's!"_

_Audrey: "WHY DIDN'T YOU GRAB IT?"_

_Alois: "Whoa... Scary face..."_

_Daniel: "Apparently, Bones' hat contains all of his crazy..."_

_Audrey: "It's just a security thing... It makes me feel better..."_

_Alois: "Like how Daniel feels after staring at Kris' ass for a few minutes?"_

_Audrey: "No. It's not perverse like that."_

_Daniel: "I DO NOT STARE AT ANYONE'S ASS."  
_

_Alois: "Sure, and Kris' favourite colour is BLUE."_

_Daniel: "Shut up, dick-breath!"_

_Alois: "How very dare you?! Not **recently!"**_

_Daniel: "..."_

_Audrey: "..."_

_Alois: "What?"_

_Daniel: "I DID NOT NEED THIS INFORMATION."_

___Audrey: "THIS IS NOT HELPING ME GET MY HAT BACK."_

___Kristopherson: ***Comes back after leaving to get Audrey's hat back.*** "Did... I miss something, here?"_

___Audrey: "MY HAT!"_

___Daniel: "ALOIS LITERALLY SUCKS."_

___Kristopherson: "Well... Okay, then?"_


	262. More Walking Down More Hallways

The Phantomhive had really slipped up this time. He was so foolishly distracted by the man's face, tht he had simply forgotten what he was doing, and now, he was laying in a pool of blood for it. He heard panicked voices, in while adrift in a sea of nothingness, bringing him back up towrad the surface and back into reality. After listening to it for a little longer, he realized that it was the voice of the blonde menace, and the boy was calling for him.

At last, Ciel's eyelids fluttered open, and he realized that he was now on his back, laying across the blonde's lap. They didn't even have time to adjust before he felt his body being moved again, this time into an embrace. The bluenette's mind wasn't quite catching up with him, so he couldn't respond even in the slightest.

His head was comepletely foggy, and he couldn't seem to understand what the other boy was saying, if he was saying anything at all. Ciel could see a girl standing elsewhere in the room, looking around, but he couldn't quite place who she was. He knew he was out of it, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Reaching up absent-mindedly to touch his pained forehead, he realized that it was still soft where the bullet entered his head, like the bone wasn't done regenerating. That explained it. The bluenette simply regained consciousness before he was completely healed.

_ "Ciel?"_ Alois called, lightly shaking the boy after they parted. "Ciel~? Hello~! _Earth to Ciel, do you read?"_

"It's no good." said Amelie, bending slightly at the waist in order to look down at the boys in the floor. "_He's dead, Jim."_

"He's not _dead."_ Alois said insistently. "He's just..._ out of it._ He'll be okay once he's fully regenerated and regains mobility. Any ideas where the person who shot him went?"

"Out into the hall, to the right." said the wolf-girl, poking the bluenette, causing him to sway a bit.

"We need to go after him." Alois replied, standing up with a grunt while pulling the bluenette up with him. To his amusement, the boy simply slumped against him, unable to support himself.

"_Like a drunkard..." _Amelie pointed out while the blonde readjusted the bluenette's position so that he could carry the lad on his back. Ciel's current status was so undignified, that the Alois wasn't sure if he should be concerned, or extremely amused.

"He's going to be so mad if he knows I carried him like this." Alois said, walking toward the door, wolf-girl following after.

"_Cyclops piggyback." _she said.

"How funny does it look?" asked the blonde menace.

"_Fucking hilarious."_

They ran as fast as they could with Ciel in his current state. The silly method in which the blonde carried him helped with their speed, as they dashed down the hallways, following the werewolf's nose. Over time, it seemed like the bluenette's condition improved, as the lad started to hold on tighter, and make annoyed grunts, now obviously aware of what was happening to him. While the other's couldn't see it, his eye was now moving and focusing on the area around him.

He wasn't at all happy about his current condition. He wasn't happy about his position, either. Most of all, however, he wasn't happy with how he allowed Mason to get away. The next time he saw the man, Ciel was going to shoot him just as he had been shot. The only difference would be that Mason wouldn't be able to get back up again.

"_How're you holding up, Ciel?" _the blonde asked while keeping his current pace only, half hoping for an answer. He couldn't help but chuckle at the near-growl the bluenette did. "Oh_, so you're fine then?" _

Just as he said that, Amelie stopped, causing the blonde to do so as well. She paused where the hallway intersected with another, forming a "T" shape. She sniffed the air a few times, and then spoke. She said:

"_Penguin was here."_

_ "'Penguin'?" _echoed the blonde, giving the statement some thought. "You mean _Sebastian?"_

_ "Oui."_

"That means Doctor Bigby must have been here, too." Alois said. "Think they're all headed the same place?"

"Probably." Amelie replied. "They don't seem far off."

_ "Let's hurry, then."_

Alois was running at full speed, or as close to it as he could get with Ciel on his back. Amelie was patiently keeping pace with the blonde. The slowness annoyed her, but she had to put up with it, as she wasn't sure if she could carry both boys herself.

Ciel wasn't entirely appreciating it, either. Yet, when he heard that Sebastian would be up ahead, he wasn't looking forward to their reunion, given the bluenette's current status. Oh, how the butler would torment him about fouling up so, and the idea of the sorcerer seeing him like this didn't exactly thrill him, either. At the same time, however, the bluenette was guilty of enjoying the closeness of the blonde, sneakily taking in his scent, and feeling the heat that escaped through his coat. Moreover, he found himself fancying the blonde's ability to take charge when he could not, something that he internally kicked himself for.

His head was feeling less fuzzy, and he was now perfectly aware of what was happening. He probably had the ability to speak, but remained quiet, as he still wasn't sure if he could run, and he really didn't want to hear the blonde's teasing. Thus, he did the childish thing, and pretended to still be in a daze, simply taking to opportunity to think about their current situation.

Both Doctor Almondine Bigby and Everett Mason, the founder and leader of Messiah, were still alive, despite the team's efforts to exterminate them. It would appear that they had underestimated the copycats, and now, it led to the villains having the potential to rendezvous, and come up with an escape plan. There was no doubt that one of them had a copy of all of the data on the copycat freak-chips, so allowing them to do so was not an option. If they did, Messiah would only come back, and perhaps stronger than they were this time. Ciel refused to be defeated here, or anywhere else, especially to a bunch of copycats. Yes, it would definately appear that they had underestimated their foe, but when the bluenette saw them again, he promised to no one in particular that both Bigby and Mason would meet their end.

He didn't care about their reasoning. He didn't care about why they did all of this. The Phantomhive lad had a job to do, and that was all that he desired to shift his focus toward.

Suddenly, he sensed the presence of the others drawing closer, so he decided to quickly rid himself of this most awkward and ridiculous of positions. Ciel let go of the blonde's neck, and wiggled his legs out of his grasp, startling the other boy and causing him to stop. Without a single word, Ciel moved his legs, and ran onward, fully recovered from his injury, and quite peeved. The blonde menace followed after him, trying to catch up with both the bluenette and the wolf-girl.

"Hey! Wait! Ciel!" Alois called, running up to the side of the other lad. "Are you alright?! Should you be running?!"

_ "I'm fine." _Ciel answered, his voice coming out more forceful than intended. "There's just _no way I'm letting either Sebastian or Dafydd_ see me like _that."_ There was a short pause, as the blonde understood the other lad's reasoning perfectly. There was just one thing that bothered him, however:

"Exactly _how long_ were you _'fine'?" _he asked with a grin. The bluenette didn't even have to reply, as the hue of his cheeks answered the blonde's question for him.

"_Shut up."_

_ "So cute..."_

_ "I said shut up!"_

* * *

**A/N: I'm not gonna lie, I am disappoint. **

**Ciel's head wasn't the only one that was foggy today. I just absolutely could not think of anything. I was worried about whether or not I was going to get an update in at all, today...**

**Part of it might be because my mind is somewhat elsewhere. I'm starting my first year of college on Monday, and I'm absolutely terrified. Why? I don't really know. In theory, it shouldn't be at all frightening, but that means nothing, as it isn't a rational sort of feeling. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM DOING AND I DO NOT FEEL OKAY WITH THIS. D':**

**Ah... I just wanna focus on fanfics... I still need to update MIAAU, sometime. I've been meaning to, but I can't seem to find my words. Kind of like today, actually. **

**So, I'm sorry about the shittiness of this chapter, and hopefully tomorrow will be better...**

**Until then, my duckies...**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET:  
**_

_Daniel: "What the hell?! These are all repeats!"  
_

_Preston: "I guess it's not that easy, coming up with new questions every time..."_

_Kristopherson: "I'm surprised you're upset, Dan. Usually, you're complaining about how you keep getting 'sexually harassed'."_

_Daniel: "Shut up!"_

_Preston: "At least you GET questions..."_

_Travis: "Yeah..."_

_Ciel:__"I swear, if one more person asks about that stupid dress, someone's going to get hurt..."_

_Alois: "I know the feeling..."_

_Audrey: __"I just hope that no one e__lse tries to hug me or take my hat..."_

_Daniel: __"You ungrateful son of a bit__ch! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW GOOD YOU HAVE IT."_

_Kristopherson: "Well, I, for one, can't wait to see what the next round of questions have in store. I hope they mess with Dan..."_

_Daniel: "Why!?"_

___Kristopherson: "Because it's FUNNY..."_

___Alois: "Whoa! Kris is secretly a sadist!"_

___Kristopherson: "I am NOT!"_

___Alois: "I know. You're too much of an obvious bottom..."_

___Kristopherson: "I'm not one of those, either!"_

___Alois: "So you're versatile?"_

___Kristopherson: "GAH!"_

___Alois: "Oh! That reminds me! They came out with these new underpants for gay men that display what your favourite position is. There's a red one that says 'Top', Blue for 'Bottom', and Green for 'Versatile'."_

___Daniel: "And you are...?"_

___Alois: "'Green', of course~!"_

___Ciel: "Liar. You're 'blue'..."_

___Alois:____ "Green!"_

___Ciel:____ "Blue!"_

___Audrey: "I'm sorry, but why is it that the subject always seems to turn to gay sex?"_

___Alois: "Because gay sex is fun." ***everyone stares at him awkwardly.*** " To TALK about! God! Let me FINISH!"_

___Daniel: "I bet CIEL does..."_


	263. Children Are Weak

"Sebastian!" called the bluenette, as he jogged up to the man in black, eventually coming to a stop in front of him. "What's going on? Why have you stopped?" The butler said nothing, and simply looked toward Dafydd, who was seated on the floor, a piece of paper clutched in his hand.

The sorcerer did not look like his usual self. In fact, he looked downright horrible. He sat there, in his spot on the floor, simply staring at his hands, vacantly, as if his were in some sort of trance. He didn't move. Dafydd didn't make any signs of acknowledging the other's presence. He looked hollow, almost, like he were trapped in some sort of vegetative state. Sebastian looked back toward the bluenette, and spoke.

"He's been like this ever since we found that paper in the path." the butler explained, a look of concern over his face. He leaned in to whisper in the Phantomhive boy's ear, so that the sorcerer wouldn't hear him.

"_It's his parents." _Sebastian continued. "Doctor Bigby and Messiah's leader have taken them as hostages. _They claim that they're going to kill them if we continue to pursue them."_

"Are there any other demands?" Ciel asked, his tone just as hushed..

_ "No, Sir."_

_ "Alright."_ The bluenette then turned to the werewolf in his pack, and whispered in her ear. "Amelie, can you possibly tell if there are any _living human-like beings _in the building?"

The silver-haired girl nodded in response. She stuck her nose up, and sniffed the air, walking around in various directions, and occasionally dropping on all-fours to sniff closer to the ground. Finally, she stood back up, and placed her hands near her ears, cupping the area around them to better filter sound into them. She closed her eyes and held her breath, listening as closely as she possibly could, concentrating on any and all sound. Her blue eyes suddenly snapped open again. She turned to the bluenette once more.

"Four of them." she said. She pointed at Dafydd. "One is _the boy's."_ She pointed in the direction that they had come from. "One of them is _Heinrich."_ She pointed in the direstion they were heading. "_Two of them, I don't know."_

"_Good job, Amelie." _Ciel said, taking a few steps down the hallway. "_Let's go end this."_

"_You can't!" _Dafydd shouted suddenly, balling his hands into fists. His sudden outburst caught the others' attention. They all simply stood and stared.

"You can't... If you do, they'll die..." he said sadly, looking back down at the floor. He blocked his eyes with his hand so that none of the others could see the tears welling up in his eyes.

The very _thought_ of losing his parents hurt him, as it does with almost every child. He loved them both. Perhaps, he never realized how much he loved them until now, when they were threatened to be taken from him. Should the bluenette disobey the wishes of their captors, the ones who bound and gagged them in order to prevent them from using magic, and the ones who now threatened their lives, Dafydd would _never_ get to tell him what they meant to him. He would never get to speak to them, to make them proud, to see them be happy, or see their faces at all, ever again. No child ever realizes that their parents are their whole world from the day that they're born, because as they branch out and meet new friends, they forget how they loved them, and supported them; they take them for granted, until is too late.

Ciel felt a small pang in his heart at the slight of Dafydd grieving. Not because they were friends, and not because he cared for the boy, but because he knew that feeling, too. For someone to lose someone so important to their lives, even if they are in ways that one wouldn't ordinarily think of, changes people. When Phantomhive Manor was burned down, the previous Earl and his wife murdered, Ciel was all alone. He had no one. He had nothing. He had no home to go to, no one to help him, no skills to help him survive. Had he not been sold into slavery, he would have with no doubt, died of starvation, or exposure from the cruel winter air.

There was no 'Happy Christmas', that December. The only reason he survived was because of Sebastian. It was because of Sebastian that he escaped. It was because of Sebastian that Ciel was able to stand back up. It was because of Sebastian that he is who he is today. After all, it was Sebastian who raised the boy. The butler was the closest thing to a father that the boy now knew.

A demon changes their shape to what their master needs the most in the forming of a contract, even on a subconscious level. Sebastian was a butler, and, unlike other servants, a butler is fundamentally important to the well-being of their master on a somewhat personal level. As such, it is a butler; not any other servant, who can raise the master of the house if they are of a young age, by guiding them on the right path to success. This is the form that the demon who would be known as "Sebastian" took, because it was the one the Ciel needed him to be. He needed guidance. He needed support. As much as he hated to admit it, _he needed a parental figure to take the place of the ones he lost,_ and should Sebastian ever disappear, the bluenette didn't know what he would do.

Naturally, the bluenette sympathized with the sorcerer for this reason, even against his wishes to. With a heavy sigh, he reluctantly crouched down in front of the sorcerer, his scowl losing some of it's sharpness for a moment. While his voice wasn't exactly soothing, he made his point.

_ "What are you afraid of?" _he asked, causing the other boy to look at him with confusion. "We _continue, _and _they die_, we_ stop_, and_ they die_, too, but the chance of them surviving _exists_, if we still _press forward_." He stood back up and looked down at Dafydd. "Now _why are you still sitting here? _You're just going to _let them die?"_

"I can't read your thoughts..." spoke Dafydd, his voice soft. "How do I know if_ you actually intend to save them?" _He looked up at the bluenette, his voice now beginning to shake. "How do I know you're not just going to_ sacrifice _them for your mission?"

"I haven't lied to you yet, have I?" asked Ciel. He turned and began to walk, gesturing for the others to follow him. "You can sit here and mope, if you wish. Just know that you can't save _anyone _that way." He looked over his shoulder at the sorcerer one last time. _"Giving up _is what _kills _people._ You just sitting there is killing them."_

With that, he and the others ventured forward, picking up the pace a bit. They hadn't much time. If they wanted to save Mister and Missus Blake, and destroy Messiah, they would have to act _quickly._

Thus, they continued onward, following the wolf-girl's nose, as it led them to Mason and the depths of the factory, and the twists and turns throughout. While they weren't quite sure where they were, they heard the banging of metal, and the whirring of gears in the distance, no doubt, marking an end.

* * *

**A/N: BALLS.  
**

**I don't have much to say again. I'm kinda tired, y'know? **

**STILL SCARED OF COLLEGE. OMG I DON'T WANNA BE A GROWN-UP. GROWING UP IS BALLS.**

**Damn, "balls" is such a funny word...**

**Oh, but I did post the pictures of the Sensational Seven on my Tumblr, as if they were superheroes in M.I.A.A.U. (which I totally need to update. *cries*) I'm not done, yet. I still need to post Travis. I just haven't inked him, yet...**

**Anyways, until the next chapter, my duckies! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOO!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET OH GOD I'M TIRED  
**_

_Question: **"Sebastian, how do you eat while having a "eternal" contract with Ciel?"** by Steisz  
_

_Sebastian's Answer: "Making a contract isn't necessary for soul consumption. It's just preferred. I can make really weak ones, if I wish, but my primary contract still holds top priority."_

_000000000000000000000_

_Question:** "I have a question for William. You said you needed to look into the matter of Audrey, have you found out anything more about him, and the fact that he has Grim Reaper in him?"** by Jman15008_

_William's Answer:__ "That is strictly classified informatio__n that a civilian like you is simply not permissible to have. We're not animals. We have rules."_

_000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Hey Ciel, what does Alois smell like? And do you own a pair of red (maybe green) underwear?"** by White Bloody Queen_

_Ciel's Answer:__"He smells like... Alois? Whatever shampoo, he's currently using, mostly. And no, I'm not going to wear them, ESPECIALLY because Alois got them mixed up. After that conversation, he had to show everyone the article he read that on, but he remembered it wrong. Blue is actually 'Active', while red is 'Passive'. The only one he got right was green, for 'Versatile' (which I'm not). I wouldn't wear any of them, anyway. I don't feel the need to advertise my bedroom preferences."  
_

_Alois: "But you just did~!"_

_Ciel:__"I REFUSE to let anyone think that I'm a 'green'. I'm a Phantomhive! My pride won't allow it!"  
_

_Alois: "'I'm a Phantomhive!' God, I love it when you rant like that. It's so damn funny."_

_Ciel: "It's true!"_

_Alois: "That's because whenever I do top you, you're too worried about pride and stuff, and don't just focus on what I-"_

_Ciel: "Shut up! I don't wanna hear it!"_

_Alois: "Just Keep Calm and LET ME LOVE YOU."_


	264. The Messiah Is Among Us

Machinery whirred, gears spinning and pistons pumping, the occasional sound of stream escaping into the room filling the air. Other than all of this, the massive, humid room was almost empty. The only other thing inside of it was a chair, two women; one tied up with a rag in her mouth, and the other with one arm, seated in the floor while playing around on a laptop; two men, one of them also bound and gagged, while the other was seated in a chair, a scowl firmly placed on his disfigured face.

"_Have they pulled out, yet?" _asked the man in the chair, resting his upper-body-weight on a cane, as he leaned forward to speak to the one-armed woman on her laptop.

"I'm not sure." she replied, not looking up from her screen. _"The sensors aren't online_."

"Well, _fix it." _the man hissed.

"I _can't." _the woman replied, finally meeting his gaze. "I would have to go outside this room to do that, and I would need _both hands."_

"What _use_ are you, then?" asked the man, furrowing what remained of his brow. "_You're _the expert on this stuff. _You're_ supposed to be able to do your job. Then, _you_ had to go and loose an arm!"

"_I'm sorry, sir_." Doctor Bigby said quietly. It wasn't in her usual meek manner, but in a sort of thoughtless, emotionless way. Such odd speech from the woman prompted him to open his mouth in order to speak again, only to jump, and turn toward the door, loud banging came from the other side.

"_Open the door!"_ pleaded the person on the other side. It was Detective Summer's voice, begging. Having lost all of his arrogance from before, the man pleaded like a blubbering child to be let inside the safety of Messiah's final floor. "_Please! Let me in! OPEN THE DOOR!"_

"What in blazes is that _idiot_ doing?" asked Mason, standing up, followed by the doctor, shortly. The woman glanced at the hostages, and then back to the door.

_"It could be a trap_." she said, causing the scarred man to think for a moment. He smiled.

"I'm _sorry_, Summers, but you're going to have to prove to us that you're alone." he shouted so the detective could hear him, before backing up toward Mister and Missus Blake. Mason's tone was insincere, almost sounding amused by the situation.

Silence ensued after his statement. The banging on the large, metal door stopped. The screaming of the detective subsided as well. All was quiet. Far _too_ quiet, for the scarred man's tastes. He was rightly so, as two massive dents appeared in the door before the barrier went flying. There, where it once was, stood two demons, a tall man with a sly smile and black hair with a suit to match, and a boy dressed similarly, with hair of an odd shade of blue-ish slate, wearing an eye-patch. The two had kicked the door in, standing on each side of a frightened detective Summers, as he sat on his knees, speechless as to what had just happened. Summers didn't remain that way for long, as another demon, a blonde boy with an almost cat-like face, nudged the man's back with his foot, forcing him out of the way. The pitiful man crawled into the room on all fours in order to distance himself from the three demons and the odd, wild-looking girl with them.

"Did anyone here _lose their dog?"_ joked the blonde menace. "We simply just can't keep him. We already have _two."_

"_Three."_ corrected Amelie.

"Oh? _Who's the third one?" _asked Alois.

_ "Heiny." _said the wolf-girl, causing the boy to nod.

"Oh yeah, Ciel called him _'War-dog' _a few times. So the nickname stuck?"

_ "Oui."_

"I'd _hate _to interrupt, but _we're kind of in the middle of something, here_." said Sebastian in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, yeah..." said the blonde, turning back to the group.

"_Sad thing is_, you _almost _sounded _clever_, for a moment." said Ciel, before beginning to stare down the two in front of him, aside from the man currently groveling on the floor.

_ "My sincerest apologies, my lord!" _shouted Summers, kneeling to the point that his forehead touched the ground before looking up, revealing the massive gap in his teeth from when the bluenette had punched him, earlier. "They forced me to forsake you! Please forgive me!"

_ "Bigby."_ called Everett, leaning on his cane. "_Silence him."_

The woman's eyes darkened at the request, a big, toothy grin appearing on her face, which hardly resembled a human's, at that moment. She walked toward Summers, swiftly reaching down with her remaining arm and pulling him closer by his ankle as he tried to crawl away from fear. He screamed at the top of his lungs when she picked him up by the collar of his shirt, holding him high up off the ground.

"Wait! Sir! Why are you doing this?! You're supposed to be _save _me! That's what you _promised!" _shouted Summers, as Bigby brought him back down so that his neck was reachable by her mouth. "You're the_ Messiah! You're the Messiah! _You came here to_ save the chosen ones!"_ Mason smiled.

"I'm _no Messiah_, my boy, and _you've outlived your usefulness." _he said. "The only person I intend to save is _myself."_

With that, Bigby was just about to sink her rows of fangs into the poor detective's neck, but then, the unthinkable happened. Summers was saved, but not but any sort of holy prophet, but by a werewolf, as she ran at her freakish speed, and plucked the poor man from the doctor's grasp just in the nick of time. She turned to the man, with a frown on her face.

"You're lucky, _boy_." Amelie said. "I was here to save you. Just remember, that next time, _I won't be_, and you'll have to save _yourself. _There's _no such thing as a 'Messiah'_."

The others simply gaped at the fact that the wolf-girl used more than four words in a sentence. Mason looked at the girl, absolutely flabbergasted, before furrowing his brow in anger. He tapped his cane on the floor.

_ "Bigby!_ _Kill that brat!" _he shouted, pointing to the silver-haired girl. The doctor turned to him for a brief moment before turning to the girl again. She snarled, making a beast-like face, and roared at the other female, inviting the she-wolf to do the same. Meanwhile, the others took this as an opportunity to snap into action, having recovered from their daze.

"_Sebastian! Save the hostages!" _ordered the bluenette.

_ "Yes, my lord."_

"_Alois! Help me attack Mason!"_

_ "Right-o, poochie!"_

With that, the butler in black sprang into action, dashing past the organization's leader and grabbing the two older sorcerers, throwing each one over a shoulder, before trying to make his escape, all while the other man fired at him with the very same pistol used on the demon's master. Indeed, it was a most unpleasant situation. There was only one exit, and going through it would put him at risk of staying in the same place for a second too long, granting Mason the ability to shoot at, and successfully hit either him, or the hostages, the latter of which would probably not survive.

While this occurred, the bluenette zoomed up next to the man, kicking his cane out from under him. With that, Alois did the same, only from the opposite side, and he kicked the man's shin as hard as he could. A massive _"clunk!"_ was heard on the impact. Alois then grabbed his foot while hopping on the other, fighting back tears from the unexpected pain.

Mason took the opportunity to raise the very same leg that the boy kicked, and use it to strike him straight in the jaw, knocking him to the floor. With a swift movement, he did the same with the bluenette while he was surprised. There was no way Mason should be able to do that. No way at all, with that cane. Unless, and the bluenette figuratively kicked himself for not thinking about it sooner, _the man was a copycat-freak._

"_Hurts, _doesn't it?" Mason taunted. "It hurt when _I_ _lost it_, as well. In fact, it hurt a lot more than you do now." He frowned. "But that's what someone gets for visiting _Hell on Earth."_

* * *

**A/N: Ooh! That's a mighty short chapter!**

**A cliffhanger, too! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just don't have time to finish it tonight. Tomorrow, maybe...**

**Maybe...**

**MAYBE...**

**First day of college wasn't bad. (I only had one class today...) The worst part was THE GODDAMN PARKING-LOT. **

**Other than that, I don't especially have anything else to report. Probably cause I'm kinda sleepy. Even though I had only one class, I did a bit of running around. I got home (which is kind of a long drive, if you must know), then realized that I should probably put gas in my car before I need it, went to go do that, came back, and apparently my brother missed the bus, so I had to go get his ass (which also isn't that short of a drive). I JUST FILLED UP THE GAS-TANK, YOU PUNK BITCH. IT COST ME OVER $50. YOU COSTIN' ME MONEY, BOY. HOW CAN YOU FORGET TO GET ON THE MASSIVE YELLOW VEHICLE THAT TAKES YOU HOME? I DON'T EVEN.**

**Over-dramatic? Yes. But it was funny, huh?**

**Until the next chapter, my duckieeeeesssssss~!**

* * *

_**CHARACTER SHET OH HELL ITS THESE FUCKERS AGAIN  
**_

_Question: **"For HateWeasel: Is Undertaker ever going to make an appearance? I'm just curious For Ciel: How long are you going to keep denying that Alois has topped you? :P"** by FlyingBacon  
_

_HateWeasel's Answer:"Dunno. I can't think of a reason for or against it. If I come up with a storyline involving him, maybe..."  
_

_Ciel's Answer: __"I'm not denying the fact. I'm denying the implication that I'm a bottom. I just like it on top, better, is all..." _

_000000000000000000_

_Question: **"Alois, you can't be the only one who sucks, right? If Ciel doesn't that's not necessarily fair, but then again, he's never played fair...**  
** Well, Kris, Dan may be a huge moron, but I still don't think that you don't want any part of him. *mutters* tanta frustrasion sexual, ¿¡porque no pueden entender que se aman?! *clears throat* anyway, um...steriotype here and I think it'll be really amusing, but since you're gay AND Welsh...do you hump male sheep? ****And...I love you, Audrey..."** by ParanoiaAlois_

_Alois' Answer:__"Oh, man, he would get so pissed off if I answered that honestly! XD Let's just say that 'he likes to tease'."  
_

_Kristopherson's Answer:__"First of all, I'm English, not Welsh. I've only lived in Wales a few times while my dad was filming for various movies and TV shows. Secondly, NO I DO NOT. I like human boys ONLY. Third, that's not the only country for that Scottish also get that myth too. It's false, either way."  
_

_Audrey's Answer:__"U-uh-uhm... Okay?" ***blushes***_

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_Question: **"Question for Alois and Ciel. Sorry but I just have to ask! Do you guys wear condoms...or?"** by Mental-Discomfort  
_

_Ciel's Answer:__"I... Uh.. We... W-well, we... uhm... Th-THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"  
_

_Alois' Answer:__"What's a condom?"_


	265. Spitfire

"The crazy bastard's got a damn _peg-leg!" _shouted Alois, trying to rub the pain away from his jaw after popping it. "I guess that means, he's _'out-pirated'_ you, huh, _Ciel?"_

"_I'm not a pirate." _the bluenette said, doing the same as the other boy. "What do you _mean _you've seen _'hell on earth'?"_ he asked the man, standing up. All Everett did was smile.

"You look younger than I assume you really are, so I assume that you remember?" the man replied, shaking his head when he was met with a blank stare. "What happened in _London fourteen years ago?_ It all took place in a single night, and destroyed almost the entire city." Ciel's eye widened at the answer.

"_Millennium's attack on London happened_." he said, mostly to himself. "I suppose you were there during it?"

"_Yes_." answered the man, his throat scratchy, as he rubbed his chin with one of his now free hands, feeling the many scars on his face. "It changes you, you know."

"You said that_ the only one that you intended to save was yourself..." _the bluenette began. _"So does that mean that the only reason you're doing this is to protect yourself from a future attack?"_

"_Precisely."_ said Mason. "You make it sound _horrible_ of me, but the world is a scary place, where _the strong eat the weak_. The_ easiest solution _is to _become strong,_ yes?"

"While that may be true, _you aren't strong."_ said Ciel, furrowing his brow and straing the man down.

"You've manipulated others. You lied to Summers so that he could convince Dafydd and his parents to help. You did that specifically because of Dafydd's telepathy, didn't you? You knew that talking to him directly would lead to your destruction." the boy continued, his expression both angry and bored at the same time. "You've also dragged down innocent people. You've toyed with them, ruined their lives, or killed them, all together. Tell me, how does that make you _'strong'?"_

"Because it proves my _might."_ answered Mason, with a big, toothy grin. "If I can make them squirm like little bugs, that makes me strong-!"

_ "No it doesn't." _Ciel interrupted. "It only proves that you were_ too weak_, and _too afraid_ to remain human. You're now the same kind of monster that you were afraid of. The very same kind of sad, empty, _weak _monster that you were afraid of." He pulled out the Zamiel pistol, and aimed it right at the man's head.

_ "This_ is for _earlier." _he continued. "_Keep the change."_

While Mason was talking to Ciel, Sebastian took this as an opportunity to make his escape without getting either himself, or the hostages shot. He dashed out the door and continued on down the many halls, climbing ever upward until he reached the surface. It was dawn. It had taken them all night to complete this mission, and it was still going. The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. truck that had taken Doctor Lovejoy home was back, by this time in order to pick up more victims, including the two sorcerers. The butler in black gently set down Mister and Missus Blake, taking the time to undo their binds. When free, Missus Blake immediately shouted at him.

"Where's _Dafydd?!" _she demanded. "_Where's our son?!" _The demon was taken aback by this at first, but smiled.

"He's _still inside_, madam." he said with a slight bow. "I'll being going back to get him now..."

"You _idiot!"_ shouted Mister Blake. "_The building is set to collapse as soon as we leave! _How else were we able to have been captured? We knew Dafydd was there, so we went along with this so he wouldn't be _crushed!"_

_ "What?!"_ Sebastian said, immediately turning toward the building. It was now no wonder sixth sense wasn't working right throughout the entire building. _The entire place was a trap!_

And just like that, the building began to cave in. The lower levels, below ground, where the other were located were covered up before they even had the smallest hope of Sebastian knew that this was unlikely to actually kill the demonic duo, it would certainly injure them, and this combined with the rubble on top of them, they wouldn't be digging themselves out any time soon. What on earth was he going to tell _Luka_ when he got home? Would he even go home? Would he have to help his young master escape?

Possibly, but the demon couldn't shake this odd feeling he got when he saw the building crumble, knowing that Ciel and Alois were still inside. It was a horrible feeling, yet he couldn't place what it was. It felt as though the man's stomach dropped, and his barely-beating, black heart had stopped altogether. If that wasn't enough, he felt this odd tingling sensation in both his stomach and in his legs, like they wanted to run over to the building, but had forgotten how. The blubbering of the sorceress reached his ears, yet he did not hear it. He was too busy staring into the settling dust, mouth agape, and for the first time in a long while, _he was at a loss for what to do_.

_ "Scientia de anima! Excelsior!"_

Sebastian furrowed his brow in confusion at the sudden shouting. His face of puzzlement, however, quickly changed into bewilderment at the sight before him. Light was slipping through the cracks in the rubble, growing brighter and brighter. When it became almost blinding, a sphere came violently springing forth, knocking rubble, shrapnel, and anything else out of it's way. It floated over toward the three, before hovering for a brief moment. Then, like a bubble, it simply popped. Out from it fell the entire H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. squad that was sent in, the demonic duo, and Dafydd, being one of the only ones to actually land on their feet, the other two being Ciel and Seras. The rest simply fell on their behinds, of on top of each other, including Doctor Bigby, who Amelie was brawling with at the time of the collapse.

She wasn't in very good shape, as she was covered in deep claw marks and had shrapnel in her side. Poor Bigby was now missing her other hand, as well, and unlike her other amputation, this one was caused by an anti-freak shotgun, therefore it wasn't healing over. Instead, it was bleeding profusely, as she tried to stand herself up. The wolf-girl was about to shoot her again, when yet another car pulled up, a grey Rolls Royce with a hood-ornament in the shape of the Hellsing family crest. Ciel gulped at the sight of it, knowing who was inside.

When the vehicle came to a complete stop, the driver got out and opened the door to the backseat, and just as the bluenette had feared. It was _her; _a woman with long, fair-hair and one blue eye, the other covered by an eyepatch, with tan skin and glasses. She wore a suit and gracefully stepped out of the car before walking toward the group with purpose.

Ciel's eye widened when she reached into her coat, and pulled a revolver, pointing it in his general direction before firing. The bullet whizzed past the bluenette demon and into the cranium of Doctor Bigby, causing her to fall to the ground. All Ciel could do was blink, terrified at the fact that she could have killed him, just then.

"_You missed one." _said the Hellsing woman, before looking past Ciel and toward the destroyed building.

"_I was just getting to that..." _said the lad, following the woman's eye with her own. "With her_, Messiah's gone_. I took care of their leader right before the building collapsed." Then, he looked toward the group with him, staring at an incredibly terrified Detective Summers. "There's _one _left, however, but he's human."

"Is it safe to trust that you can turn him into the authorities?" asked Integra.

_ "Of course."_

"Very well, then." she said, putting her gun away before placing her hands behind her back in a dignified manner. "Status report?"

_"The only survivors are Doctor Lovejoy, Detective Summers, and the Blake family." _the bluenette answered, looking over to the boy-sorcerer as his parents doted on him, telling him how proud they were of him, and how glad they were that he's alive. While it wasn't audible, you could almost _see _the sigh on Ciel's face. "The rest were either exterminated by me and my men, or yours. We somehow managed to all escape because of Blake's magic."

_ "Then everything is fine_." the woman said, pulling a cigar out of her coat, and lighting it. "While it didn't exactly go according to plan, the mission is a success, with zero losses_. All is well."_ Ciel couldn't help but narrow his eye at that.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Why are you being so..._odd_, lately?"

_"I don't know what you're talking about." _Integra replied, casually puffing on her cigar. "I'm simply telling you that you've succeeded in your mission, _nothing more, nothing less._ _We search, and we destroy_. You've simply _taken care of both of those things for me at once. _Good work."

"You were _using_ me?!" the bluenette demanded, breaking out into one of his unusually childish moments.

"That's your _job_, isn't it?"

"It's _your _job, too! Why didn't _you_ just take care of it?!"

"Because_ I'm not a detective_, that's why."

"You could have hired somebody!"

"I can't trust any civilian with a job this big." Sir Hellsing said. "Just take your praise, and _go home_. There's no use arguing over it now. Besides, _you're causing a scene_."

Ciel opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. Hesitantly, he turned to face the others that he had somehow forgotten about, witnessing them trying to keep grins off their faces. The bluenette blushed with embarrassment, and turned to glare at the Hellsing woman. In response, she puffed a cloud of cigar smoke in his face, causing him to cough.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, let's pack it up." she shouted to her operatives, who answered her with a salute and a "yes, sir". The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. soldiers loaded up, packing their weapons back into their vehicles, and talking to Mister and Missus Blake. Meanwhile, the boy-sorcerer of the family turned to face the blonde menace.

"How was _that?"_ he asked, a large grin on his face. "Pretty_ impressive_, eh, _Spitfire?"_

"Yeah, it was pretty impressive..." Alois began, placing a hand on his hip. "...But you do know that doesn't mean I'm going to be interested in you any time soon, right?"

"That's just fine." said Dafydd. "I'll wait as long as I have to."

"I'd advise against it." the blonde replied. "I'm a demon. We live longer than you. Much, much, longer. Besides, I love Ciel, and not you, or anyone else, can change that."

"You telling me to give up? Just like that?"

"Yep. I'm afraid so, _Daffy."_

_ "Ugh_, can't you at least call me by my name at least _once?"_

"Nope._ Not until you quit calling me 'Spitfire'!"_ Alois said, before leaving the sorcerer to go and hug the bluenette, nearly tackling the poor boy to the ground. The blonde giggled almost uncontrollably as he pulled away to see Ciel blushing from being hugged in front of his arch-nemesis; a hue that only darkened, spreading to his ears when the blonde kissed him. All the Hellsing woman did in response was roll her visible eye and climb back into her car.

_"I love you, Cielykins~!" _Alois said in a sing-song voice. "I'll always be _your Spitfire~!"_

_ "Sh-shut up!"_

* * *

**A/N: BLARGH.**

**ANTI-CLIMATIC.**

**BLARGH.**

**I'M TIRED.**

**GOING TO SCHOOL AND WRITING FANFICS IS HARD.**

**I might have to skip updating every once and a while to do homework, sometimes, so don't get freaked out by that. I still should be able to update most days.**

**GO, LIONS, MOTHERFUCKER.**

**I find it odd that this school's mascot is a lion, and their colours are Navy and White, while Warwick's is a Griffin, with the colours Navy and Gold. **

**Weird. **

**Oh, and by the way: Yeah, I did draw the new cover. I drew the old one, too. The other one was really old to begin with, and my style has changed so much, so I wanted to make a new one. A bigger version of it can be seen on mah Tumblr. There's my shameless self-promotion for this evening...**

**Question: "Question for HateWeasel! Who, out of all the the characters in DLTD, do you like you like to write as the most?" by The-Earl-Mustang**

**Out of the OCs, I really like Kris. Kris is odd, because he's fairly serious, but he has this playfulness to him, as well. I especially like writing for both him, and Dan at the same time, because I love the reviews I get afterwards. I also just think they're funny together. It's Comedy teamwork!  
**

**My favourite canon-character to write for, though, is Ciel, I think. He's just always got something going on inside his head. Some mystery he's trying to solve, or whatever.**

**Until the next chapter, my duckies~!**

* * *

_**CHARCTER SHET OMG YOU SICK FREAKS I CAN'T BELIEVE I ANSWER THESE SOMETIMES...  
**_

_Question: **"**_**I have a question for the seven. Now that you have been exposed tot he real world, has it altered your view on religion in your family life? And if so, what are your thought. And I have one short thing for Luka, have your views on life in general changed after seeing what science and technology has discovered since your time?"** by Alecia Trancy

_Ciel's Answer: "What are you talking about? This IS the 'real world'?"_

_Luka's Answer:"It's always so excitin', y'know? I always wonder what cool thing I'm going to learn about today, or the next day, or the day after that!"  
_

_00000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"NOT WEARING A CONDOM MEANS BAD THINGS CIEL You could get M! Preg and DIE Alois ** **Or HIV's DON'T DO SEX, THEN YOU DIE -theotakuat221b's version from Mean Girls Haha JK keep on having gay sex we love it"** theotakuat221b_

_Ciel's Answer:"What the hell?! Alois doesn't even have the right organs for that! (Yes, he has been x-rayed, but for an unrelated reason.) Moreover, Demons don't get diseases! And lastly, do you have any idea how awkward it would be for me to go buy some?! There's no way I can put those on the counter while maintaining any shred of dignity! I'd have to go alone, too, because with Alois, they'd be judging me more than they would if I didn't, and Sebastian would NEVER let me hear the end of it!"  
_

_Alois'__ Answer:__ "'M!Preg'? 'HIV's'? What?"_

_00000000000000000000000000000_

_Question: **"OMFG! The character shit was hilarious! XD That was clearly a no! Speaking of wich, Ciel, since Alois made it clear that you do not use condoms, have you ever gotten erm poo on your penis? Same for Alois, and a condom is a thin latex "flexible tube" that you slip over an erect penis to prevent sperm from escarping and "shitty" situations, if you know what I mean"** by DrChimichanga218_

_Ciel's Answer:__"WHAT THE FUCK?! WHY DO YOU EVEN WANT TO KNOW THIS?!"_

_Alois' Answer:__"Oh. Nope. Demons don't need to go to the bathroom, so there's no 'waste' to begin with. Also, why on earth would you want to put something in between you and the person you're trying to do with?"  
_


End file.
